Nonprofit Strategic Planning

As 2021 draws to a close and we prepare for 2022, many nonprofit leaders are looking for a bold, effective approach to planning.  We have one.

A nonprofit’s vision represents its north star, that destination and desired future state toward which all activities, programs, and actions orient. A strategic plan serves as a roadmap to enable an organization to set priorities and measure progress. It informs the direction of the organization, generates heightened engagement and ownership of the mission, and inspires staff, board, volunteers, and the community to envision bold possibilities.

NTC facilitates customized strategic planning engagements using the proprietary process Finding Your North Star™ which was developed by Gary Romano, founder of Civitas Strategies.  Our process is grounded in five key components designed to move planning teams from understanding their organization’s ecosystem to preparing to navigate emergent strategy to monitoring and refining the plan to ensure progress:

• Principles of Design;

• Goal-Setting;

• Metrics of Success;

• Strategy Design; and

• Action Planning.

"Finding Your North Star demystifies how an organization can effectively plan and how important it is for a strategic plan to come from the whole team. The process in Finding Your North Star makes the team approach not only possible, but realistic."
— Alison LaRocca

We customize the process for your needs and objectives and can facilitate all aspects of the work with your team, either on or offsite, including designing and facilitating planning sessions, guiding the development of your action plan, and helping your team to accessibly document your efforts throughout. We can also provide the resources, guidance, and coaching your team would need to self-execute the process. Additionally, we offer landscape assessments to help you better understand your ecosystem or can provide advisement in administering an internal evaluation. Most importantly we bring independent perspective and wisdom to bear in the crafting of highly effective strategy.

Finding Your North Star Through Strategic Planning

Grateful to Youth Today for publishing my recent article on Finding Your North Star Through Strategic Planning.

Nonprofit leaders and board members face countless challenges, and strategic planning can sometimes seem like a daunting undertaking. There is hope, and a path to a far more energizing and effective plan! If you begin with the 3 P’s of purpose, people and process, you can set your organization on a path toward a successful outcome.

Guest Speaking: University of Cincinnati

Thoroughly enjoyed speaking yesterday on nonprofit leadership and my leadership journey at University of Cincinnati. Great questions and loved the discussion. Thank you Dr. Megan Church Nally, PhD for the invitation!

The Nonprofit Show -- 5 Habits of Board Champions

Honored to be a guest on The Nonprofit Show. I invite you to check out the video for a fun and engaging discussion of the 5 habits of healthy Boards as well as tips and strategies for developing Board Champions.

Iowa Nonprofit Summit

Thoroughly enjoyed speaking yesterday at the Iowa Nonprofit Summit. Our session topic was “Leading Effective Board and Executive Assessments” and we had a fantastic discussion with a large group of talented leaders. Thank you for the invitation to speak Volunteer Iowa!

CASA of Lexington Board Retreat

Enjoyed a fantastic day facilitating a Board retreat with the leaders of CASA of Lexington. CASA of Lexington’s trained and supervised volunteers advocate through the family court system to ensure all victims of child abuse and neglect are safe and thrive in a permanent home. If you are looking to make a difference in the life of a child, please consider volunteering with your local CASA program!

Knowing When to Say “No Thanks:” Effective Gift Acceptance for Nonprofits

Would your nonprofit ever decline a gift from a donor? Should you? Effective gift acceptance policies and practices provide vital guardrails for nonprofit Boards and staffs as they pursue gifts and other donations to advance their mission. Enjoyed leading this signature workshop yesterday for NonprofitWebAdvisor.

Coffee Conversations Video: Sustained Collaboration as a Tool to Enhance Mission Impact

Thoroughly enjoyed a conversation with Ginny Waller of Waller Consulting on sustained collaboration as a powerful tool to enhance mission impact. From general collaboration all the way to mergers and acquisitions, healthy nonprofits can explore a spectrum of options to work more closely together and enhance impact.

Idaho Nonprofit Center Annual Conference

From Pocatello to Boise, Meridian to Coeur d'Alene, more than 400 #nonprofit leaders and Board members are attending this week's Idaho Nonprofit Center annual #conference. Honored to lead a session today entitled "Mission Ambassadors," where attendees developed their personal meaningful message and gained skills to serve as excited and effective ambassadors for their mission.

Jewish Family & Career Services Board Retreat

Enjoyed leading part 1 of a 2-part Board retreat with the talented leaders of Jewish Family & Career Services. JFCS expands possibilities for each person and every family to meet life’s challenges with confidence.

Blue Ridge Institute - Lead With Your Values

How connected do you feel to the core values of your nonprofit? Values-based leadership is a way of leading in which core values play a central and explicit role in everyday decisions, goals and actions. Enjoyed leading a highly interactive session entitled Lead With Your Values yesterday at the Blue Ridge Institute annual conference. Such an outstanding group of leaders!

Join Me at the Upcoming Idaho Nonprofit Center Virtual Conference!

Please join me at the upcoming Idaho Nonprofit Center Virtual Conference, August 31 - September 2, 2021. I will be presenting a session entitled “Mission Ambassadors” and would love to see you there.

This year, it will include both virtual and in-person components. All aspects have great content to help the nonprofit sector grow. During the conference, all attendees will have the opportunity to fully participate in their chosen breakout sessions through microphone enabled live Q and As, polls, and text chat features.

Early bird pricing closes August 2 with final registration ending on August 21. Learn more about this three day learning event here.

Thank you so much for your time and I hope to see you online!

Child Care Associates Board Champions

Board members and nonprofit leaders together hold the promise of what an organization can become and the impact it can have on the lives of those served. Honored to spend a day last week in Fort Worth, Texas with the Board and senior leadership team of Child Care Associates. When learning begins in the very first years, children benefit for the rest of their lives. That’s why Child Care Associates works constantly to create the finest possible early learning system for families and children in need. As one of the largest child development programs in North Texas, Child Care Associates is recognized as a leader in early education, both regionally and nationally.

Board Retreat With Crossroads Continuum

Enjoyed a great day yesterday facilitating a Board retreat with the outstanding team from Crossroads Continuum! Crossroads Continuum is an organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals with autism and related disorders from birth through adulthood. I look forward to seeing the even greater impact this team will have on the lives of those served!

Leading Effective "Hybrid" Board Meetings

Leading an effective Board meeting can be challenging under the best of circumstances.  How is our attendance? Are there any contentious issues on the horizon? From preparing the agenda to promoting engagement and discussion, Board meetings require a high degree of thoughtfulness and intentionality.  Today, many nonprofit and Board leaders are confronting an additional challenge -- namely, how do we lead effective meetings in a “hybrid” environment.  

A “hybrid” environment refers to a situation where some Board members are physically in the room for the meeting while others are joining virtually.  This has become a common situation for nonprofits, especially in light of the Covid pandemic.  Here are some tips and strategies to help ensure that your next Board meeting is dynamic and effective:

Develop the rules of the road… together

By its very nature, leading a Board meeting in a hybrid environment contains more moving parts and issues to manage.  Take the time as a Board team to develop the norms and expectations you have of each other in order to create the most productive meeting possible.  Many Board teams have developed practices such as following an organized lineup of speakers to ensure that both those in person and those attending virtually have an equal opportunity to speak and contribute to the discussion.  Other items to discuss include the manner in which you will record votes on any official Board actions.  You can also have fun with some of your rules, as a recent Board I worked with established a “rule” that every time a Board member starts talking while on Mute, they contribute $.25 or some other nominal amount to the donation jar. Make it fun and collaborative! Teams that take the time to develop these practices together form a greater level of ownership over their meetings.  

Select a platform that’s best for your team

By now we are all familiar with the various technology platforms that exist to facilitate virtual meetings.  We are well versed in their pluses and their minuses.  The reality is that there is not one platform that is “best” for nonprofit Board meetings.  Rather, the platform that will help lead to the most effective meetings is the one you and your Board members are most comfortable with and can navigate most easily.  Before selecting a platform, check with the Board and inquire as to their familiarity with the various platforms as well as their preferences. You may find a high degree of consensus around comfort with a particular platform.  Similarly, once you have selected a platform for your hybrid Board meeting, invest the time to test it with each Board member who will be joining virtually.  Nothing will derail a Board meeting faster than a Board member with increasing exasperation stating “Can you hear me now?”

Plan the agenda thoughtfully

While it is always important to take a thoughtful approach in preparing a Board meeting agenda, it is even more so when leading a hybrid meeting.  Give yourself and your team grace in understanding that you may not be able to get through the same volume of items in a hybrid meeting as you do in person.  That’s ok!  It is far more important that the Board’s time together be engaging, productive, and impactful rather than comprehensive.  When constructing the agenda, remember that offering onramps for engagement and discussion is important for all Board members, regardless of how they are joining the meeting. If helpful, consider assigning roles to Board members such as facilitator, chat follower, or engagement monitor, or even securing an external facilitator comfortable with the hybrid environment.  Finally, assess the most effective length for your Board meeting in this environment. If your meeting is going to last more than an hour, consider building in a break for Board members to ensure that energy and focus remain high throughout.

Engage the elephants

There are elephants in just about every Board room.  Some are large, some are small, but they are those issues, conflicts, or dysfunctions that if ignored, may over time undermine the effectiveness of the Board team.  The temptation when dealing with the challenges of a hybrid meeting is to ignore the elephants in the room, postponing addressing them until the Board can all be together again.  Rather, be mindful of these issues and pay close attention to tone, body language, and what is not being said -- either by those in the room or those joining virtually.  Where appropriate, pause to ensure that small misunderstandings don’t become large conflicts.  If you see signs and signals that conflict or disagreement is brewing, assess whether it is best to pause in the moment and address it as a team or schedule a reminder to follow up individually with the team members.   

By engaging the Board team in developing the norms and expectations of a hybrid meeting and then planning and facilitating the meeting in a thoughtful way, your next hybrid meeting can lead to the type of engagement and discussion that propels your mission forward.  If you have further questions about creating dynamic, effective Board meetings, let’s connect!

Special Memorial Day Podcast: Honoring Gold Star Families Through the Woody Williams Foundation

The term Gold Star Family recognizes the sacrifice that military family members make when a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, or other loved one dies in service to the nation.  As we honor the fallen this week on Memorial Day, Chad Graham of the Woody Williams Foundation joins Greg for a memorable podcast episode.  Woody Williams is the last remaining Medal of Honor awardee from World War II.  The Woody Williams Foundation honors this service through monuments and programs across the country that bring communities together and honor the sacrifice of Gold Star Families.

Engaged Board, Effective Fundraising

An engaged Board is essential to an effective fundraising program for nonprofits. Enjoyed leading a retreat this weekend with the Board of the Center for Positive Sexuality, an educational and research association with a mission to address social issues through sex positive research and education.

Congratulations Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana!

Congratulations to the Board and Staff of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana (RMHCK) on the approval of their exciting and impactful new strategic plan! Over the past few months, it has been an honor to facilitate the strategic planning process for this amazing team and I am so inspired by their talent, passion, and commitment. Led by CEO Hal Hedley, the mission of RMHCK is to provide the home and support that allows families to stay together while they focus on the healing of their sick children at a critical time. Congratulations RMHCK team!

Getting the Band Back Together

Reunions come in many different forms and for many different purposes.  Class reunions.  Family reunions.  Team reunions.  Many nonprofits are preparing for their own type of reunion over the coming weeks and months -- a Board reunion.  

Over the past year or so, nonprofits have adapted to the challenges of the pandemic and most Boards have met virtually.  This conversion has brought benefits such as improved attendance, and also challenges such as lack of personal interaction among Board teams.  As Boards begin to return to some form of in-person gathering, here are some tips to ensure a smooth transition.

• Devote time to relationship building.

While virtual platforms offer outstanding features to ensure effective meetings, many nonprofit Boards have missed that element of social interaction, of getting to know one another as colleagues and teammates. Through departures from and additions to the Board, your nonprofit may have several Board members who have never actually met one another in person. Before diving back into the business of the Board, consider the ways in which you might offer Board members an opportunity to re-engage with one another and develop the types of relationships found in healthy teams.
Tip: Consider a Board retreat or intentionally create other opportunities for Board members to get to know one another.

• Assess the current strengths, challenges, and priorities of the Board.

We can’t forget that the past year has been highly disruptive for nonprofits and Boards -- personally, professionally, and organizationally. The health of your Board today may be very different (positively or negatively) than it was a year ago. Rather than assuming these changes will disappear upon a return to in-person meetings, consider pausing to assess that state of the Board.

Tip: Whether through a formal Board assessment or informal checkup, offer Board members the opportunity to reflect and hold a mirror up to the Board team -- what is going well, where are we struggling, and what are our most important priorities.  

• Develop new norms and expectations as a team.

Just as the strengths and challenges of the Board may have changed over the past year, the norms and expectations of the team may have evolved also. For example, many nonprofits are now evolving to a hybrid platform for Board meetings, where some members are comfortable being in-person and others more comfortable with joining remotely. Is your meeting frequency and schedule still optimal for the team or does it need to be altered? These are just a few of the questions your Board may want to address.
Tip: Board members tend to have greater ownership of norms and expectations they help create.

Know that the road is not always smooth. There may be bumps along the way. Like any team, Boards are challenging! Know that Nielsen Training & Consulting is your partner on this journey and we are here to offer any support or guidance you may need. We want to hear from you as you get the band back together!

Congratulations CASA of Graves County and Southwest KY!

Congratulations to the Board and staff of CASA of Graves County and Southwest KY on the approval of their exciting new strategic plan! It has been an honor to facilitate the strategic planning process for this organization that impacts the lives of so many children and families. CASA of Graves County & Southwest KY provides trained community volunteers for court appointment to advocate on behalf of dependent, abused, and neglected children.