• feedback – from staff, participants/beneficiaries and donors
• operating environment
• historical trends
• competitors

A study of Development Plans and Fundraising Performance by the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, found that almost 38.9% of organisations produced a plan with no external analysis. Further, of those who did consider a wider lens, almost 40% went no further than a SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to inform planning. It would seem there is still considerable growth for most organisations in developing sound strategy. The challenge beyond this is to view planning as part of a complete process that starts with an analysis of the environment, centres purpose through client, supporter and staff feedback and develops implementable actions that are measured regularly.

Insisting board members and executives to give up valuable time to create strategy is a large investment. Why then does the resultant plan fail to be implemented and measured to guide impactful fundraising, organisation growth, staff development and outcomes for beneficiaries? Three mistakes that can lead to a plan being shelved are 1. lack of inspiration, 2. too complex and 2. no time provided to implement and measure.

• Many plans simply build on past performance. While building on past performance is a positive, this approach does not challenge thinking, is rarely guided by purpose, fails to understand the current operating environment and usually ends up sitting on a shelf failing to influence business plans. Quite simply, this type of plan is boring and does not motive people to change the world let alone implement any actions.
• The second key issue is complexity. A strategy that clearly articulates goal, solution, measurement in a way that is meaningful to every stakeholder and aligns with organisation purpose is easily understood and actionable. When organisations make the mistake of complicating the process or adding countless “key” performance indicators the plan becomes convoluted and lacks clarity.
• Even when a plan is perfect, many fail because no time is provided for staff to properly implement the actions and importantly measure progress. Perhaps respecting time needs to be a key strategic imperative for organisations that are series about growing their impact. The board and executive must commit time to the strategy at every meeting to ensure they are leading by example, evaluating and interrogating the strategic measurements.