The Nonprofit FAQ: Planning
Select an FAQ (30):
| What's a good program development strategy? Here's is a suggested outline, along with several guidelines. |
| An Online Tool to Support Strategic Planning This website leads users through a strategic planning exercise online. |
| Are marketing research and market research the same thing? Market research refers to an analysis of a specific market, while Marketing Research is a continuous and ongoing effort to collect information across a broad spectrum of things for marketing and decision-making purposes. |
| Can I use a model to help draft my agency's strategic plan? A strategic plan needs to be closely tied to the organization's needs and situation. Borrowing someone else's is a risky temptation. Here are some other suggestions. |
| Criteria for Nonprofits' Operating Reserves This article by Tom Raffa discusses nonprofit organizations need to maintain the balance between operating income and expenses to be prepared to weather periods with revenue shortfalls. |
| Do Foundations Ever Go Out of Existence? Some are set up that way by the founders. The Markey Foundation produced a handbook on the process of dissolution - From Foundation News and Commentary. |
| How can I plan a communications program for my nonprofits' work? A website offers a free tool for careful planning of communications efforts. |
| How do I define my programs so people will understand? Check perceptions with people who know you. |
| How do I set my marketing strategy? You sit down with your board, your key staff, and other interested parties and talk through the key issues facing your organization. Then you should address the 4 P's. |
| How do we change our mission statement? You need a careful and inclusive process. |
| How do we develop and evaluate programs? Guidelines to develop and evaluate programs |
| How Do We Evaluate the Board of Directors? The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits suggests it be done annually, and offers some criteria. More information is added from the Free Management Library. |
| How should a nonprofit prepare before hiring a grantwriter? Advance preparation is needed to make the most of a professional fundraiser. |
| How will we know what volunteers can do at our organization? Some key questions to ask as part of a review |
| Policies for Financial Accountability Here is a sample of a detailed list of policies governing how the board of a larger nonprofit might deal with financial oversight and controls. |
| Resources about Management of Nonprofit Organizations An annotated list of some online services that are focused on the challenges of running nonprofits (mostly in the US) |
| Resources for many types of planning Free Management Library offers resources for a variety of types of planning. |
| Resources for organizational change Numerous driving forces are provoking change as seldom seen before. Here are some online resources for managing organizational change. |
| Some simple marketing ideas to get started at low cost? Add a marketing perspective to routine communications activities. |
| Weathering Funding Reductions and Financial Uncertainty This Nonprofit Quarterly Article authored by Thomas Raffa and Robert Cocchiaro presents a basic framework for dealing with financial uncertainty. |
| What are the steps of a strategic planning process? The CompassPoint of San Francisco offers one outline |
| What is a strategic plan? The answer to the question: How will we accomplish our goals? |
| What is business planning? How is it carried out? A business plan specifies your nonprofit's business idea. It's sometimes needed for funding or to justify a new program. The plan often includes a market study, strategic plan and financial projections. |
| What is project management? How is it carried out? Project management is a method of planning used to effectively and efficiently reach a major goal, such as developing a program or building a facility. |
| What is strategic planning? Strategic planning can be used to determine mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities, timelines, etc. |
| What should our mission statement say? Purpose. Business. Values. Beneficiaries. |
| What to do when the board gets too involved? Some sensible rules to guide board members in choosing the right course. |
| Where can I find information about capital campaigns? Online outlines of the process from campaign consultants and contract managers. |
| Where to start when creating a nonprofit Resources and advice for use at the very beginning. |
| Why do we develop an annual operating plan? The strategic plan can only carry you so far |