How to Run a Strategic Planning Retreat (The Nonprofit Quick Guide Series)

Do you spend most of your day putting out fires? Is your staff all on the same page? Do you want your nonprofit to move forward and grow? Then you need to make or update your strategic plan. A good strategic plan pinpoints where your nonprofit is now, sets goals for where you want to go, and outlines how to get you there. More than a document sitting in your computer, a well-written strategic plan gives you direction, unites your organization, and gets your nonprofit to where you want it to be. So, how do you get started with strategic planning?

How to Run a Strategic Planning Retreat gives you a step-by-step blueprint for running a productive strategic planning retreat that gives you results. Find out how to overcome the objections, "We did that three or four years ago, and nothing changed" or "We're too busy putting out fires to waste time planning." Learn who needs to be involved in the planning. Find out how to structure an effective plan. See how you implement your plan so that your agency moves ahead.

How to Run a Strategic Planning Retreat will help you:

• Best prepare to plan so that you get the most out of the strategic planning experience
• Identify the key stakeholders who should be involved in your retreat
• Structure the retreat so that it is productive and leads to real change
• Structure the plan so that it gets implemented

If you don't know where you're going, you'll be sure to get there. Have a destination. Create a strategic plan. The first step in planning a retreat. In this book, we dive into the mechanics of planning that retreat(s).

Contents

Chapter One: A Word About Strategic Planning

Chapter Two: Planning to Plan

Chapter Three: Who Should Attend the Planning Retreat?

Chapter Four: Where and When Should You Hold the Retreat?

Chapter Five: Setting the Agenda

Chapter Six: Who Facilitates the Retreat?

Chapter Seven: Confirming or Establishing Mission, Vision, and Values

Chapter Eight: Setting Goals

Chapter Nine: Brainstorming

Chapter Ten: After the Retreat

Chapter Eleven: Bringing It All Together

How to Run a Strategic Planning Retreat is written for busy nonprofit executive directors and board members who want to run a successful strategic planning retreat. As a Nonprofit Quick Guide(TM), you can read it in one sitting or grab a few chapters over lunch. More importantly, it gives you practical advice that you can easily implement.