Why Your Nonprofit’s Strategic Plan is Gathering Dust—and How to Fix It

Is your nonprofit still working from an outdated strategic plan? Or maybe strategic planning is that project you keep meaning to tackle but never quite get around to? If so, you’re not alone—and it might be time to rethink your approach.

Why Traditional Strategic Planning Falls Short

Many nonprofits follow an outdated model for strategic planning: gather the board, hire a consultant, and create a multi-year plan that outlines goals and timelines. This traditional method can end up falling short in several ways:

1. One-Size-Fits-All Timelines Goals often have their own natural timelines. Some, like completing a program evaluation, might require a year. Others, like crisis response, require immediate action. Unfortunately, a static one- or three-year strategic plan can’t effectively accommodate such variations.
2. Becoming Outdated Quickly Your plan may initially seem like the perfect roadmap, but as time passes, it often fails to account for new insights, evolving community needs, or emerging opportunities. If a plan isn’t regularly updated, it can quickly lose relevance.
3. Overwhelmed Boards Boards tasked with strategic planning often feel overwhelmed with the prospect and don't really have the information at their fingertips needed to come up with appropriate strategic goals.

A Better Approach: Iterative Strategic Planning

After years of helping nonprofits refine their strategic planning, I’ve developed an alternative approach, The Impact Method?, which emphasizes flexibility and alignment. Here’s an outline of how it works:

1. Frequent Planning Sessions Instead of a one-time process every few years, we recommend planning every two months. This iterative model allows your team to address new issues as they arise, adapt goals based on real-time feedback, and keep your plan actionable.
2. Customized Timelines for Goals With an iterative approach, you aren’t bound to set timelines. This way, some goals can be planned for long-term implementation, while others can be achieved in short, focused intervals. Your team is free to adjust timelines based on the true demands of each goal.
3. Empowering Staff to Lead Planning In The Impact Method?, strategic planning becomes a staff-led initiative, with the board offering oversight. Staff are empowered to continually update goals and reassess timelines in a way that directly aligns with on-the-ground realities, enhancing accountability and ownership.

The Benefits of Iterative Strategic Planning

Once organizations have adopted a two-month iterative planning model, here’s what we often see:

• Increased Strategic Thinking: Regular planning cycles sharpen everyone’s strategic skills, allowing team members to identify challenges and potential solutions more effectively.
• Greater Alignment Across Teams: Frequent planning aligns your team toward common goals and fosters collaboration. After six months, teams typically develop a strong, cohesive plan with goals tailored to organizational needs.
• Reduced Planning Fatigue: Traditional planning requires a “planning to plan” phase that slows progress. With regular sessions, your team knows the process inside out and can jump right in, saving time and energy.

Ready to Transform Your Planning Process?

If you’re ready to turn your strategic plan into a flexible, actionable tool that grows alongside your organization, I’d love to support you in making this change. This is one of the core transformations we help executive directors and nonprofit CEOs achieve in the THRiVE Program, a program that’s designed to equip nonprofit leaders like you with the tools and support needed to make a lasting impact. To learn more about THRiVE complete the simple application here >>

About the Author Sarah Olivieri is a coach and trainer for nonprofit leaders, helping them achieve greater impact with less overwhelm. She is the creator of The Impact Method?, a powerful framework that helps nonprofits simplify operations, improve capacity, and build aligned teams. Sarah has over two decades of nonprofit leadership experience, is the founder of PivotGround, and hosts the Inspired Nonprofit Leadership Newsletter and Podcast, where she offers weekly insights for nonprofit leaders.