A strategic growth plan is lacking for many nonprofit organizations, large and small. Rarer still is the strategic plan that is concise in its language and regularly used by both staff and board as part of the management of the organization. 

A strategic plan can live up to this simple goal, if it is developed using a thoughtful and inclusive process. The Ad Council’s program consists of a series of facilitated workshop sessions that takes your team through the development of a strategic plan. We use multiple strategic planning tools – including MacMillan Matrix – and, in keeping with our mission, take special care to ensue that brand and marketing are fully integrated into your plan.

The final plan document is contained on one page, and your team will gain the skills and experience needed to use this tool as an ongoing management tool.
Scheduling of the workshop sessions is customized for your organization. It is expected that your group will take part in 15-20 hours of facilitated sessions, with additional work completed independently.

Why the Ad Council?

Having marketing concepts drive the success of nonprofit organizations is core to the Ad Council’s mission. The strategic plan can be an immensely powerful tool for nonprofits, and can help marketing and brand management become an integral part of the management of an organization. It is also an important part of the sustainability of other brand and marketing work  - whether that is done in partnership with the Ad Council or not. For example, if an organization doesn’t commit to brand-building initiatives in its strategic plan, it is likely that much of the branding work will be wasted. Similarly, there are often strategic-plan-level innovations suggested as part of the Ad Council’s Strategic Roundtable program. If an organization lacks the capacity to create such a plan, it is unlikely that it will be able to work towards implementing these innovations.