Strategic plan template for nonprofits: A free guide to achieving your goals

As members of a nonprofit board, you know the work your nonprofit does is vital, but the path forward may feel a bit murky sometimes. You’re not alone in this. Whether you’re part of a global powerhouse or a small local charity, the pressure to fulfill the mission, continuously adapt and meet the needs of your community is immense.

This is where strategic planning comes in. Think of a strategic plan as your roadmap — a straightforward guide that helps you focus your energy and resources on what truly matters. But where to start? Fortunately, there are tools designed to make this daunting task much more manageable. By using the right resources, you can create a strategic plan that aligns everyone in your organization, from executives to volunteers, keeping everyone moving in the same direction with clarity and purpose.

A strategic plan template is one of those invaluable tools. It ensures your board considers every aspect — from the organization’s mission and values to how it will deliver and evaluate services. Discover how a strategic planning template can help you as you embark upon this essential process to lead your nonprofit.

The benefits of a strategic planning template

Strategic planning templates yield many advantages and help your board stay focused and organized during this important annual process. They:

• Simplify what could otherwise be a complex process.
• Streamline information with pre-formatting.
• Improve the clarity of the information.
• Create efficiency and save time.
• Reduce errors.
• Ensure consistency and uniformity.
• Require little or no training.

Relatable Nonprofits shares some humor on the process: “the first day of our strategic planning session will be a deep dive into why we ignored our last plan”. But joking aside, let’s look next at what a strategic plan template for a nonprofit looks like.

What should a strategic plan template for nonprofits include?

Here are some useful elements to incorporate into your nonprofit’s strategic plan template:

• Background: Information including name, address, founding date, needs the nonprofit fills and geographical location served.
• Organizational description: Brief overview of the organization, including history, primary donors, key programs and activities, major achievements and other notable highlights.
• Mission statement: Statement that describes your nonprofit’s current purpose and reflects those actions your nonprofit takes to achieve this purpose.
• Vision statement: Aspirational statement that describes a desired future state or ultimate goal.
• Values statement: Statement that reflects your nonprofit’s core values as the group strives to meet the mission.
• SWOT analysis: Framework that describes the nonprofit’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
• Goals and strategies: Statement of the nonprofit’s short- and long-term goals and the necessary strategies to achieve them.
• Key performance indicators: Set of quantifiable measurements the nonprofit can use to gauge progress toward its goals.
• Financial projections: Report of your nonprofit’s income, expenses and future financial projections.
• Executive summary: Concise summary that highlights the strategic goals and when and how the nonprofit will implement the plan.
• Approvals: Designated area for board member names, signatures and dates of approval.

These are the most common elements of a strategic plan template, but your board may also consider adding sections for other key things such as:

• Stakeholders.
• Competitive analysis.
• Marketing strategy.
• Fundraising initiatives.

As you finetune the elements of your strategic plan template, be sure to store and safeguard it in your BoardEffect board management solution. Here, your board and committee members can access this template and other important documents easily from any mobile device.

[Webinar] Getting your nonprofit board on the same page: Strategies for alignment, communication and collaboration

Are you struggling to keep your nonprofit board aligned on strategic priorities? Join our expert panel for a practical and engaging discussion on building a more cohesive and high-performing board. We’ll cover communication strategies, goal-setting practices and technology solutions that can enhance collaboration. With case studies and actionable steps, you’ll gain valuable insights to help your board work more effectively. Register now, even if you can’t attend live — we’ll send you the recording!  

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Using board management software for strategic planning

As boards evaluate the goals and challenges of their organizations, strategic plans can provide a roadmap for directors and executives to successfully deliver services to their stakeholders and communities.

Store your strategic plan along with key documents in the Resource Library where board members and leaders can access it easily along with past strategic plans, up-to-date information and helpful reports. It can be attached to meeting agendas for regular discussions and updates.

Secure workrooms can be set up for your working group or strategic committee, facilitating collaboration as you go through your strategic planning process.

BoardEffect provides maximum support for your strategic planning efforts while increasing efficiency, accuracy and transparency overall.

Request a demo today to find out how to streamline your strategic planning process.