YOU’VE BUILT A STRATEGIC PLAN… NOW WHAT?!
GUEST POST BY AMY MAUSER
Amy of Team Kat & Mouse has spent over 2 decades building and leading fundraising teams within non-profits. She always asks the right question to get everyone involved in discovering the best solution. ENJOY!
Your strategic plan is a great start!
This shared clarity of purpose shapes the story your team and Board want to tell your donors, prospects, and alumni (or past program participants).
Critical to implementing this new plan will be what happens after the Board retreat and staff meetings to hash out the Strategic Plan - what happens?
For too many organizations the next step is to place the neatly bound plan on a bookshelf… and review it in 5 years.
But we’ve often seen strategic plans that include “communicate more regularly” or “improve major gifts stewardship.” If you have broad goals but don’t know how to turn them into reality, you’re not alone. We can partner with you to develop the specific steps needed to get closer to your overall goal.
Your strategy may be to reach out to your constituents - we will work with you to develop messaging and plans for consistent outreach.
Does your online presence represent the (maybe refined) vision for the organization’s future? We will look with you at website design and branding options that will help you to share and promote the important work you’re doing in a way that looks and feels like the organization you planned.
At Team Kat & Mouse we define ourselves by our support of the launch from your strategic plan and vision setting exercises into an action plan. This TACTICAL PLAN is created with tasks, timetables, and identification of the staff and Board members responsible for turning your strategic goals into a reality. And don’t worry… we don’t set it and forget it… Team Kat & Mouse stays with you to coach you and your team through the implementation of this plan.
Once you’ve agreed on a mission, vision and goals together - your team will need to implement new processes and tactics to share the news with your community and see success. We help you identify the ideal fundraising tactics for improved outreach, increased visibility, and revenue across all channels.
No lingo here - we’re also on board to train your Board and staff!
What are the channels? Individuals, Corporations, Foundations, Government grants, Legacy Giving, and for some organizations - Program Revenue.
We’ll work with you to look at the CRM that captures your donor data (it may also track volunteers and/or program participants).
Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect - Don’t worry if it’s just a spreadsheet!
The strategic planning process may have revealed strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in your data. We can take those insights (or find them with you) and build a tactical plan for fundraising to fill the gaps. Do you need to update your technology? We can review options with you too.
We won’t fundraise for you but we’ll coach you through the process of identifying prospects, building a sense of urgency, and sharing your story within the structure of a nimble team that will respond to changing priorities and learnings.
Our coaching might include meeting your acquisition goals with an expanded direct mail program. Or maybe your acquisition is all in place but you need to put tactics in place to perfect your stewardship of those new (or not so new) donors.
Our coaching might include corporate sponsorship decks (always putting the donor’s needs first), grant prospecting (and application writing - we do offer this direct fundraising service), or creating a call to action for planned giving prospects.
Our coaching might include helping you to ask donors the right questions to identify their why - why are they engaged in your mission? Maybe it’s a Valid Business Reason (the corporate VBR) or maybe they have a personal connection (a personal VBR… we’ll teach you about those!).
