Strategic Planning

A carefully-thought-out strategic plan is an important foundational document from which to execute your organization’s development and fundraising strategy. A strategic plan is particularly important if your organization is poised to expand its impact, increase its dependence on fundraising as a revenue stream, or significantly scale up fundraising efforts.

Orr Group’s approach to strategic planning starts with developing strategic clarity by ensuring that the leadership of the organization has a unified vision and mission and is aligned on goals and objectives. By engaging in this process, an organizational evaluation will:

  • Determine competitive advantages and unique differentiators, and develop ways to clearly articulate these
  • Align board and staff around a common vision and mission
  • Increase staff engagement and investment in the mission
  • Establish a strong foundation on which to build fundraising messaging and a compelling case for support
  • Ensure that internal resources are aligned with execution of operational goals, and
  • Equip the organization with reporting tools that allow it effectively to communicate with donors and demonstrate the impact of their gifts.

Our Strategic Planning Process

Board Development

Board leadership drives financial and programmatic success. The right board members focused on the right outcomes ensures impact and mission achievement.

Nothing is more important to the health and sustainability of your organization than recruiting highly qualified and enthusiastic people to serve on your board. Building a board is about finding leaders who have the right blend of skill sets, expertise, community connections and perspectives that align with your organization’s strategies, goals, and needs.

How the board does its work—its culture and structures—is just as important as getting the right people on the board. Understanding the areas a board needs to strengthen is relatively straightforward; actually improving performance is quite challenging. An objective voice can help steer the board towards these needed changes.

Orr Group can tailor an approach to work with you on board recruitment, engagement, and fundraising, whether you are:

  • Challenged by your board’s lack of commitment to a fundraising strategy plan and ability to personally bring resources to the table
  • Needing greater diversity in sectors, skill-sets, and demographics
  • Committed to building your board but lacking the staff resources to lead the effort
  • Seeking greater board alignment with your organization’s mission, goals and current needs
  • Aggressively seeking to increase revenue and needing the help of your board to do so, or
  • Fortunate to have a board willing to fundraise, but that needs to be kick-started.
  • In addition to recruiting the right new members for your board, Orr Group can help you develop a system for on-going board recruitment, a strengthened board structure and culture, and deeper engagement by board members. These will all lead to increased revenue for your organization.