Short-term Planning and the Annual Report
Annual Strategic Planning
Short-term planning is essential to all organizations and businesses as it gives practical
direction to the organization for its most important time – the present. If long range planning is
the scaffolding that outlines future projects, short range planning is the brick and mortar that
holds together the current ones.
Your organization should already have a long-range plan. Every 3 to 5 years a long look down
the road should be put on paper. But those goals are often too broad and general to use when
creating your daily to-do list. Therefore short-term planning takes the extensive strategic plan
and breaks it into more specific goals and sets mile-markers for the coming year. Within the
framework of your 3-5 year strategy, there should be a fresh twelve-month strategic plan
created at the beginning of every year to guide your short term efforts.
Look Back, Look Forward
January is named after the Greek god Janus who had a face on both sides of his heads so that
he could look backward and forward at the same time. This is how each year should begin for
your organization, with a brief recap of the previous year, and an outline of the year to come.
The prior year recap does not need to be extensive, but should simply note those activities or
items that would be considered the highlights of the year, outlining them in a logical manner.
Such items may include anything from fundraisers with large returns to programs that
demonstrated a surge in participants. Other milestones from the past year, such as new hires,
new major donors or board members, and even failed initiatives and set backs should be
honestly noted.
Once you have written an honest recap of last year, it is amazing how clear the priorities of the
current year become. Again, this is an overview, not a daily task list. Walk through the year in a
chronological way and hit the highlights. Creating an annual calendar – preferably a wall-sized
calendar that all can see – with key dates will help everyone to begin setting priorities and
deadlines.
A Simple Organizing Principal
In order to keep your year-end summary and annual strategy brief and well organized, break all
activity down into a few categories: Operations, fundraising, and program are probably general
enough to encompass everything that needs to be reviewed. For the purpose of this article, we
will use these three categories:
1. Operations.
2. Program.
3. Fundraising
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Operations.
Operations encompass all of those administrative duties that constitute a significant amount of
the behind-the-scenes work of an organization. Many of these items are automated and
predictable, and therefore overlooked. Have any of these systems become inefficient or in need
of a serious overhaul? Under the heading of Operations, it is also appropriate to examine the
past performance of the Board, its development and accomplishments. Staffing as well as the
remaining administrative duties should be reviewed closely for changes or significant milestones
over the past twelve months, and then careful thought can be given to the next twelve.
Program.
This is why you exist. This is where your mission is carried out. Therefore, a thorough review of
the various programs currently offered along with their progress and development is an annual
necessity. Look for accomplishments and the means that led to the ends. Accomplishments are
obviously the sought result of any organization or business and therefore a replication of the
process, when possible, should be noted in your short-term plan. It is also important to note any
program changes, new services or discontinued activities. These changes need to be measured
and understood as to what impact they had or could have on the organization’s future. Perhaps
the hardest part of this “look back-look forward” is being honest about the real value of program
activity. Almost every organization has activities that are underperforming, but which have
become institutions. Is it time to have a board level discussion about the sacred cow? In any
event, focus on results. When all is said and done, did your programming change the world last
year, and what will it take to do it again this year?
Fundraising
For most non-profits, an organization’s finances are the most unpredictable aspect of the entire
organization. Financial planning and forecasting, whether it be for the upcoming twelve months
or five years from now, is useful in ensuring a solid organization that achieves impact year over
year. The easiest method to incorporate financials into a short-term plan is to review last year’s
budget to actual, and then look at the past three years. Note the trends, highlights the biggest
and the smallest numbers, look for red flags. Ask for explanations. It’s what donors do, and if
you do not do it first, you will not have the answers for the donors who want to know. Finally,
when it comes to fundraising, we are tempted to only look at the bottom line, but don’t forget to
track activity. Cultivating donors take time, so without a good grasp of what spade work was
done last year, it’s hard to say what harvest can be expected next year.
This short term, annual planning should result in a document that you can discuss with board
members and staff to ensure that the entire organization is on the same page as you move
forward in the coming year. Keep in mind these items should align with and be guided by the
organization’s current three to five year strategic plan. This short term planning brings the
strategic plan off the shelf and onto your desk, because when all is said and done, every
strategic plan, no matter how complex or involved, is simply an answer to the question: “What’s
next?”
Annual Meeting and Annual Report
An internal review of the organization’s activities is important for the integrity of the organization
as a corporate unit. But it is also good to share this information with your public. The Annual
Meeting is the perfect opportunity to share your look back and reflect on past occurrences as
well as cast the vision for the future. We council clients to have a first quarter Annual Meeting to
which all constituents are invited to hear about last year’s accomplishments and this year’s
goals. If you have the time and the resources, the best way to present this information to the
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public is through a published Annual Report.
The Annual Report generally begins with a brief letter from the Executive Director or Chairman.
The director provides a brief review of the previous year’s activities as well as a glimpse into the
future, often ending with a sincere thank you to all supporters. Following the Director’s message
is a more thorough outline of the programs and activities of the organization. Generally this is
where a more detailed encounter of those program activities that proved beneficial are
highlighted. The finances of the organization are then covered with charts and graphs for ease
of understanding. A listing of Board members and their affiliations is a must, along with any
Advisory Council if applicable. Some organizations like to include a list of contributors as well. If
you do list your donors, be sure to get their permission first. Finally, you can end the report with
an inspirational note that looks ahead to a year of promise.
Annual Reports Resources:
1. This website provides a multitude of resources from viewing other annual reports to tips
on writing and understanding them. There are numerous links to assist and answer
questions regarding the topics to cover when producing your organization’s report.
http://www.zpub.com/sf/arl/index.html
Peter Giersch is COO of Cathedral Consulting Group, LLC and a Managing Director in the
Midwest Office.
For more information, please visit Cathedral Consulting Group LLC online at
www.cathedralconsulting.com or contact us at info@cathedralconsulting.com.
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