Nonprofit organizational development and strategic planning are separate but interrelated strategies that are often confused. Strategic planning is about setting the future vision of your nonprofit and aligning stakeholders around your plan, and organizational development is about enhancing the overall effectiveness of your nonprofit.
It matters because sometimes nonprofit leaders think the issues they are facing will be solved by strategic planning, when what they really need to focus on is organizational development. In this blog post, we will explore the nuances between nonprofit organizational development and strategic planning.
Nonprofit organizational development
Nonprofit organizational development is focused on addressing current challenges and opportunities that influence an organization’s performance. Unlike strategic planning, which happens in set intervals, organizational development is a continuous and evolving process. It emphasizes collaboration and involvement from all levels of your nonprofit, and it encourages learning and adaptability of your team.
Nonprofits may engage in organizational development when they are experiencing:
- A decline in performance
- High employee turnover
- Board and staff alignment issues
- Communications challenges
- Resourcing challenges
- Significant external changes
I’ve had nonprofit leaders come to me and say, “My organization feels very siloed, and we’re facing challenges with employee culture. We need a strategic plan to address these issues.” However, if your nonprofit is experiencing a specific challenge, it is best to address that separate from strategic planning through nonprofit organizational development. That’s because strategic planning is a visionary process that is forward-looking, and it is less internally focused because it involves your board members, funders, those you serve and others.
Some nonprofit leaders choose to explore and implement organizational development practices on their own, but often outside consultants are brought in to assess the root of the issue(s) and develop action plans to address identified areas of improvement. The ultimate goal of nonprofit organizational development is to address and navigate challenges, so you can build a healthy, sustainable and adaptable organization with engaged employees and effective processes. It’s also important to note that many organizations engage in nonprofit organizational development as an outcome of strategic planning.
Nonprofit strategic planning
Strategic planning is about shaping your nonprofit’s goals for the future and determining which activities are best to advance those goals. Your strategic plan should get everyone, from your board to your team, rowing in the same direction to move your organization forward. Unlike nonprofit organizational development, which is ongoing, strategic planning is a structured process that occurs at a specific time and takes a longer, three- to five-year, perspective. It looks at where your nonprofit wants to be in the future and how that vision can be achieved.
While organizational development is for internal audiences, strategic planning provides your community, constituents, donors and funders with a big picture roadmap of what you’re going to do over the next few years, and it’s often inspiring. It’s a tool nonprofit leaders use to get folks on board with their mission.
The complementary nature of nonprofit organizational development and strategic planning
Nonprofit organizational development and strategic planning are not mutually exclusive concepts but, rather, complementary. A well-crafted strategic plan may require organizational development interventions to build the necessary capabilities and foster the right culture for successful implementation.
Understanding the difference between nonprofit organizational development and strategic planning allows you to leverage the potential of each concept strategically. By nurturing your organization’s foundation through organizational development and charting a clear path for the future with strategic planning, you can steer toward sustainable growth, enhanced impact and greater effectiveness.
