3 Ways a Strategic Plan Digest Can Advance Your Organizational Objectives

While the launch of a strategic plan often serves as a prelude to a major fundraising initiative, the language used to craft the plan—which is often somewhat dry and technical—may not generate the excitement and enthusiasm you hope to inspire donors and other key audiences. Communicating the priorities and intentions articulated within your strategic plan in digest form can help build a sense of ownership and excitement around  the plan while also laying the groundwork for subsequent fundraising success.

Several of the organizations mentioned here engaged Libretto to conceptualize and write a strategic plan digest prior to having us work on their campaign communications, such as their theme, messaging, and case statement.

An effective strategic plan digest delivers several key benefits:

It establishes a foundation and a rationale for fundraising.
Savvy and experienced donors will understand that your new strategic plan is likely to be followed by a campaign. A strategic plan digest articulates priorities that will require funding, and provides an objective rationale for conversations around giving that will take place during the preliminary phases of the actual campaign.

Communications about your strategic priorities that are targeted to donor audiences can coincide with the launch of the plan or act as a follow-on once the plan is underway. For example, Libretto helped create Midflight, an inventive and robust strategic plan update for the National Audubon Society, which was shared with donors at the $10,000 level and above at the approximate midpoint of the plan. Those core donors were given a window into how Audubon’s plan was evolving in advance of its $860-million Elevate campaign, which launched several years later.

It serves as a touchpoint that’s not explicitly focused on giving.
Cultivating and stewarding relationships with donors is a balancing act. Not every communication needs to be about fundraising. Providing visibility into your strategic objectives and sharing that information intentionally can help make donors—especially major donors—predisposed to give.

A strategic plan digest can be an extremely valuable tool for fostering that sense of engagement. Gift officers can use the digest as a conversation starter to get donors thinking about the role they can play in advancing your organization’s objectives, giving you a sense of which priorities those contributors may be inclined to support further down the road.

A digest is also a useful vehicle for reinforcing developments that aren’t focused on philanthropy. For example, the strategic plan digest we helped develop for the Madeira School was created in part to underscore the school’s commitment to remain a single-sex school for girls in grades 9 through 12. Addressing this issue in the digest helped to make the school’s intentions crystal clear while also establishing a set of strategic initiatives that were funded through its subsequent campaign, All the Difference.

It’s a marketing opportunity.
In addition to laying the groundwork for a subsequent campaign or alerting stakeholders to key strategic developments within your organization, a strategic plan digest can also function as a marketing opportunity. For example, when Libretto worked with Mass Audubon on the launch of its Action Agenda, we framed the publication around a theme—Go Wild—that:

• Expressed the overarching intention of the Action Agenda, which focused on redoubling Mass Audubon’s efforts to protect and preserve the nature of Massachusetts
• Utilized bold, direct language that was something of a departure in tone for Mass Audubon
• Served as a rallying cry that would help Mass Audubon’s new CEO establish a clear direction for the organization
• Helped position the Action Agenda as an active, inclusive effort, rather than a dry, abstract summary of organizational objectives

Go Wild also created an opportunity for the organization to reaffirm its key values and differentiators. For example, a central spread within the piece showcased various expressions of what going wild means at Mass Audubon—from rescuing a sea turtle or completing a ropes course to writing a postcard in support of climate legislation.

A creative and engaging strategic plan digest provides a unique opportunity to give stakeholders visibility into your ambitions and priorities, articulate your strategy in engaging and creative ways, and build the scaffolding for successful fundraising. Organizations contemplating or engaged in a planning process would do well to consider incorporating this specialized publication into their strategic communications efforts.