Last week on my CEO day (Friday!), I started taking stock of the past year.

I’m eager to think about next year’s goals, strategies, and projects, but before I can do that, I need to know how my business did this year.

Nonprofits often do this in the form of an annual report, so that might be something you’re familiar with and already working on. You might also already have a strategic plan in place that is going to guide what you do next year.

However, multi-year strategic plans need to be responsive from year to year. And annual reports need to have direct bearing on how you change your  strategic plan from year to year.

So let’s talk about how to evaluate the previous year and then use that evaluation to inform planning for next year.

Evaluation

1. Take a hard look at your numbers and compare them to your numbers from the previous year(s).

I always start with the previous year’s report and update my numbers from there, including number of clients, number of grants won, amount of grant funding awarded, number of new students, and of course, revenue. Nonprofits should be keeping track of how many participants/clients they’re serving (if there are any), outcomes, and finances very closely throughout the year. So by this time, it’s just a matter of putting all of that info on one document.

2. List the less quantifiable successes of your nonprofit, which could include things like changes to operational processes, services, or new hires. 

Make a bulleted list of both small and large changes that have had a positive impact on your work, your team, etc. Ask your other team members to contribute.

3. List things that you didn’t like doing or things that didn’t work so well in your nonprofit.

This isn’t an indictment of anyone or any particular strategy, but a means to figure out what could be better next year. Again, ask your team to contribute to this list. Be open and take their opinions seriously.

4. Write a dream list.

What would you do next year if you absolutely knew you couldn’t fail? Ask your team to give you their list as well. You might get some really interesting responses.  

Planning

Now how do you use all of this evaluation to plan for next year? Let’s get right down to it!

1. See where you can improve your numbers, whether that means enrolling more participants, changing a program to improve outcomes, or applying for more grants.

List your opportunities and risks for each area. Think about how you can mitigate the risks next year and take advantage of your opportunities.

Look at what you were able to accomplish last year and think carefully about the number of changes or new initiatives you can take on in the new year. Keep this in mind for the next step.

2. Consult your dream list alongside your opportunities and risk lists.

What are things you both need to do and are on the dream list/somehow overlap with it? There is likely a sweet spot there that will allow you to set some goals and plan some projects that take your organization to the next level. 

When planning new projects or changes to existing programs or processes, pay careful attention to the “could have been better/didn’t enjoy doing this” list. Consider who should be assigned to specific projects and tasks and how those assignments align with what your staff are both good at doing and enjoy doing. If there’s something that must be done that no one enjoys doing, think about how you can make the task easier or more palatable. How can you assign different combinations of team members so that their combined skills and attributes improve the process and the outcome?

3. Present this evaluation report and annual plan in a visually appealing way.

We’re trying to make this aspirational and enjoyable to process. You might create a presentation, a PDF, or even a short video.

4. Put your goals and project tasks on your calendar/project management software so that when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, you have a starting point for accomplishing your new goals!

Thanks for reading and please share this article with anyone who might need it!

And, if this resonated with you, now is the time to join our brand-new course, Get Organized! Productivity for Nonprofit Teams.

Registration is still open and we are already well on our way to making the next year a great one!