Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last, Third Edition

Carrying Out Your Strategic Planning Process

Now here’s the detail: the six principal components of strategic planning expanded into 20 carefully laid-out steps, all building one upon the other. However, despite the sequential order, planning is not necessarily linear. You may conduct some steps simultaneously, modify the order, or merge some steps. But be cautious about eliminating any steps. See Exhibit 6.4 for the list of steps.

Exhibit 6.4 Twenty Critical Steps in Strategic Planning

1. Formally agree to do planning.

2. Get ready to plan.

3. Engage key stakeholders in the planning process.

4. Articulate (or review) values.

5. Launch the process with board, staff, and planning committee.

6. Design the planning process and outline the information-gathering phase.

7. Gather the information, including market research as necessary. Compile and analyze the information and prepare it for distribution.

8. Design the decision-making process, typically some form of retreat.

9. Conduct the decision-making process and summarize results. This is it. This is where you choose and when you decide the big things.

10. Review (and possibly adjust) mission. (Or this is the point where you decide to go out of business.)

11. Determine goals and strategies.

12. Identify core competencies and supporting structures.

13. Define measures for success.

14. Assign time frames and entities responsible for strategies or action steps.

15. Describe financing.

16. Outline process to annualize the plan, including ...