FOCUS ON: Strategic Planning

Since fall 2016, DHPSNY has provided Archival Needs Assessments, Preservation Surveys, Condition Surveys, and Strategic Planning assistance to over fifty organizations. With our first Planning & Assessment application deadline coming up on Friday, March 16th, we wanted to take a moment to highlight each of these services and how they could benefit your organization. Today, we’re focusing on Strategic Planning Assistance!

"Our new strategic plan is very motivating. The experience brought board members together and, for many, introduced them to a planning process.”

- Georgina Connett, President
  North Shore Historical Museum

Thinking strategically requires you to realistically appraise your institution while simultaneously dreaming big. Working as a team, you commit to strategies that can effectively marshal available resources to further your institution’s mission. Outside guidance in the Strategic Planning process is invaluable in keeping an eye on the big picture—not missing the forest for the trees. Through Strategic Planning, institutions can shape approaches that align planned activities, available resources, internal capabilities, and fundraising objectives with a mutually-agreed-upon set of goals. In this way, Strategic Planning creates a road map for future decision making.

“The opportunity to work with DHPSNY was serendipitous. The webinars were extremely helpful, and the resulting planning document has been especially meaningful in documenting the short-term and long-term needs for our archives.”

- Sisters of Charity of New York

DHPSNY is proud to offer Strategic Planning assistance in partnership with the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON). Together, we have created a six-month curriculum that enables board and staff members to assess an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats under the leadership of a trained facilitator. Through webinars, surveys, retreats, and other tools, the facilitator helps the organization identify goals, strategies, and actions that will help the institution move forward strategically. With this framework, the institution is able to assign responsibilities and a timeline for completing the work.

We have had the opportunity to guide a number of different institutions through our Strategic Planning process to create a three-year plan. While each institution has different goals, strategies, and actions to pursue, they have found the process enlightening for the board, staff, and volunteers. For the North Shore Historical Museum (right) in Glen Cove (Nassau County), the Strategic Planning process was an opportunity to move the Museum forward and establish the role and responsibilities of the Board in that process. Now, the Museum regularly reviews the strategic plan at each board meeting, celebrating accomplishments, discussing actions in process, and encouraging board members to continue their commitment to the plan. In the short period since the board formally adopted the plan in the fall of 2017, the Museum has already made advances in addressing two components of their key organizational priorities.

“DHPSNY consultants streamlined the daunting task of presenting the myriad daily needs of the archives to administration leaders. The planning process was crucial in isolating priorities and developing a detailed protocol for directing future activities.”

- Sisters of Charity of New York

DHPSNY's Strategic Planning assistance is free of charge and awarded via an application process. To learn more about the Strategic Planning curriculum and download an application, visit our Strategic Planning Assistance page.

Applications for Strategic Planning assistance are accepted year-round and reviewed three times a year. The next application review deadline is Friday, March 16th, for assistance beginning late May 2018.