Free Strategic Plan Templates for Nonprofits

In this article, you’ll find a collection of the most helpful strategic plan templates for nonprofits in Google Docs and Microsoft Word formats. These templates are customizable and unique.

Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template for Microsoft Word

Whether your goal is to increase profits or reach a wider audience, this template gives you the tools for success. Introduce your organization by briefly describing its origin, impact, and focus. Next, fill in the mission statement, vision statement, and core values sections. Collectively, this information builds a foundation for future goal setting. Then you can focus on documenting the direction of your nonprofit by completing the goals section. This section includes space for action steps and metrics that you can use to track progress.

Check out this wide variety of free strategic planning templates to help you meet your strategic goals.

Basic Nonprofit 5-Year Strategic Plan Template

Download a Basic Nonprofit 5-Year Strategic Plan Template for
Microsoft Word | Google Docs

Use this simple nonprofit strategic plan template to document your organization’s goals over the next five years. This template provides space for all the functional areas of a nonprofit, including finance, marketing, community engagement, and operations. The template is customizable, so you can remove columns if you need to shorten the timeline or add goal categories to better align with your overall strategy.

Strategic Plan Template for Nonprofits for Microsoft Word

This nonprofit strategic plan template helps you clearly define all aspects of your nonprofit, from background and values to development and budget. One version includes sample data that you can use as a guide for your own organization. Complete the SWOT analysis section to gain a better understanding of which areas of your group require attention. You can also use the template to measure your success in order to stay on track. Moreover, you can use this tool to conduct a retrospective concerning your past growth initiatives.

What Is a Nonprofit Strategic Plan?

A nonprofit strategic plan is a well-researched approach for planning and accomplishing goals over a three-to-five-year timeline. An organization uses its mission and vision statements as a foundation for establishing growth targets.

Common targets include reaching new markets, offering new products, or recruiting more volunteers. A nonprofit strategic plan paints a picture of your organization’s potential future and enumerates the steps you need to take to get there.

In addition to a nonprofit plan, you should use a marketing plan. Check out these free nonprofit marketing plan templates and SMART goals for more information.

How to Create a Nonprofit Strategic Plan Outline

In order to create a successful nonprofit strategic plan, you must identify a set of essential elements in a specific sequence. First, define your organization, then in a series of steps, explain what it will accomplish in the future.

Make sure to address all the elements from the list below in order to develop a successful and streamlined strategic plan.

• Introduce the Organization:
  • Background
  • Who you are
  • What you do
  • Accomplishments
  • Impact
  • Mission statement
  • Vision statement
  • Core values
  • Board of directors
  • Why they’re important
  • Action steps
  • Success metrics/key performance indicators (KPIs)
  • Budget
  • Start and end dates
  • Key stakeholders

  How to Create a Nonprofit Strategic Plan

  Creating a nonprofit strategic plan starts with a desire to grow or improve your organization. Bringing together your key decision makers is the first step toward setting your organization’s future goals.

  Follow the steps below to create a detailed and effective strategic plan.

  1. Build a Strategic Planning Committee
     Start by identifying committee members. This is the group of people who evaluate the current position of the organization and make decisions about its growth. Committee members typically include board members, key personnel from different departments, a facilitator (internal or external), and stakeholders. It’s best to keep the committee small and make sure that roles are well defined.
  2. Identify Areas for Development and Growth
     Determine where you want to focus your strategy. Use strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis to pinpoint the most important thing your organization needs in order to advance. Check out this SWOT analysis template for more information. In addition, ask board members and other key players for their input regarding the future direction of your organization.
  3. Set Goals for 3 to 5 Years from Now
     Identify the areas in which you want your organization to improve or grow. Example goals include establishing more partnerships, increasing advocacy, and raising more funds. Once you know your goals, you need to develop the action steps to reach them. Include metrics and performance indicators, so you can easily track progress. Include a budget to make sure that the organization doesn’t overspend.
  4. Research
     Determine the resources you need to accomplish your goals. Execute this step by researching the goal-setting processes of your competitors. In addition, review your organization's past strategic plans. Performing these steps allows you to see how the organization arrived at its current status.
  5. Develop an Action Plan
     Formulate action steps for each goal. Present your plan to stakeholders and ask them for feedback. Be sure to allot enough time for each action step, so you can reach all of your long-term goals. Check out this additional information about building action plans.
  6. Implement the Plan
     After you document the plan, put the systems and processes in place. Assign responsibilities and tasks to the appropriate people to ensure accountability. Follow your timeline so that you stay on track. Review your KPIs regularly to guarantee that you’re reaching your short-term targets.

  Why You Should Use a Strategic Plan Template

  A strategic plan template provides a number of benefits: It offers a transparent, coherent timeline for the planning process; delineates the goals of the plan and any related actions, strategies, and tactics; and facilitates overall success.

  Following are the additional benefits of using a strategic plan:

  • Aligns staff members and stakeholders
  • Boosts operational efficiency
  • Helps inform decision making
  • Increases employee satisfaction
  • Manages expectations
  • Provides a reference point for other nonprofits
  • Stimulates collaboration

  Nonprofit Strategic Plan vs. Nonprofit Business Plan

  A strategic plan is a high-level outline of an organization’s future goals and a description of the specific steps needed to achieve such goals. A business plan focuses on establishing the details of the organization’s operations, production, sales, and marketing.

  The image below provides a quick glance at the differences between a strategic plan and a business plan. Check out this additional information about nonprofit business plans.

  12 PDF Examples of Nonprofit Strategic Plans

  The wide range of nonprofit strategic plans that are available to the public act as an invaluable resource for startup nonprofit organizations. These plans help new nonprofits understand how to structure and specify their own strategic plans.

  The list below includes 12 categories of nonprofits, each representing a distinct industry and mission. Select a link to view a specific strategic plan and gain insight into how different organizations carry out their missions.

  1. Cultural Nonprofit Strategic Plan: With offices in Washington, D.C.; Suitland, Md.; and New York City, the Smithsonian runs the National Museum of the American Indian. Here is the organization’s current strategic plan: National Museum of the American Indian Strategic Plan 2022-2026.
  2. Domestic Needs Nonprofit Strategic Plan: With the goals of increasing membership, revenue, and diversity, the American Red Cross created this plan: American Red Cross Tiffany Circle Strategic Plan 2020-2023.
  3. Education Nonprofit Strategic Plan: The Foundation for Orange County Public Schools, which focuses on the concept that “investing in our children today strengthens our community tomorrow,” offers this plan: Foundation for Orange County Public Schools Strategic Plan 2020-2025.
  4. Faith-Based Nonprofit Strategic Plan: The Evangelical Alliance shares this plan on its website: Evangelical Alliance Strategic Plan 2021-2024.
  5. Environmental/Animal Nonprofit Strategic Plan: The World Wildlife Fund is the world’s largest conservation organization. Here is its Colombia-specific plan: World Wildlife Fund Colombia Strategic Plan 2020-2025.
  6. Health Nonprofit Strategic Plan: Established in 2011, the Center for Global Health (CGH) is part of the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Here is the CGH’s plan: Center for Global Health Strategic Plan 2021-2025.
  7. Human Services Nonprofit Strategic Plan: With a mission to “improve the lives of people with disabilities or other disadvantages,” Goodwill of Northwest Ohio shares this strategic plan on its website: Goodwill of Northwest Ohio, Inc. Strategic Plan 2016-2019.
  8. International Needs Nonprofit Strategic Plan: Striving for "a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live," Habitat for Humanity lays out its plan on its website: Habitat for Humanity Strategic Plan 2021-2024.
  9. Medical Nonprofit Strategic Plan: As Canada’s leading integrated health system, Sinai Health follows this strategic plan: Sinai Health Strategic Plan 2020-2025.
  10. Public Affairs Nonprofit Strategic Plan: The ACLU of Ohio adheres to this plan: ACLU of Ohio Strategic Plan 2021-2024.
  11. Social Justice Nonprofit Strategic Plan: Human Rights Watch “conducts fact-finding investigations of human rights abuses and monitors various countries to ensure they are not in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).” Here is the organization’s plan: Human Rights Watch Strategic Plan 2021-2023.
  12. Youth Nonprofit Strategic Plan: Igniting “the unlimited potential of kids and teens by creating safe, inclusive, and engaging environments,” Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta created this plan: Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta Strategic Plan 2021-2025.

  Reach Your Nonprofit’s Goals with Strategic Plan Templates from Smartsheet

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  When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.

  Smartsheet has goal-setting software that can make your nonprofit’s future goals a reality. We help you manage and track your plan, as well as share it with stakeholders and team members. For additional information about Smartsheet resources for nonprofits, visit /solutions/nonprofit