Strengthening Strategic Planning Skills for Nonprofits

Strategic planning is vital for nonprofit success, enabling organizations to effectively achieve their missions and build sustainable growth. This course delves into the strategic planning process specifically tailored for nonprofits, equipping you with the skills to define direction, prioritize initiatives, and allocate resources efficiently.

What is Nonprofit Strategic Planning?

It's more than just a document; it's a continuous ability – a capacity to plan thoughtfully over time. Nonprofit strategic planning is a structured approach to analyzing your organization's internal strengths and weaknesses, alongside external opportunities and challenges. This analysis informs informed decisions about long-term objectives, ensuring all activities directly support your mission and values. Effective planning drives impactful outcomes and fosters sustainable growth for your organization.

Course Highlights:

• Understanding Strategic Planning as Action & Leadership: Explore how strategic planning functions as both a practical action and an adaptive leadership approach.
• Adaptive Strategy for Nonprofit Leaders: Discover the role of adaptive strategy in navigating the complexities of nonprofit leadership.
• Building a Learning Organization: Learn how to cultivate a culture of learning to enhance the effectiveness of your strategic planning efforts.
• Assessing Readiness & Applying Theory of Change: Assess your organization's readiness for strategic planning using multiple dimensions and apply the practical elements of the Theory of Change model.
• The Six Phases of Strategic Planning: Master the key stages of the strategic planning process.
• Strategic Choice Cascade: Learn to leverage the strategic choice cascade to guide your planning decisions.
• Motivation & Resistance in Planning: Understand the influence of self-determination theory and explore the motivations (and potential resistance) of yourself and your colleagues toward strategic planning.

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is designed for all nonprofit professionals, regardless of role or level. Whether you're in leadership or support functions, you'll gain new perspectives on traditional and contemporary planning processes. We'll explore the human element of strategic planning, including understanding motivations and potential resistance to ensure successful implementation. The Theory of Change will be introduced and applied throughout the course.

Key Competencies Covered:

This course aligns with the following Korn Ferry competencies:

• Action Orientation: Turning plans into results.
• Financial Acumen: Understanding and managing financial resources.
• Organizational Savvy: Navigating organizational dynamics.
• Plans and Aligns: Developing and implementing strategic plans.
• Driving Vision and Purpose: Inspiring and communicating a compelling vision.