Planning

Planning means different things to different people.  For the purposes of being a community group, we would argue that it's about knowing what you do and don't do and judging all your activities and services based on that.  The decisions you make for the future of your organisation should be based on your past experiences, the present situation and circumstances and your future goals.

Why plan?

Some reasons why you may want to embrace a culture of planning and growth in your organisation

• Stability in 'uncertain' times - you can plan for a 'sunny' or a 'rainy' day
• Ready to take on new challenges - knowing who you are and what you do means you can jump on an opportunity should it arise
• Manage your resources - means that you can prepare to request and receive donations of time, money or equipment
• External PR - makes you look great to the outside world because planning shows and you look like you know what you're doing because you do!
• Reducing stress/worry - having everything planned and in check is a great way of reducing the stress of leading a group in whole or part.

What can we achieve?

You might have some goals with your planning, these could be:

• Increase exposure - More people know you exist
• Raise funds – Ethical and appropriate funding and fundraising
• Recruit more volunteers – Diversify/expand your volunteering programme
• Recruit donors – Not just money, but stuff and skills
• Improve communications and marketing – Show your ethos and mission
• Create strong partnerships – Work with likeminded groups

This is certainly not an exhaustive list but all of these are likely to be useful for your organisation to gain.

Sharing goals

An optional but useful stage is to share your plans and goals with others (either internally or externally).  This is useful because:

• It makes you accountable - there becomes more than you checking in one how it's all going
• Can help spread the load - getting others involves increases the brain capacity on the challenge
• Helps you frame your goals clearly - In trying to explain it to others you have to try and articulate it clearly.  Even if you don't share the goals, this is a useful thing to do as it forces clarity
• Progress becomes easier to measure when others are paying attention
• Helps you stay motivated - as the hype builds and more elements are crossed off the to-do list, the momentum gathers and the end comes in sight
• Telling others inspires conversation and storytelling which can help you connect with like-minded people who hear what you are doing and see how they could get involved.