Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook, Second Edition [Paperback]

Michael Allison (Author), Jude Kaye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0471445819 | ISBN-13: 978-0471445814 | Edition: 2

Your total guide to putting a powerful management tool to work in your organization

Why strategic planning? Because a well wrought strategic plan helps you set priorities and acquire and allocate the resources needed to achieve your goals. It provides a framework for analyzing and quickly adapting to future challenges. And it helps all board and staff members focus more clearly on your organization's priorities, while building commitment and promoting cooperation and innovation

But to be effective, your plan will need to address the special needs of the nonprofit sector. And for more than a decade, Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations has been the number-one source of guidance on all facets of strategic planning for managers at nonprofits of every size and budget.

This thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded edition arms you with the expert knowledge and tools you need to develop and implement surefire strategic plans, including tested-in-the-trenches worksheets, checklists, and tables--in print and on the companion website--along with a book-length case study that lets you observe strategic planning in action. Packed with real-world insights and practical pointers, it shows you how to:

• Develop a clear mission, vision, and set of values
• Conduct SWOT analyses and program evaluations
• Assess client needs and determine stakeholder concerns
• Set priorities and develop core strategies, goals, and objectives
• Balance the dual bottom lines of mission and money
• Write and implement a solid strategic plan
• Develop a user-friendly annual work plan
• Establish planning cycles, gauge progress, and update strategies

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This comprehensive book/disk set shows you how to create and implement an effective strategic plan using a simple, seven-phase process that covers everything from defining your mission and setting your course to initiating, monitoring, and streamlining your plan. The workbook is designed for nonprofits of all shapes, sizes, and budgets, and can be easily adapted to fit any time frame. The package comes with field-tested worksheets, checklists, and tables in both print and disk formats, plus a sample case study that demonstrates strategic planning in action from start to finish. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Your total guide to putting a powerful management tool to work in your organization

Why strategic planning? Because a well wrought strategic plan helps you set priorities and acquire and allocate the resources needed to achieve your goals. It provides a framework for analyzing and quickly adapting to future challenges. And it helps all board and staff members focus more clearly on your organization's priorities, while building commitment and promoting cooperation and innovation.

But to be effective, your plan will need to address the special needs of the nonprofit sector. And for more than a decade, Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations has been the number-one source of guidance on all facets of strategic planning for managers at nonprofits of every size and budget.

This thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded edition arms you with the expert knowledge and tools you need to develop and implement surefire strategic plans, including tested-in-the-trenches worksheets, checklists, and tables—in print and on the companion website—along with a book-length case study that lets you observe strategic planning in action. Packed with real-world insights and practical pointers, it shows you how to:

• Develop a clear mission, vision, and set of values
• Conduct SWOT analyses and program evaluations
• Assess client needs and determine stakeholder concerns
• Set priorities and develop core strategies, goals, and objectives
• Balance the dual bottom lines of mission and money
• Write and implement a solid strategic plan
• Develop a user-friendly annual work plan
• Establish planning cycles, gauge progress, and update strategies

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (July 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471445819
• ISBN-13: 978-0471445814
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
  • #67 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Systems & Planning

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Blueprint for Every Strategic Planning Project May 17, 2001

By Joe Bruce

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is hands-down the best reference for structuring and executing a strategic planning process. The layout is pleasing to the eye and the content is logical and well thought out with many practical checklists and worksheets (many included on the disk). I use it as a reference in my consulting business and this book can be applied to for-profit companies too. Highly recommended.

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Source Book March 22, 2005

By Paul Mesaglio

Format:Paperback

To start the process of understanding strategic planning, you need to take some courses, speak to lots of people, try quite a few things out (many of which will be dead ends) and read quite a few books. The books need to be mulled over for quite some time, and from the morass of conflicting information, you pull out something useful.

Now, what books should you read? Clearly, I haven't read, nor am I ever likely to read them all, but, Strategic Planning for Non Profit Organizations is definitely one of them.

It is indeed a practical guide which serves everyone well in nonprofits and is eminently adaptable to Profit and Govenrnmental organisations.

The pages I went back to constantly included that containing the map of the strategic planning process (p11 1997 edition) and The Language of Planning table and explanations (P16-17). They represent an excellent summary after reading the book.

After my third read, when I had a greater appreciation of the context in which planning is done, I thought it might even be THE text that everyone looks for, but, alas, it crashed and burned at one crucial point which is why I only give it 4 stars. As with all books of this type it did the "hand-waving, hey presto trick" in attempting to join two critical components - core strategies and programs. One moment we get to core strategies - no problems (Step 4.3, p116-123). A few sections later we get to writing goals and objectives for programs (Step 4.6 p130-143). There should have been a more explicit section on how the programs relate to the strategies. The reason this can't be done is that any given program relates to more than one strategy and invariably, all books on strategy stick to the hierarchical model (not a network model).... The assumption is always one of mutually exclusive categories because that makes things easier.

Now each of these sections, individually, have a wealth of useful information. It's the relationship between them that's the problem. The join was not only not smooth, it was not existent. Not to worry, other books which I have read have solved this problem only to create a different problem elsewhere - which is why you need to read a suite of books to get proper context.

Despite everything I have said, it really is a great book. I will certainly be using it time and time again into the future because of the wealth of insight it contains. Read more ›

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical tool June 20, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The problem with so many books that deal with this subject matter is that they talk a lot of great theory but fall short when it comes to bringing things down to earth. This book, however, succeeds on both accounts. It offers not only a concrete step-by-step format, but solid rationales for the "why" question. Templates for the various forms that can be used with your group are an extra plus. Highly recommended!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Strategic leaders at NPOs should read this book April 23, 2006

By Jeff Lippincott VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

The authors of this book do a nice job of condensing the content of their book into a diagram at page 15 that they entitle: "The Strategic Planning Process." Then they explain the diagram chapter by chapter. The chapters are full of good information and lots of exhibits, worksheets, and real-life examples. Job well done! I recommend to anybody interested in preparing a business plan for a for-profit or a nonprofit to read this book. And I also recommend all strategic leaders (i.e. executive directors, board chairs, and CEOs) read this book. It should be helpful to them in performing their job duties.

The book basically points out the following series of questions and/or tasks a strategic leader much consider when doing his or her job:

1. What is the organization doing now?
2. What are its strengths?
3. What are its weaknesses?
4. Are we heading in the direction we want?
5. What must we change to get back on track?
6. Prepare a written plan for change.
7. Implement the plan for change.
8. Monitor the implementation.
9. Reevaluate the plan for change.

I would have liked the book better if the authors had more accurately described what a business plan is, and what it is used for. The authors seem to think that a business plan is something that a for-profit entity creates in order to get loans from lenders or capital from investors. While it is true this is one of the reasons for writing a business plan, the more important reason a plan is written is that it acts as a roadmap for the leader and management of the business to follow towards success. Most businesses that do not have a written business plan are doomed for failure. NPOs without a business plan will probably not be successful either....

Another shortcoming I found in the book was that the authors do not point out that NPOs need a "business plan" just as much as does a for-profit. NPOs also need a roadmap to follow. Whether the authors want to admit it or not, a business plan for an NPO is pretty much the same document as a business plan for an organization seeking profits. The difference between the two plans exists in the marketing section - and that is the only difference. NPOs need to market to their customers/clients and to philanthropists that have a connection and commitment to their cause, whereas for-profit businesses need only market to their customers/clients.

Any NPO should have a business plan starting on the day it comes into existence. The strategic planning process described in this book can be used to create that written business plan. Therefore, this book is for NPO founders. After the business plan exists and it is being used as a roadmap to success, then the effectiveness of the plan must be monitored regularly. When it appears the plan is not proving effective, then the strategic planning process described in this book should be used again to implement change to get the NPO back on track to success.

Strategic leadership is a critical role that any leader must play, and if he or she can't, then she has no business assuming a leadership role. A "leader" who does not know how to perform strategic leadership is merely a manager, not a leader. I think it is a sad state of affaires that so many executive directors and board chairs are clueless when it comes to strategic planning - thus they are just managers. The authors, by writing this book, have created a resource for wanta-be leaders to use to learn how to do an important and critical part of their job - lead strategically. Read more ›

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Strategic Planning 101 for Nonprofit Neophytes September 4, 2001

By "cbanish"

Format:Paperback

Step-by-step advice regarding setting up a nonprofit strategic plan, mission/vision, environment assessment, and more. Good case studies compliment the strategies. Nice sections on monitoring plans. Templates included on diskette very helpful.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than anything else out there July 23, 2004

By Kathy Consultant

Format:Paperback

I have reviewed most of the strategic planning books for nonprofit organizations, and this is the best I have seen--no contest. It avoids the simplistic "easy as pie" approach of other planning books, but is nonetheless clear, logical and easy to follow. It recommends methodologies for protracted planning processes and much more modest efforts. The worksheets are terrific and it's great having them on disk for easy duplication.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Strategic planning: all you need to know March 8, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is an excellent guide to developing a strategic plan, from conception to execution. While emphasizing the fact that the process is messy and nonlinear, this book enables one to take the first step, plan to plan, and decide how indepth the focus needs to be. There is appropriate emphasis on the need to develop mission and vision, and detailed worksheets for every question that may be relevant to your organization's situation. The diskette provides all the templates for putting it together. Highly recommended.