A Social Change Agency, also known as an SSC, is a non profit organization dedicated to assisting community and government organizations to improve the quality of life for all residents. The mission of the SSC is to strengthen our communities by fostering participatory action and community organization and by promoting access to government programs for underserved populations, particularly those who are economically vulnerable. Our core values are: fairness, equity, integrity, sustainability, and responsibility. A social change agency seeks to empower individuals and community groups through strategic planning, effective communications and development, and service provision.

Strategic planning is the basis of all the work that the SSC does. It begins with comprehensive strategic plans that take into account priorities and goals of the organization, as well as those of the various nonprofit partners that comprise it. These strategic plans are called “growing lists”. The purpose of this process is to understand the current situation and needs of the community, find creative ways to build coalitions, and develop comprehensive programs that serve the needs of all stakeholders. Strategic planning is a collaborative effort between leaders and members of the nonprofit organization, and it is a key element in the development of the SSC.

Another core responsibility of the SSC is the implementation of public relations and marketing strategies in support of the nonprofit organization’s social change agenda. In this role, the SSC provides expertise in effective communications, strategic planning, program development, and creative community organizing. In addition, the SSC provides professional development and counseling to ensure that the staff of the nonprofit organization possess the knowledge, skills, and expertise necessary to effectively promote themselves and their cause. The SSC also plays a key role in ensuring that the various nonprofits within the organization have access to capital and other resources. In magazine , the SSC serves as a trusted advisor, providing information about how to get out the word about the SSC and its work.

Now, it is true that many of us have participated in some form of strategic planning workshop or similar program in the past that taught strategic thinking, communication skills, and problem solving techniques. Indeed, this is one of the best ways to develop the capacity to build influence in a community. However, these workshops do not teach the full breadth of what the SSC can do to build influence and relationships when it comes to building coalitions and implementing policy. Therefore, the focus of this article will be to provide an overview of the A factor – strategic planning, and share with you some strategies the SSC can utilize to build influence and build relationships as part of its strategic planning process.

magazine for nonprofits is relatively simple to design, implement, and execute. First, we need to determine our strategic objectives and the primary focus of our nonprofit activities. Next, we need to determine which types of organizations or sectors of society will have the greatest potential to engage and support us. Finally, we need to identify strategic partners within the various sectors of society that will likely have the greatest impact on our mission-driven causes and programs.

As part of our strategic planning process, we need to identify potential funding sources. In fact, funding for nonprofits is not even a particularly difficult issue to address. We typically identify and apply federal funds, as well as private foundation money, through strategic planning. In magazine to federal funding, there are a number of popular options for leveraging nonprofit resources. Examples include leveraging individual donations and leveraging corporate gifts.

As part of our strategic planning, we also need to identify and define our target market. In other words, what type of people or organizations will have the greatest potential interest in our nonprofit endeavors? magazine will be an important aspect of our strategic planning and must be addressed early in the process. For instance, if we are currently involved in the development of a youth organization, then we definitely want to focus our efforts on developing organizations that appeal to the youth. (The same is true for women’s groups, farmers’ markets, ethnic or faith-based groups, etc.)

Finally, once we’ve identified those nonprofits with the greatest potential for developing and maintaining a long-term vision for our organization, we need to develop a trusted advisor relationship. When working with nonprofits, it is critical that we provide honest thought leadership training to our strategic partners. The trust that we build when we take on the responsibility of being a trusted advisor can go far toward motivating them to work towards building their capacity and commitment to our mission-driven causes. Thus, we can say that we have found, through the practice of strategic planning, a useful vehicle by which to develop and build influence and build our reputation and power as a nonprofit leader.