Why Your Community Group Needs a Strategic Plan (and How to Create One)

If you’re part of a community group or not-for-profit organisation, you probably know how important it is to stay focused in order to results.

But did you know the secret sauce to staying focused in your group is a strategic plan?

Strategic planning isn't just for big corporations or formal organisations—it's a valuable tool for groups of all sizes and structures.

Whether you're a tight-knit team managing volunteers or an informal community group, having a strategic plan can be incredibly beneficial.

It’s your roadmap to success, guiding day-to-day decisions and keeping everyone aligned with your shared purpose.

Even if your group operates informally, going through a strategic planning process can help you achieve collective agreement on your identity and goals.

It ensures that everyone is on the same page about who you are, what you do, and where you’re headed.

Why a Strategic Plan is an Asset

Your strategic plan isn't just a document—it's a powerful asset for your group. It helps you honour the time, energy, and effort your volunteers contribute by ensuring those resources are used effectively.

A well-crafted strategic plan also enhances your ability to market your group, recruit new volunteers, secure funding, and communicate effectively with key partners and stakeholders.

While the term "strategic planning" might sound formal, the process can actually be a fun, social activity that brings your group together. It's an opportunity to agree on and document two critical areas:

1. Identity: Who we are, what we stand for, and what we are working towards.

2. Action Plan: The actions we will take to achieve our goals, who will carry them out, and when.

Defining Your Identity

Your identity forms the foundation of your strategic plan. It covers the following elements:

• Vision: Your vision statement is an audacious dream of the future, inspired by the work you do. It’s your ultimate goal, the future reality you’re striving to create.

• Mission: Your mission is a concise statement of purpose that explains what you do, how you do it, why you do it, and who you do it for. It’s the essence of your organisation, distilled into words your community can remember you by and rally around.

• Values: These are the deeply held convictions and assumptions that guide your conduct. They establish what you stand for and influence every decision you make.

• Priorities: Your priorities are the top 3-6 areas you focus on, framed in a positive, solution-focused way. These might include activities like habitat restoration, weed removal, or saving endangered species.

For some smaller groups, defining these elements might be enough to guide your work, especially if you have agreed-upon plans with partners like your local council or land manager. However, a more detailed action plan can be beneficial, and help you get clearer results.

Creating an Action Plan

Your action plan is where you outline the specific steps you'll take to achieve your priorities. It includes:

• Strategies: The initiatives you'll run to impact your priorities.

• Actions: The concrete steps you'll undertake to execute your strategies.

• Accountability: This includes who will carry out each action, the timeline, costs, and metrics for success. Knowing who is responsible for what and by when helps keep your group accountable and ensures progress is made.

Getting Help with Strategic Planning

Bringing in an independent facilitator to guide your decision-making can be incredibly helpful, especially if your group is navigating complex dynamic issues. However, this can be costly. If you're on a budget, consider alternative solutions, like digital guides from platforms like ours https://www.theforeveragenda.com.au/strategicplanning , to guide you through facilitating the process yourself. Our C community Leaders Academy members also get full access to the exact process and tools I use to facilitate strategic planning with my clients.

The Glue That Holds Your Group Together

Knowing where you want to go (your vision), how you’re going to get there (your mission), and why you’re doing what you do (your values) are the glue that holds your group together.

While your priorities, strategies, and actions will evolve and adapt to the issues, politics and community needs over time, your core identity provides the clarity and stability needed to make decisions that shape your future. Your vision, mission, and values may alter slightly with a strategic refresh (recommended every 5 years on average) but their intent remains the same. This consistency gives you the clarity needed to make decisions that impact your group's future and to keep you walking solidly on the path to your vision.

By investing time in strategic planning, you're setting your group up for long-term success. It's about more than just paperwork—it's about creating a shared understanding that empowers everyone involved to contribute meaningfully toward your collective goals. A strategic plan should never be a document that sits on a shelf, it should live and breathe as part of the organisation and be the foundation from which all else comes. The collaborative process that is undertaken by a group producing a strategic plan is a powerful event that galvanises the energy of the group, resets tricky dynamics, alleviates power imbalances, empowers committee members and magnetises community to your cause. There is nothing more powerful to get your group operating in a space of momentum and charging forth towards your unique vision, having huge impact on your chosen cause (and your community) along the way.