Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook, Second Edition

I use this as a textbook in an undergraduate and graduate course on strategic planning for nonprofit. There are MANY good strategic planning books to choose from. I use this because it has a CD with worksheets in the back that I find very helpful in providing a checklist, set of minimum considerations and as a brainstorming tool.For someone wanting to have a general sense of an approach to strategic planning this book is useful. Some critiques of this book:* It's challenging for small scale nonprofits to see themselves doing this. We need to write a practical book for smaller nonprofits that is written from a consultants point of view and that considers scalability.* It reads more like a strategic planning approach, particularly Chapter 5, for for-profit large corporations. From a consultants viewpoint (I spent 28 years consulting) - this reads like an excerpt from a textbook with little consideration for organization size, purpose, or analysis considerations. This section misses the practical way data collected is analyzed, considered, and then translated into strategies. Additionally there are much simpler prioritization methods that lead to organizational buy in and clarity of future direction and why a future direction was chosen. This chapter missed the mark.* Implementation is positioned as part of a the strategic planning effort. I understand this rationale, however, my experience indicates that while there is a connection, it is prudent to separate implementation from planning. Practically speaking - implementation may occur later in the planning horizon, things may change, personnel may change - why spend the time up front planning implementation? Plus, the intersection of the strategic plan and implementation planning within a continuous improvement framework suggests a plan implementation as you go approach because you're adjusting, tweaking, and refining as you go.While it seems I offer more critiques than positive about this book - I have successfully used it within classes for 4+ years where I drew upon my 28 years doing strategic planning, I could facilitate around some of the text that I thought didn't meet real world experience and practicality.

I bought this book because my work and my faith community were both in need of strategic plans. While I had lead them before, I had no real organizational format to guide the process. This book was a wonderful resource in that area. It goes step by step to describe the process globally, but also breaks down each section to ensure that nothing is missed. Perhaps the greatest features are the timeline of the plan and the workbook at the end. We saved hours by not "recreating the wheel" since we used the form templates in this book. It is practical, helpful and detailed enough to ensure that your organization will really benefit from its use. I look forward to my copy becoming worn out from extensive use.

I use this book for both workshops and to guide the SP process as a facilitator. It is a good flow and a step by step approach. However, I have found that the approach itself is too restrictive or detailed for some SP projects so I modified the apporach to meet the needs of my clients. But all in all I do recommend this book highly.

This book is a must for any mission-driven organization considering a strategic planning project. Not only does this book guide you through the steps of strategic planning (articulating mission, vision, and values; assessing current reality; establishing priorities; writing the plan), but it also helps you determine your organization's readiness for undertaking strategic planning as well as helping you implement the plan, evaluate the planning process, and monitor ongoing progress. The book comes with a CD-ROM that includes twenty different worksheets to guide you through the process. It is well worth the investment!

Good shape and good read

Great concepts for planning for your organization

I purchased this workbook after I was asked to facilitate a strategic planning process for a local non-profit organization. It gave me the information I needed to organize the planning process. I would rate it higher except I found the worksheets included on the CD weren't all that great.

I was looking for a guide for a small nonprofit (like ours). Most of the examples in this book were large organizations.If I were to wade through all their suggested steps, I would probably get what I was looking for. But being small, I already had too much on my plate that was pressing, like serving all our victims and advocating for them.

Good book, but I wish it had more practical examples of plans from real life and a wider range of organisations.

A good book for strategic planning information and guidelines.

Great text, great price