The World Voice for Families of the Mentally Ill.

ORGANIZATIONAL STABILITY: Business Planning for the Future
By Trish Ruebottom

July 2007

World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders
Organizational Stability: Business Planning for the Future

Organizational Stability: Business Planning for the Future
Organizational instability is the most common problem in the nonprofit sector. Staff come and go, taking with them important parts of the organization’s knowledge. Members’ interest is hard to retain over a long period of time. There are areas of strength in an organization, but also areas of weakness. There are financial concerns. Always financial concerns. And for family-run organizations, there are the hundreds of other pressures vying for their time and energy. Getting a family organization started is hard enough. Thinking about how to maintain and even grow the organization in the long term is even harder. This is where business planning comes in. A business plan takes all of the energy and motivation in the organization and channels it into a well thought out detailed plan. When done well, it covers each aspect of running an organization, ensuring a balanced effort is directed towards these areas, and it focuses on the key areas required to reach your goals. Just the act of writing a business plan, even if it is never opened again, will help clarify where the energy in an organization should be spent and will make sure everyone is on the same page.

The first step is strategic planning. Strategic planning is a chance to look outside of
‘the way things are done’ and take a fresh look at problems with the new information and learning that has been acquired since the last strategic planning efforts; to learn about your environment, and to learn about your impact on your environment. For example, the needs of families in your area would be very different before the organization existed; now that there is a family organization, new and deeper needs may present themselves, and you need to step back and look with new eyes at the needs of your families. Strategic planning is a chance to involve yo ur stakeholders. This includes your families, staff and board members, funders – anyone who has a stake in your organization. Ask them what you do well and what you don't. Ask them what is important to them. What has changed since you last looked out your window? How well are you meeting the needs of your families? Given the changes in the environment, what should you be doing? From here, a guiding compass – the vision and mission – is developed. The compass should create energy around a common vision of the future and how you are going to get there. This is your opportunity to dream; to picture the world as you would like to see it. Next you need to develop the road map: strategic priorities and definite goals. What do you need to do well to support your m ission and achieve your vision? How will you know when you have been successful? Set targets. By using balanced strategic priorities, you ensure that the organization will grow holistically. Use the following four priority areas to guide you: 1. Internal business processes. Which internal business processes do you need to excel at? This could be communications, running support meetings, knowledge sharing,

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World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders
Organizational Stability: Business Planning for the Future

networking, advocacy, etc. Try and choose only the one or two key areas that need your attention, and set out what needs to be done. 2. Financial. What area of finances need your attention? Often, nonprofits need to focus on diversifying their income sources or building unrestricted funding. Research what others are doing and build a plan that provides stable, long-term support. 3. Human Resources. What skills to you need in the organization to achieve your mission? List the skills you have and compare this to the list of skills