Sara Higgins, Vice President & COO
Congratulations! Your organization’s board has exercised one of their most important roles—setting the vision and direction for the organization via a strategic plan.
Now, staff and/or volunteers have the overarching guidance and sideboards to operate for the next few years. But, the goals the board set are broad and lofty. Inspirational, yes, but their direct relationship to daily work is not exactly clear.
There’s a work plan for that.
What is an annual work plan?
An annual work plan breaks down the strategic plan into a measurable, step-by-step process for accomplishing targeted work.
Everyone may agree to open a new building, for example, but many steps will come before the ribbon cutting. A work plan puts first things first, focusing attention on the work to be accomplished just in the year ahead, prioritizing it, assigning a timeline to it and identifying who will do the work.
An annual work plan details the work to be done.
If fundraising for the new building is a project identified for year one and two, a work plan will break that work down further—appoint a fundraising committee in month one, establish a fundraising target in month two, identify 500 donor prospects in month three through four, etc.
Note that each step is specific and measurable. At the end of each month, progress against the work plan can be assessed and reported: Was a committee appointed in month one? If not, why not?
Who is responsible?
Developing an annual work plan requires dedicated time and thought, and it is the staff’s responsibility (or those implementing the strategic plan in an all-volunteer organization). Only the staff will have the insight required to connect the board’s goals to the “boots on the ground” work of the organization.
What else?
A corresponding budget must also accompany the work plan. For example, if a database upgrade is required in order to efficiently and effectively identify donor prospects, that must be accounted for to avoid derailing planned work.
A budget is also one important and appropriate way of engaging the board in the work plan. They should not be involved in every detail, but their approval of a budget, informed by the work plan, authorizes work to proceed under that plan.
Work plans (and budgets) document strategic plan implementation.
There are many ways of documenting, and there are many terms that can be used—strategies, objectives, tactics, and more. However you choose to capture the details of the work that needs to get done, the important thing is that you do so.
It is far more pleasant, efficient, and productive when everyone is “singing from the same song book.”
This Month’s Non-Profit Whisperer
Sara Higgins has 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector – including as an executive director – with a focus on planning, building infrastructure, program and project management, community outreach, advocacy, and fundraising.