Strategic Planning Facilitation Guide

This guide is your roadmap for leading a powerful two-hour planning session with your board. Your job is to facilitate, not dictate. Use the collective ideas and insights from the pre-planning audit to build a cohesive strategic plan, together.

Preparation: Before the Meeting

- Have the compiled ideas document from the pre-planning audit open and ready to share.

- Ensure a digital whiteboard (like Miro or Mural) or a physical whiteboard with sticky notes is set up to capture ideas in real-time. This visual approach is key to making everyone feel heard.

- Review the key questions for each area below so you can ask them naturally.

- Clearly state the two-hour time limit at the start of the meeting.

Phase 1: Foundation (15 minutes)

Begin by grounding everyone in your shared purpose. Remind them that this is their plan, not yours.

- Welcome & Thanks (5 minutes): "Thank you all for being here. The insights you shared in the pre-planning audit were phenomenal. Today, we're going to take all those great ideas and turn them into a real, living plan for our organization."

- Review of Mission & Vision (10 minutes): "Before we build anything new, let's look at our foundation. Our mission is [State Mission]. Our vision is [State Vision]. Let’s quickly review these. Are they still relevant? Do we need to make any small changes to ensure they truly reflect the work we're doing now and in the future?"

- Facilitate a quick discussion. The goal is to reaffirm, not to rewrite completely.

Phase 2: The Plan (90 minutes)

This is the core of the session. Move through each area, allowing no more than 15-20 minutes per topic. Ask open-ended questions to get ideas flowing and capture every suggestion on your whiteboard.

- Programs and Community Impact (20 minutes): "Based on our community needs and the feedback you provided, what new programs or changes to existing programs do we need to make to amplify our impact? What is one big goal we can set for our programs for the next year?"

- Partnerships and Outreach (15 minutes): "What partnerships do we need to forge to amplify our work? How can we better market our organization to build trust and awareness? What is our primary goal for partnerships and outreach this year?"

- Fundraising and Financial Management (20 minutes): "Based on our goals, what are our best ideas for raising money? Who in our collective network should we be talking to? What is our revenue goal for the next 12 months, and what's one clear strategy we can use to get there?"

- Operational Infrastructure (15 minutes): "What new technology, staff, or volunteers do we need to bring on to make our work easier? What is our main goal for our internal operations and infrastructure for the next year?"

- Board Development and Governance (10 minutes): "Based on our collective feedback, what new committees or processes do we need to put in place to ensure we can achieve these goals together? What is our one goal for strengthening our board this year?"

Phase 3: The Wrap-Up (15 minutes)

Bring all the ideas and goals together, and clearly set expectations for the next steps. This is where you will set the stage for delegation.

- Summarize the Goals (5 minutes): "Okay, everyone, look at the board. We've just laid out a strategic roadmap. We have goals for our programs, fundraising, partnerships, and internal operations. This is a powerful document that we created, together."

- Set Expectations for Post-Planning (10 minutes): "The next step is for us to turn these high-level ideas into a detailed, executable plan. As co-architects, we need to take ownership of different areas and build out the blueprints. I will be delegating oversight of these areas to each of you, and you will work to create a detailed plan for your area of oversight using a template I'll provide. We will then meet again to present and adopt these plans."

The Delegation Phrase

This is the exact phrasing you can use to delegate responsibilities to board members after the planning session. The goal is to make it feel like a promotion to a leadership role, not an assignment of a task.

"Based on your incredible insights during the planning session and the expertise you've shared with us, I'd like to ask you to be the Board Lead for [Name of Area, e.g., Fundraising]. Your role will be to take the ideas we came up with today and build them into a more detailed plan. This plan will include the specific goals for fundraising, the execution process, the people and materials needed, and the budget. You will not be executing the tasks, but rather providing the leadership and vision for this area. Your plan will then be presented to the board for us all to adopt and support. Are you willing to take on this leadership role?"

Email Template: Post-Planning Delegation & Call to Action

Subject: Thank You & Next Steps: Your Leadership Role in [Name of Area]

Dear [Board Member Name],

Thank you so much for your incredible energy and insights during our strategic planning session. I'm truly excited about the direction we're heading in and feel confident that we've laid a strong foundation for the future.

As we discussed, the next step is to turn our high-level ideas into a detailed, actionable plan. I'm thrilled that you've agreed to step up as the Board Lead for [Name of Area, e.g., Fundraising]. This is a critical leadership role, and your expertise is exactly what we need to build a successful blueprint for this area.

To help you get started, I've provided a simple template below. Please use it to create a more detailed plan for [Name of Area]. This plan will be the blueprint you present to the entire board at our next meeting for us all to adopt and support.

Please fill out this template and send it back to me by [Date].

[Name of Board Member]'s Detailed Plan for [Name of Area]

- The Goal: What is the specific goal we need to achieve in this area to support our mission? (e.g., "Raise $50,000 in the next year," "Increase social media reach by 30%").

- The Process & Execution: What is the step-by-step process we will use to achieve this goal? (e.g., "Identify key funders," "step by step fundraising process," "Create a content calendar").

- The People: What people (staff, volunteers, or other board members) are needed to execute this plan, and what are their roles?

- The Materials & Tools: What materials, resources, or technology are needed to execute this plan?

- The Budget: What is the estimated budget for executing this plan?

- Your Role as Board Lead: What will be your primary role in providing leadership and oversight for this aspect of the organization?

Thank you again for your willingness to take ownership of this vital part of our plan. I look forward to seeing your blueprint and working alongside you to make it a reality.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Founder/Executive Director