Is Your Nonprofit Built to Thrive? Find out. Rank Yourself on These 10 Statements
Your nonprofit’s future depends on a clear, actionable strategy that your board, staff, and donors can rally behind.
You see other nonprofits getting ahead and wonder why your organization isn’t gaining the same traction. You may have lost sleep wondering if your nonprofit is truly moving forward. Board meetings feel tense as members question results. Donors are asking harder questions about impact, while staff morale wavers.
Without alignment and a solid plan, frustration builds, progress stalls, and opportunities slip away.
First, do you have a clear and universally understood strategy? If not, click here.
Second, if you have a strategy, how’s it working for you?
Let’s find out.
Ranking your strategy uncovers gaps, sparks fresh ideas, and builds a shared understanding of your nonprofit’s strengths and growth areas.
Use this tool to move from tough conversations to solutions.
Take a moment to evaluate your strategy. You may even invite your board or team into the process at your next meeting.
1. Our strategy is built on our nonprofit’s strengths.
“Stay in your circle of competence. It’s not how big the circle is that matters, it’s how well you understand what’s inside of it.” –Warren Buffett
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2. No other organization could use the same strategy—even if some elements, like board and staff development, are similar.
“Great companies (nonprofits, too!) don’t just have a different strategy, they have a strategy that is uniquely their own.”—Jim Collins
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3. Our strategy includes clear and actionable steps to raise funds, with the potential to generate a surplus.
“A business (nonprofits, too!)has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts. But most importantly, it must make a profit.” —Richard Branson
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4. Our strategy positions us so well that our competitors will aspire to copy our models, tactics, and methods.
Success is when others look at your nonprofit and think, “We wish we’d thought of that.”
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5. Instead of sweeping issues under the rug, the plan solves big and small issues that have concerned us for years.
“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.” —Jack Welch
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6. The plan reflects ideas and insights from the people who will execute it—including staff, board members, volunteers, and donors.
“Leadership is not defined by the exercise of power but by the capacity to increase the sense of power among those led.”—Mary Parker Follett
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7. Our plan is designed to attract new supporters and energize current donors because it includes them.
We need to stop treating donors like ATMs and start treating them like partners in our work.”—Vu Le
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8. The plan aligns with our leadership’s philosophy, goals, and skills, especially those of the key executive.
Leaders must wake people out of inertia. They must get people excited about something they’ve never seen before, something that does not yet exist.”—Rosabeth Moss Kanter
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9. The plan includes ambitious new mission goals plus capacity-building goals so we can execute them.
“Capacity building is not just about the capacity of a nonprofit today — it’s about the nonprofit’s ability to deliver its mission effectively now, and in the future.”—Beth Kanter
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10. Our strategic plan defines our unique value and positioning, showing us how to stand out as the go-to nonprofit in our field.
Being the go-to nonprofit starts with knowing why we’re different—and owning it.
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✨ Scoring Guide:
70+ = Strong Foundation
50-69 = Needs Refinement
Below 50 = Requires Immediate Attention
How did you score? Whether you’re starting strong or need immediate adjustments, this is your opportunity to refine your strategy for 2025.
Your mission deserves the strongest foundation for success. Schedule a free strategy conversation today to take the next step toward thriving!
