This case study describes how a strategic plan helped a nonprofit arts organization establish and accomplish its long-term goals.
The organization came to NESC after a funder told them they needed a strategic plan to grow their organization.

NESC started by interviewing the staff, board, and key stakeholders to understand what the organization did well, what they could improve upon, and which other arts organizations provided similar programs and how well they did them. Then a competitive analysis of other similar arts organizations was conducted to understand their respective boards, financials, funders, programs offered, and other key metrics.

Later, a Planning Committee was formed and comprised of key staff and board members. Later, a supporter was brought in who then became a board member.

After the Planning Committee was formed, the next step was to review the organization’s mission statement. Immediately, it was apparent that the business staff wanted different wording on the mission than the artistic side of the organization. One staff member was actually spending time on a part of the mission that had become less relevant over the years. Because of that meeting, the organization developed a unified vision, and the staff began to focus their efforts on what is really important to the organization’s mission.

NESC then assisted the Committee with developing goals by identifying the three most important initiatives and steps to accomplishing those goals, along with a timetable for completion.

Finally, the NESC team and the organization worked together to create a financial plan that could be used to help obtain additional funding and serve as a benchmark for measuring progress against goals.

As a result, the organization:

• Increased the number of board members and added board members with key skills that enabled them to grow their programs
• Initiated a “Give-Get” goal which enabled them to raise more money
• Increased revenue. By looking at what other organizations were charging for their programs, they decided to increase the price of their programs
• Now has a plan for growing the organization over the next three years