Nonprofit Strategic Planning Insights and Advice
Read helpful nonprofit blog articles written by nonprofit consulting experts at Mission Met with information on how to improve your organization.
As a part of Mission Met’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) efforts, we are facilitating workshops where each team member engages in a personal exploration, connecting topics of personal significance with DEIJ principles. In a world marked by persistent racial inequities, the imperative for white individuals to become allies in the fight against racism has never been more urgent. A recent presentation, spearheaded by Mission Met Senior Consultant Paul Lamb, offered invaluable insights into how white people can actively engage in this crucial struggle.
At Mission Met, we are actively translating our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) ideals into tangible actions and inviting you, our audience, to join us on this transformative journey. As part of this work, we’re conducting workshops where each team member embarks on a personal exploration, delving into a subject close to their heart and weaving it intricately with DEIJ principles, culminating in a collective sharing of insights. Here are the key takeaways from our second training about unconscious bias.
AI's potential in helping with strategic planning is exciting but awareness and careful implementation is also needed to maximize its effectiveness and impact. Check out this article on www.causey.app that lists the positives of using AI in strategic planning and the challenges.
We recently began rolling out our inaugural DEIJ training session for our team. This wasn't just another mandatory workshop; it was a step toward cultivating a culture of inclusivity and justice within our organization. Each team member is tasked with exploring a topic close to their heart, linking it back to DEIJ principles, and sharing their findings with the rest of us. This month’s topic was on integrating DEIJ practices into project management.
Nonprofit partnerships are indeed essential for addressing complex social issues and maximizing the impact of limited resources. However, navigating these collaborations can be challenging due to various barriers that organizations may encounter. In this article, we will explore common obstacles to nonprofit partnerships and provide insights into how you can overcome them to foster successful collaborations.
Whether it’s connecting with potential donors, collaborating with other nonprofits, or engaging community leaders, strategic networking creates a ripple effect of positive change. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of such partnerships and share a resource with more information about how to navigate networking relationships.
Partnerships let you join forces and share skills, leading to a bigger impact. In this article, we'll explore different types of nonprofit partnerships and see how organizations work together to make positive change.
In the dynamic world of nonprofit organizations, the pursuit of a mission often feels like navigating uncharted waters. From fundraising challenges to resource constraints, the path to creating meaningful impact can be arduous. However, in this journey, nonprofits have an ally waiting in the wings – the transformative potential of partnerships. This article explores the benefits that nonprofits can reap from partnerships, unraveling the layers of opportunity that lie beneath the surface when organizations unite for a common cause.
Our team is dedicated to a positive team culture and we decided to include a “Culture” focus area in our strategic plan this year. Now that we’re at the end of 2023, we’ve found an enlightening tactic that you may be interested in using for your team. It has benefited our team this year and we look forward to evolving it in 2024.
This tactic is a team retrospective meeting (we call it a “team retro”). It’s a dedicated meeting each month where victories are celebrated and potential avenues for improvement are uncovered. This article is your backstage pass on how we conduct a team retro meeting and how it contributes to engagement and positive culture.
As nonprofit strategic planning consultants at Mission Met, we serve as guides to help leaders of small and medium-sized nonprofits discover the right strategy for their unique organization. But, that begs the obvious question: what, exactly, is a “right” strategy? There are some timeless concepts that lie at the heart of most successful strategies. This article is the first in a series that will unravel these foundational components, equipping you, the nonprofit leader, to craft a strategy that will shine bright in your strategic plan.
Nonprofit strategic planning continues to evolve. As a nonprofit leader, you might be asking what trends are emerging in strategic plans. Is your plan, your strategies, and your nonprofit keeping up?
Join us as we dissect aspects of strategic plans to discover what developments or changes are happening in nonprofit strategy.
Mission creep refers to the gradual change in the focus of an organization from its original mission to other areas that may not be aligned with its core values. Sometimes this is referenced as mission drift. In this article, we'll explore what mission creep is, why it happens, and ways to manage it.
We've created a directory of nonprofit podcasts that inform and entertain. And we're not keeping it to ourselves. We believe in sharing valuable resources with fellow mission-driven professionals like you. So, check out our podcast list and discover some amazing audio content for the nonprofit sector.
In this blog post, you'll find out about the team effort that went into creating Mission Met's statement on DEIJ. It’s our hope that sharing the step-by-step process we took, including areas for improvement, will inform and inspire you as a mission-driven leader to develop your own statement (and subsequent strategy) dedicated to these core principles.
Strategic planning can be your nonprofit's secret sauce, the magic ingredient that turns your mission into impactful outcomes. I know this because I’ve seen it happen over and over again for more than two decades. At Mission Met, we've dedicated ourselves to simplifying this process for you. Get ready to dive into five proven strategic planning hacks that can truly revolutionize your organization.
As a key team member of a nonprofit, you already have a strong passion for making a positive difference in the world. However, it's easy to feel like your message isn't being heard by a wider audience. That's where podcasts come in - they allow you to share your organization's story and mission with a community of supporters who are eager to listen. Whether you're new to podcast interviews or have done many before, it's essential to approach each one with the right preparation and mindset. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your next podcast appearance.
Do you feel like there is never enough time in the day to work on your nonprofit’s strategy? You are not alone! Nonprofit leaders often share this sentiment due to numerous urgent and competing demands such as taking care of personnel issues, fundraising, grant proposal writing, engaging stakeholders, communicating with the board, and on and on. Although there isn't a quick fix to find more time, fortunately, with the use of some tools, making time for strategy and other priorities doesn’t need to feel like such a daunting task. Let’s explore ways to make strategic planning more manageable each week by using the Eisenhower Time Management Matrix and the Focus Funnel.
As a nonprofit leader, are you looking for your team to increase efficiency and productivity, improve communication and make better decisions? Creating a positive culture by implementing values and practices may be the answer.
With all of the recent news about artificial intelligence (AI), it got me thinking about the potential impact of AI on strategic planning — my area of expertise. So I did a little experiment: I went to ChatGPT and asked it to craft a strategic plan for a fictitious organization. Check out what happened next in this article.
This article was written by Sara McKeown White, LCPC, the executive director of the Mental Health Coalition of Teton Valley. She and her team have been engaged in Mission Met’s strategic planning cohort program with other nonprofits in Idaho’s Teton Valley. It explains how a regular email process has helped build their relationships with each other and their strategic plan.
I often notice that a nonprofit’s success comes down to one discipline — a focus on doing one thing very, very well. A matrix map is a powerful tool for visualizing the connection between an organization's activities and its financial profitability. Learn more in this article about how this tool can help you focus.
Every nonprofit has its own mission and goals, but in order to truly make a difference and reach your audience, you need a strong brand and a clear voice. But how do you go about finding your brand and voice as a nonprofit? In this post, we’ll explore some key steps you can take to discover and define what makes your organization unique, why it’s important to know your audience, and more about your tone and branding.
Vince Lombardi and John Madden emphasize a similar core strategy for coaching as we do with our strategic planning customers: Be clear on your end in mind – your vision.
The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank serves as a reminder to all nonprofits: bad things can happen when you keep all your eggs in one basket.
Here are four practical tips that will make your nonprofit’s strategic planning less stressful while also strengthening your leadership, exciting your board, and building your organization’s capacity.
Transforming your nonprofit from a reactive to a proactive operation will involve changing mindsets, systems, and people. This article will provide you with a framework that will help you understand the different approaches to change and also highlight how strategic planning will help your nonprofit prioritize core actions that will tackle complex matters in ways that are sustainable.
For a nonprofit executive director, performance reviews can be a great opportunity to reflect on accomplishments and set goals for the future. Want to know the best way to begin a nonprofit executive director review? Here is an explanation of a best practice and a template.
In nonprofit management, navigating donation processes can be tough. A recent webinar with Mission Met Co-founder Ricky Chilcott shared innovative strategies to make it easier.