Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County Agency Conference Strategic Planning for Partner Agencies

My Background Based in Chicago, IL 4+ years at Feeding America –Fundraising –Grant-Making –Compliance and Capability Before Feeding America –Fundraising for a large regional human services organization in Chicago –Legal Aid attorney for more than 8 years © 2010 Feeding America

Founded in 1967 when a Phoenix, AZ man, John van Hengel, discovered a woman sorting through a dumpster for food He started asking local grocers to donate excess food to community feeding sites rather than throwing it away Network started with 13 food banks distributing 2.5 million pounds of food Feeding America History

The Feeding America Network Today More than 200 member food banks  All 50 states and Puerto Rico  3 billion pounds distributed annually  19 member food banks serve the state of California Feeding America National Office  Nearly 190 employees  Main office in Chicago  Washington, D.C. office

Vision and Mission Vision: A hunger-free America Our mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.

The Feeding America Network 61,000 Partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters

Feeding America Food and Fund Partners

Your Community Partner Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County 1 county served 948 square miles in service area Poverty population = 296,846 Food insecure population = 390,880 Unemployed as of October 2011 = 142, member agency partners Distribution to agencies in CY 2011 = 17,514,607 lbs Produce = 26.8% / Retail Stores = 15.5%

Strategic Planning © 2010 Feeding America

Why Strategic Planning? Over time many organizations experience mission creep Year 1 Year 10 Primary Mission Year 20

What is a Strategic Plan? A commitment to improving performance An outline of direction and priorities A guide to allocating resources A process that builds commitment © 2010 Feeding America

How are we doing? Where are we headed? How will we get there? What’s it going to take? How are we doing? Where are we headed? How will we get there? What’s it going to take?

Benefits of strategic planning Be Proactive Helps you recognize changes in the environment, economy, community Helps you understand what you’re good at … and what you’re not good at Helps define the choices to make that can help you achieve your mission Planning is future oriented 1

Benefits of strategic planning Set Priorities In a world of limited resources, you cannot be all things to all people Are all of your activities equally important to achieve your mission? What is the cost of saying yes to an activity? Strategy is more about what not to do than what to do 2

Benefits of strategic planning Improve Performance A strategic plan helps you set clear goals The planning process creates buy-in from your key participants Measuring performance against a strategic plan shows your organization’s effectiveness You get what you measure 3

Scale Strategic Planning to Fit Your Needs One-page plans Comprehensive Plans Annual Plans Three Year Plans Mission > Goals > Resources > Timeline Only

Human Resources Who should be at the table? Staff Volunteers Board members Clients Community partners Peers Why? More perspectives and more input Buy-in and commitment Better execution © 2010 Feeding America

Strategic Planning Process Look at the external environment Assess stakeholder needs Analyze strengths and weaknesses Situation Assessment Objectives & Strategies Implementation Revisit your vision, mission and values Set goals Identify strategic issues and develop responses Identify and allocate resources Check activity match against the plan Measure performance against the plan

Situation Assessment Look at the external environment Stakeholder Assessment Analyze Where You Are Demographics Economy Community Changes Political Situation Technology Identify all stakeholders (who is impacted by your work?) Confirm their needs Look for shared needs Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats 1 1

Objectives and Strategies Do they still fit the organization and the environment? What do they look like now? What did they look like in the beginning? © 2010 Feeding America Revisit your Mission, Vision and Values 2 2

The Mission A statement of why we exist. Characteristics: Simple & clear Inspires change Long term in nature Easy to understand & communicate One method for developing your mission is to start with a descriptive statement of what the organization does, then ask “why?” 5 times. © 2010 Feeding America

Example Mission Statements © 2010 Feeding America

The Vision An inspirational statement of what the organization aspires to become or desires to accomplish. Characteristics: Concise Appealing to stakeholders Consistent with mission and values Inspirational – inspires faith and hope Paints a word picture © 2010 Feeding America

Creating a Vision Statement Tips Focus on what the organization looks like in the future and not on the environment. Write the statement in the present tense of what the organization will look like in the future. Examples We are a leader of nonprofit excellence in the community. We provide healthy food to underserved children in the community. We are the recognized leader in nutrition education. We are the voice of hunger for advocacy and education outreach. © 2010 Feeding America

Values A limited number of deeply held beliefs demonstrated in day-to-day behaviors. Example values from Feeding America: Respect, Stewardship and Accountability, Collaboration, Urgency, Service, Integrity, Diversity. Urgency defined as: “We operate with an acute sense of urgency that reflects the immediate needs of people struggling with hunger. We challenge our employees, volunteers and partners to embrace the same sense of urgency to accomplish our shared vision.” © 2010 Feeding America

Mission Vision Core Values Vision Priorities Purpose and Direction Phase Goals and Action Phase

Mission Vision Core Values Vision Priorities Goals Actions Purpose and Direction Phase Goals and Action Phase

Translating Vision into Action Vision: Our organization will provide a sustainable source of food for emergency needs. Vision Priority: Create a fundraising program to increase financial capacity to buy food. Goal: Increase donations by 5% in first year. © 2010 Feeding America Actions: Identify existing staff or volunteers with fundraising experience or interest in learning fundraising skills Include $XXXX in budget for fundraising expenses Analyze existing donors to determine potential growth areas Develop written fundraising plan Identify board champion for fundraising Develop written strategy to involve board in fundraising

Always set SMART goals Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time bound © 2010 Feeding America

Successful Implementation Connect resources to the plan FundsPeoplePartners Share responsibility for results Communication Buy-in from planners and participants Measure Performance Keep score Motivate staff and board Steward and engage donors © 2010 Feeding America 3 3

Successful Implementation Don’t let all your work sit on a shelf! Refer to it regularly The plan can guide day to day work and long-term decisions © 2010 Feeding America

Takeaways Stepping back to assess, direct and strengthen nonprofits means more organizations accomplish their mission Scale strategic planning to your needs Use strategic planning as an opportunity to work better and to increase commitment from staff, volunteers, board members, and other partners

Questions Feedback? How can we help you be successful?

Thank You Mary Callaghan Manager, Compliance & Capability Feeding America