While making chili for my family, I was struck by three things about a development plan:
Expiration dates – I was pulling the spices out of the cabinet and realized some were out of date. I appreciate the way spice manufacturers put expiration dates on the bottom of the bottles now. Sometimes I’m shocked at how old my spices are. (Note: while I’m not a gourmet chef, no one has ever died from eating my cooking). The activities in a development plan should – but unfortunately don’t – come with expiration dates. Many of the fundraising activities we do, from events to mailings, are out of date but we haven’t noticed it. Take the time to evaluate your development activities individually and as part of the whole strategy. If they no longer contribute to your program’s success, toss them out but recycle the bottle (no wait, that’s just for the spices).
Onions – I was chopping the onions and working hard not to cry. Even with my fancy Pampered Chef chopper, I still have to work very hard to not weep into my chili. How does this relate to a development plan? Glad you asked! Don’t strip what you are doing of all emotion. Starting with your case for support, make sure you keep in the things that really move people – your mission. Giving is an emotional action. Your plan should reflect that.
Never the same twice – I make my chili from several recipes including my sister’s mother-in-law’s classic recipe and the recipe that came with my Crock Pot. Each time I make it, I adjust according to what I have in the pantry and the refrigerator. Again, I’m no gourmet but sometimes it has surprising results. Once I was preparing it for friends that included a vegetarian so I left out the beef and added black beans and corn. Tonight it’s my husband’s family so I stuck to the basics. Your development plan should be just like that. Take industry best practices, good ideas from other organizations, gather the strengths of your own organization and stir.
One final similarity to chili: taste as you go. I will taste the chili as the day progresses and make adjustments as needed. Same applies to your development plan. As the year progresses, examine how things are going and make the necessary adjustments.
Originally posted on the Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay blog.