Strategic Planning Archives - Page 2 of 4

11 Jun, 2025

Ask Nicole: How to Fix Cross-Sector Collaboration Challenges

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-06-17T10:58:57-04:00June 11th, 2025|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Ask Nicole, Community Partnerships, Cross-Sector Collaborations, Strategic Planning|0 Comments

Have a question you’d like featured? Let me know.

If you’ve ever wondered how to fix cross-sector collaboration challenges where no one’s on the same page, you’re not alone.

Cross-sector collaborating is where different types of organizations, such as government, nonprofit, and private sector, work together to address complex societal issues.

This sounds great in theory until you realize that no one’s on the same page, timelines and priorities clash, and decisions are being made in silos.

If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated with a well-meaning cross-sector collaboration that just isn’t working, you’re not alone.

But collaboration isn’t just about bringing people together to work towards a common goal—it’s about understanding the dynamics that quietly (and not-so-quietly) block progress.

Let’s unpack five common reasons collaborations break down—and how to get back on track.

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1 May, 2024

Ask Nicole: What Would It Take for Our Organization to No Longer Exist?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2024-05-01T13:30:42-04:00May 1st, 2024|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Ask Nicole, Community Impact, Strategic Planning|0 Comments

Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

In evaluation, we assess a program or service’s impact to understand whether anticipated outcomes were achieved based on the program’s activities and resources, and whether changes in a participants’ behavior, attitude, or actions can be attributed to the program or something else.

But what is impact, and who gets to define this for your work?

In the early years of my social work career, my goal was to be as efficient as possible in helping clients advocate for themselves.

Along the way, I thought about my ideal outcome for my clients: They would no longer be on my caseload.

My clients would know how to advocate for themselves, know exactly where to go and who to call. Their voices would be heard, and actions who be taken to get their ideal outcome. They wouldn’t feel intimidated by medical professionals, and can effectively communicate and collaborate with all of their service providers. They stay on top of their healthcare, and are proactive when things don’t feel right. They would also know that their diagnoses don’t define them, and they can still achieve their dreams in spite of.

Until that day comes, the role of social workers and service organizations like the one I worked for will exist.

Look at your organization’s mission and vision statements.

In order to define your impact, ask yourself:

What would it take for our organization to no longer exist?

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6 Dec, 2023

Ask Nicole: Why Strategic Plans Usually Fail

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2023-12-06T10:52:04-05:00December 6th, 2023|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Ask Nicole, staff capacity, Strategic Planning|0 Comments

It’s that time of year, where we think ahead to what we want to accomplish in the new year.

If you’re a nonprofit leader, strategic planning might be top of mind for you.

Whether you’re considering the best time to start strategic planning or determining when to review progress, a strategic plan serves as a roadmap of your organizational priorities.

It’s also possible to fail at strategic planning. Here are seven reasons why a strategic planning failure happens:

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13 Jul, 2023

Closest to the Problem, Closest to the Solution

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2023-07-13T11:29:53-04:00July 13th, 2023|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Capacity Building, Partnerships, Strategic Planning, Sustainability|0 Comments

When you’re closest to the problem, you’re closest to the solution.

I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of philanthropy.

Specifically, how funders engage with and invest in communities and nonprofits. Most nonprofits have an ambivalent relationship with philanthropy. They need funding to survive, but also wished they didn’t have to depend on philanthropy to sustain their work and livelihood.

You know your community better than your funder. Yet funders often have the upper hand as they hold the purse strings.

However, there’s a phrase that goes: “Those who are closest to the problem, are closest to the solution“. This suggests that the people most familiar with or deeply connected to a problem are usually better equipped at finding the solution.

I’ve heard this phrase before, and recently read it in Nonprofit Quarterly’s article “Why Grantmakers Need to Break Their Restriction Habit—Permanently“. The article, focusing on the unintended harm restricted grantmaking has caused to nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve, proposed a new solution:

“Restricted grants imply that funders can see more than the nonprofit about the need, the situation on the ground, the best way to respond. The funders who actually think this way are few and far between. More common are the funders who believe what I believe—that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution; that nonprofit leaders have better, real-time information to make smarter choices than I ever could; and that nearly all nonprofit leaders are creative, smart, and honest.”

“Those closest to the problem are closest to the solution” is reflective of how nonprofits can make impact over time. Here’s how you can leverage this:

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15 Jun, 2022

Try This: The SOAR Analysis

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2022-06-15T15:49:19-04:00June 15th, 2022|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Strategic Planning, Try This|0 Comments

This this activity and let me know how it goes.

You’ve probably heard of the SWOT analysis. Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s considered a traditional component of the strategic planning process.

It’s useful, for the most part.

What I mean by this is that, a glaring issue with the SWOT analysis is that the SWOT analysis has a tendency to focus on deficits within an organization, with the intent of fixing issues and problems.

This can often be draining to your stakeholders to always think of the problems.

Another issue with the SWOT analysis is that everyone has to agree that what’s considered a “weakness” or a “threat”, as much as their needs to be agreement on what’s a “strength” or a “opportunity”. This is really based on your perception.

Dismissing the SWOT analysis doesn’t mean dismissing potential barriers to your strategic success, but it does prevent us from creating experiences that’s more engaging during the strategic planning process.

Enter the SOAR analysis.

This activity is ideal for:

Board of directors, staff, and other stakeholders involved in your strategic planning process

Here’s what you’ll need:

Set aside a full day (or several) for this activity, where you can work with minimal uninterrupted (as we’re still in a pandemic, determine how this will work for an in-person setting or a virtual setting) Make sure to schedule breaks!
Whatever setup you use to capture your process (laptop, pen and paper, whiteboard, etc.) but make sure it’s kept in a place that you can refer back to

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