If you’re starting strategic planning and interviewing consultants, you might be wondering: What questions should I ask strategic planning consultants? Most organizations undertaking strategic planning choose to work with a consultant. There are incredible benefits to hiring a strategic planning consultant, rather than going it alone. But choosing the right consultant for your organization can still be challenging. Asking potential consultants a thoughtful set of questions can make all the difference. That’s why we’ve compiled some of the best questions clients have asked Funding for Good over ..read more

Mandy Pearce on The Nonprofit MBA Podcast Nonprofit Strategic Planning: Setting Your Organization Up for Success Nonprofit strategic planning enables nonprofit organizations to set and achieve their long-term goals effectively. It involves defining your nonprofit’s mission, assessing the current situation, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and developing a roadmap to guide your future direction and decision-making. Nonprofit strategic planning is a topic Funding for Good is especially passionate about. Effective nonprofit strategic planning requires a collaborative and iterative approach t ..read more

As leaders, we often think of strategic planning as a project for when things are already going well. We imagine tackling questions of how to grow—our budget, our impact and our teams. But planning isn’t just for the good times. There’s a strong relationship between strategic planning and risk management—and the two work especially well when paired together.   Risk Management on Our Minds The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is a shock to investors and Wall Street. Everyone’s wondering whether it’s a sign of things to come. Is a financial crisis brewing? While Silicon Valley Bank’s ..read more

On the heels of the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting, staff turnover and success are top of mind for many nonprofit leaders. And for good reason. Gallup research reveals that: The cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary—and that’s a conservative estimate. Turnover costs organizations time and money. Both of which are precious in the nonprofit sector. But turnover isn’t beyond leaders’ control. There are concrete, and often simple, steps you can take to hire and keep great staff.   Why Staff Leave Nonprofits Staff mem ..read more

One frequent question we hear from organizations is: What are the steps in strategic planning? Leaders, especially those looking to make do without hiring a strategic planning consultant, imagine there might be a nice simple checklist. Follow the steps one by one and, by the final step, you’ll have a perfect strategic plan. But while it is possible to break down the different steps in strategic planning—which we do below—there’s much more nuance to the process than a checklist can provide. Strategic planning is about listening, learning, and aligning. In the end, the biggest benefit of a strat ..read more

When your organization is getting started with a strategic planning process, “inspiring” might not be the first word that comes to mind. But in Funding for Good’s work with dozens of organizations, we’ve found that inspiration is exactly what the strategic planning process provides. So to help inspire you, we’ve gathered some of our favorite quotes about strategic planning. First though, if you’re struggling to get your planning process started, our guides on to How to Write a Strategic Planning RFP and How to Select and Work with a Strategic Planning Consultant can save you time and energy ..read more

As strategic planning consultants, here at Funding for Good we’re always looking for the latest research and statistics about strategic planning. What works? What doesn’t? How does strategic planning benefit organizations—and how can it be even more effective? When it comes to success, we’ve found that the most valuable part of strategic planning is the process, not the product. And the stats back this up. When we look at organizational challenges around strategy, it’s not about coming up with a plan, it’s about implementing your plan in day-to-day work. That includes building organizational a ..read more

Are flexible work policies right for your organization? One way to find out is through a strategic planning process. The debate about what works when it comes to “flex work” has been heating up. Major companies like Disney and Amazon have issued new policies requiring employees to return to in-office work. Yet even as some companies are pulling back on flexibility, research shows that employees increasingly value flexible work. As leaders, we all want to balance what our organizations need to succeed—and what our team members need to succeed in their roles. But sometimes the answer isn’t alway ..read more

Learn how to write a strategic planning RFP to attract the right consultant for your unique organization. Have you decided to invest in strategic planning for your organization, but aren’t sure where to start? Here at Funding for Good, we always recommend working with a consultant for strategic planning, rather than trying to go it alone. There are many reasons why hiring a strategic planning consultant benefits organizations, but saving time and money are among the top five. The first step in finding a great consultant is writing a strategic planning RFP or request for proposals. In this arti ..read more

Organizational leaders do a lot of planning. The ability to consistently design and implement project, program, and other plans can spell the difference between an organization’s long-term failure and success. In our work with hundreds of leaders and dozens of organizations, Funding for Good has seen just how critical planning really is. But making sure you’re doing the right planning at the right times—and for the right purposes—is just as important. With that in mind, we wanted to look at two types of planning that are not only essential but intertwined: operational planning and strategic pl ..read more