Giving Compass' Take:

• In a blog at TechSoup, Kris Putnam-Walkerly takes readers through the most efficient ways to formulate and implement strategy for improved nonprofit giving.

• Putnam-Walkerly mentions how some nonprofits expend a lot of energy in the formulation process. How can you use the advice from this article to speed up your giving strategy?

• Learn more about the current state of nonprofits in 2020.

Strategy is a framework within which decisions are made that influence the nature and direction of the organization. It's a tool that helps you make decisions that are congruent with where you want your nonprofit to go. It provides the guardrails that will help you decide where to focus your efforts and what to abandon.

There are two parts to strategy: strategy formulation (developing your strategy) and strategy implementation (executing your strategy). You've got to have both parts for your strategy to succeed. Too often, nonprofits lump them both into a single, lengthy, cumbersome "strategic planning process." It's far better to separate strategy formulation from its implementation.

The role of strategy is to take the present state of your nonprofit and move it to your desired future state, ideally as quickly as possible. To formulate your strategy, you identify your desired future state (e.g., the change you want to see in your community or the type of nonprofit you want to become). This is informed by your mission, vision, and values. It's also informed by data, such as demographic trends, needs assessments, and the perspectives of those you are seeking to help.

To implement your strategy, you figure out how to get from where you are today (your current state) to where you want to be (your desired future state). This includes aligning your people (e.g., you, your board, staff, and volunteers), your structures (the way people are put together), and your processes (the way people interact).

Read the full article about formulating strategy in nonprofits by Kris Putnam-Walkerly at TechSoup.