Comprehensive Development Plans

What is a” Comprehensive Development Plan” and why bother with it?

We have all seen it happen over and over again: A major grant comes to an end and suddenly an agency needs to examine whether it can continue a successful new program. Or, the annual gala just isn’t attracting the crowd it once did and, after the latest one, the Development Committee is left wondering how to make up for what was not raised. Or, maybe that rummage sale has become more work than it is worth…

It is inevitable that streams of support ebb and flow over time. Foundations shift interests. Events lose their cachet. Major donors react to changes in their circumstances. To avoid the need to be urgently reactive, savvy nonprofits regularly ask themselves how they can both broaden and vary their streams of support so that they are not overly dependent upon just one or two of them. The result of such a methodical inquiry into these questions is a “comprehensive development plan.”

Such a plan takes sets goals for all significant funding sources and also outlines an agenda for each. It helps guide agency leaders toward those fields of support which hold promise of becoming more fertile while also steering them away from fields which are requiring more effort to attain the same or even poorer results.

What does the process involve?

A sound process starts with a thorough review and assessment of all current sources of income. If possible, it is most helpful to examine records for three years, establishing an average and a trend line in all significant categories of income sources. These may include: annual appeal, fee for service, direct mail solicitation, events, grants, major donor programs, special appeals, and so forth.

With this background complete, it is then possible to set ambitious yet realistic goals. For every source of funding, there should be two, one naming a dollar amount to be raised and the other a number of contributors (or equivalent). Then, in support of each goal, identify the objectives that must be met in order for the goal to be achieved.

Still, a truly comprehensive plan will consist of more than income goals and objectives. It will also include sections on relevant cultivation activities. At a minimum, this principle translates into sections on external communications and public relations (because every nonprofit, however small, must interact with those outside it). Depending upon the type of organization in question, other sections may address community affairs, government relations, member/sponsor relations, and volunteer programs.

Putting the basic building blocks together, the outline of a completed plan might look like this:

• Review of Current Practices and Results
• Donated Income Goals and Objective
• Annual Appeal
• Major Donors Program
• Grants and Corporate Contributions
• Resource Cultivation Goals and Objectives
• External Communications
• Community Affairs / Public Relations
• Constituent Relations
• Marketing Program Goals and Objectives
• Professional Referral Sources
• Program Alumni

Who should be involved in the process?

If the organization employs a development director, that individual is the natural first choice to lead the effort. (If not, then the executive director will likely need to take the lead staff role.) Other key participants include the board’s development committee, the executive director, and any committees or staff with oversight of or responsibilities for marketing, public relations, community affairs, and the like.

When should the process be undertaken?

A comprehensive development plan is essentially a strategic plan for resource development. Consequently, because the strategic plan, by definition, looks at the whole picture of an organization’s preferred future, I recommend completing it first and then proceeding with a development plan.

What happens when the planning process is completed?

It is critically important for the plan to be monitored regularly and revised as appropriate. Most importantly, the plan is worth nothing without an implementation schedule. Once the plan is adopted by the board, prepare a timetable that assigns responsibilities to lead individuals and provides dates for progress and/or completion. As with the strategic plan, a date should also be set for annual review and update of the whole plan.