Strategic Plan

Whether your goal is to begin a capital campaign, increase your funding base, launch a new program or put an end to the yearly struggle of finding enough funds to exist, you need to have a plan. A Strategic Plan reveals root problems (and strengths) that often get overlooked in an organization's day to day hustle. Through the planning process, PCG helps you fashion solutions that are based on best practices and promote creative problem-solving.

Practical uses of a Strategic Plan

A Strategic Plan is a tool with three basic purposes: communication, management, and planning.

Externally, a plan can be used to attract major donors and board members, secure loans, convince staff to come on board, and assist in developing alliances. A strategic plan requires a realistic look at almost every phase of your organization and allows you to show that you have worked out all the problems before launching a new venture or chapter in your organization's history. Conversely, a plan can sometimes help an organization conclude that key assumptions made are flawed and its goals and objectives need to be rethought or not undertaken at all.

Internally, the plan assists with staff/management and management/board communication, ensuring that an organization's key stakeholders are all speaking the same language and heading in a similar direction. Finally, a plan serves as an evaluation tool helping an organization track, monitor and evaluate its progress.

How PCG Works

There are a wide variety of formats for a Strategic Plan, depending upon the complexity of the organization, product or service and on the demands of those who will use the plan, e.g., an individual donor, funder, management, Board of Directors, etc. PCG designs a plan specifically for the needs of a small organization, typically without development staff and with an operating budget that is not adequately covering the administrative and programmatic activities of an organization. The Plan serves as a necessary first step before an organization undertakes a funding campaign, emphasizing stabilization as much as growth, and cost cutting as much as fund raising.