Which should a startup nonprofit do first, a business plan or a strategic plan, or are both basically the same thing?
I think the terms business plan and strategic plan are interchangeable. Because start-ups face lots of challenges, I often add rigor to the planning process by "working backwards." Here's what I mean: If I were starting a non-profit, I would pick a point 2-3 years in the future and describe everything about the organization at that point - sources of funds, costs, number of employees, marketing and outreach programs, etc. Once that description is completed, it needs to be checked for reasonableness by asking questions such as "is it likely that the organization can have funding support of $x in 2-3 years, why or why not?" Finding and doing research on peer organizations is a good way to check for reasonableness. Once the future picture is deemed reasonable, then I work backwards to today and map out all of the steps that need to happen to achieve that future for the organization. That map of how to get from today to the future state of the organization is the backbone of the business plan. For me, working backwards forces those doing the planning to ask and answer the tough questions of on-going support, staffing, marketing, etc. before the crush of day-to-day operations makes it hard to step back and make good strategic decisions. I hope you find this answer helpful.
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It would be useful to hear you reflect further on the the particularities that a non-profit might require compared to a typical business plan. Do you see them as virtually the same, mostly the same, quite different, radically different and in what ways. My sense is that it really does depend on the non-profit, just as it depends on the business. If you are in a fairly well-travelled space, you might have a better sense of the future. If you are a discovery-driven enterprise, non-profit or for-profit, the planning looks rather different.
»» Posted by: IngenuityArts on February 8, 2010 02:40 PM