How Do I Develop a Strategy?
What impact will we hold ourselves accountable for? How will we achieve it ? How can we expand our impact? How will we organize to get it done and what will it cost?
Together, the answers to these questions provide a framework for developing a pragmatic, specific plan of action—in other words, they constitute a strategy. A strategy is the key to making a nonprofit’s mission actionable. It sets clear goals, which allow organizations to measure progress and help make a compelling case for funding. It focuses the work done by leaders, staff, board members and volunteers. It also allows nonprofit leaders to be clear about the “why” behind the decisions they make and the roles and responsibilities they assign.
The following materials provide a foundation for nonprofit leaders who seek to develop or hone their organization’s strategy. Please explore our “deeper dives” section, as well, for other materials that focus on strategy-related issues.
Getting Started:
(Stanford Social Innovation Review; Susan J. Colby, Nan Stone, Paul Carttar)
Getting critical resource decisions right—allocating time, talent, and dollars to the activities that have the greatest impact—is what "strategy" is all about. In this article, originally published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, authors Susan Colby, Nan Stone, and Paul Carttar draw on client experience to discuss the challenge of mapping limited resources against seemingly unlimited needs.
(Harvard Business Review; Jeffrey L. Bradach, Thomas J. Tierney, & Nan Stone)
Originally published in the December 2008 issue of the Harvard Business review, this article explores the one constant among nonprofits whose executive directors and boards are committed to increasing their organizations’ impact: the willingness to confront a few, essential questions about strategy, capital, and talent.
(Stanford Social Innovation Review; Alex Neuhoff, Bob Searle)
Increasing productivity can be a powerful way for nonprofit organizations to multiply the impact of their work. In this article, originally published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Bridgespan partners Alex Neuhoff and Robert Searle explore how three nonprofits succeeded in reducing costs without sacrificing the quality of their services.
What It Is and Why It Matters
(Bridgespan Group; Kelly Campbell, Betsy Haley)
The business-planning process offers nonprofit leaders a rare opportunity to step back and look at their organizations as a whole. As a result, it encourages strategic thinking, not only while the plan is being created, but also as implementation leads to new challenges and the need to make new decisions and tradeoffs.
Deeper Dives:
(The Bridgespan Group; Jeffrey L. Bradach, Thomas J. Tierney, Nan Stone)
Bridgespan Chairman Thomas Tierney discusses how philanthropists can ensure that their resources are not only making a difference, but also making the difference they intend.
(Stanford Social Innovation Review; Jeffrey L. Bradach)
Bridgespan Founding Partner Jeffrey L. Bradach discusses the challenges and rewards of replicating social programs, in this article that was originally published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
(The Bridgespan Group; Marta Garcia Abadia, Johnny Lin)
This toolkit outlines a straightforward way to discover the true costs of nonprofit programs, and understand the impact of those costs on resource allocation and true funding needs.
(The Bridgespan Group; Alex Cortez, William Foster, Katie Smith Milway)
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) can be a highly valuable strategic tool for nonprofits. This article explores the potential of nonprofit M&A, and suggests lessons for nonprofit leaders and philanthropists, based on examples from the field of Child and Family Services.
(Chronicle of Philanthropy; Jeffrey L. Bradach, Nan Stone, Thomas J. Tierney)
Now is not the time for nonprofit organizations to spend precious dollars on anything that doesn't produce an immediate benefit. Or is it? This column (originally published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy) shows how asking four hard questions helped a Connecticut nonprofit weather the loss of 40 percent of its funding.
Using Strategic Planning to Increase the Impact of Advocacy
(The Bridgespan Group; Samantha Levine, Alan Tuck, Allana Jackson)
The Justice Project was awash in opportunities to effect positive change in the criminal justice system, but its leaders were concerned that the organization was in danger of spreading itself too thin. To help clarify which options to pursue, they engaged in the organization’s first formal strategic-planning process; this case study details the process.