| by Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, President
and CEO, Capital
Venture
Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Development
Plan
Part Four
One of the biggest problems with many development plans
is that they sit on shelves gathering dust. If the plan has
all the components discussed in the last article, it should
be easy to implement and to evaluate. Most plans fail because
organizations are really good at setting goals and objectives,
but not always as diligent when it comes to establishing
the action steps necessary to implement those goals.
Before the development plan is complete, an evaluation process
should be in place. This process will include assigning a
person, usually the Chief Development Officer (CDO), to monitor
the plan on a regular basis. To simplify the process, the
plan should include a section that lists all the action steps
with a timeline; a section that lists each step that has
a budget impact, both positive and negative; and a section
that outlines tasks according to the personnel responsible
for carrying them out.
If each person, committee, or department that is responsible
for implementing the plan has a list of action steps that
need to be taken, it is much more likely that they will follow
the plan. Similarly, the timeline will make it simple for
the CDO to measure progress on a monthly, or even weekly,
basis. Finally, the budget outline will be helpful when presenting
the plan to the CEO, the CFO, or the board that must approve
the expenditures needed to implement the plan.
At every development department meeting, the plan should
be reviewed, especially in relation to the timeline and the
personnel responsible. The CDO should not use the plan to
point fingers at staff members who may be falling behind
in carrying out their parts of the plan, but rather as a
tool to celebrate progress and discuss issues that might
be impeding the progress of the plan. Often there are segments
of the plan that are not accomplished according to the established
timeline, but there may be extenuating circumstances that
justify this deviation.
Some non-monetary goals should also be established in the
plan, particularly for organizations that are new to development.
Be sure to celebrate progress made on these goals as well;
it is not always just about the money!
The development committee, which has a great deal of responsibility
for both developing and implementing the plan, should also
review it on a regular basis. A segment of each development
committee meeting should be devoted to reviewing progress
on the plan and making adjustments if necessary. The board
of directors, which is also responsible for certain segments
of the plan, should review the plan periodically to assess
progress and help establish goals for the next planning year.
Loo king at the plan on a regular basis will ensure that
some goals are not overlooked while other areas are being
pursued. Regular reviews also help prevent staff, board,
and volunteers from being led astray by delving into areas
that are not part of the plan. If a good idea is presented
that is not in the plan, the CDO should suggest that the
idea be investigated further and possibly incorporated into
the next plan. If the opportunity is immediate, then those
involved need to examine the plan to see what area might
have to be eliminated from the current plan in order to pursue
this new opportunity.
When it's time to evaluate the plan's performance/effectiveness,
the CDO should discuss the plan with the CEO, outlining the
progress made and identifying areas that might be hindering
the plan's implementation, such as technology needs, lack
of board involvement, or budget constraints.
Established guidelines for various development components,
cited from Jim Greenfield's book, Fundraising, have
been included in my book, The
Development Plan. These guidelines can help your
organization compare its progress in many areas of development
against acceptable standards.
I would enjoy hearing about your successes and challenges
in developing and implementing your development plan. Feel
free to contact me at Linda@cvfundraising.com or
visit my website at www.cvfundraising.com for
assessment tools that may be helpful in the planning process. |
