How Successful Nonprofits Act Strategically
July 9, 2026 | By David M. Wagner
When I tell a new acquaintance that I partner with nonprofits to help them grow strategically, I’m often met with the same question:
“How do you make sure they actually do what’s in their strategy?”
It’s a fair question…and one born from the widespread experience of nonprofit leaders, staff, board members, and volunteers who have seen meaningless (if well-meaning) “strategies” perish on so many shelves.
In fact, I can’t ensure that my clients implement their plans.
But I do everything I can to set them up for success by incorporating the practices that successful nonprofits employ to act strategically.
What do those successful organizations have in common?
They Address the Hard Questions First
Does your organization need to invest in a new donor relationship management system?
Perhaps. But we’re jumping ahead of ourselves.
When strategies start with solutions, they often overlook more fundamental concerns. It’s a bit like trying to choose what to pack for a trip…before deciding how long the trip is, or even where you’re going!
Nonprofits that act strategically don’t jump into solutions or initiatives without first making sure they’re absolutely clear about their vision for themselves as an organization.
Organizations that struggle to act strategically avoid or skip foundational questions, like “who are we?” and “what kind of organization do we want to become?” – often because leaders don’t realize that not everyone is on the same page.
That’s why I take my clients through an assessment phase and a visioning phase to answer those questions before we discuss any future plans.
If you’re concerned about putting plans into action, make sure those plans are founded on a solid business strategy first.
They Make Plans, Not (Just) Ideas
Generating ideas is fun! But it’s not planning.
What’s the difference?
Ideation is about exploring possibilities. Planning requires choosing and prioritizing ideas that:
Align with your business strategy (including your purpose, vision, mission, and values),
You have the resources, time, and professional capacity to execute, and
Support – or at least don’t detract from – each other.
Strategic nonprofits develop a clear understanding of how to make ideas successful by consulting with implementers (usually staff) and people with past experience – before committing to them.
Getting the staff involved early also increases buy-in and puts them in the best position to carry out the work.
That’s why I ask my clients to include staff (and volunteers and partners, as applicable) in all phases of strategic planning, and especially during action planning. I also include training on project planning fundamentals so everyone has a shared framework for how to turn ideas into actions.
You can build more realistic plans by getting the “doers” involved early and often.
They Focus on Commitment, Not Consensus
My personal hell is a group chat with people trying to decide where to meet up for dinner.
Listening to others is important. But not at the expense of making a decision and taking action.
Nonprofits that act strategically also act decisively: their leaders agree to a plan of action and execute it faithfully, even if they don’t all agree it was the best possible path.
That does not mean that everyone agrees to a direction based on the bullying or bulldozing of one or two people. There still needs to be room for input, debate, and raising concerns.
But consensus is a nice-to-have byproduct, when it happens. Commitment is essential.
You can build commitment by using the same techniques I employ when I facilitate strategy development, planning, or issue processing for my clients.
Make sure the process gives ample opportunity for anyone impacted to weigh in. Encourage debate of alternatives among decision makers don’t move on until they all agree to support whatever path emerges. Sometimes, that means beginning with an exploratory step or a pilot program to gather more information before overcommitting resources.
They Talk about Their Strategy… A LOT
The unseen strategy is the easiest to ignore.
Strategic nonprofits don’t gather once to decide on their long-term plans and then never talk about their strategy again. Instead, they:
Publicize their strategy with their partners, funders, and broader community
Reiterate their strategy in onboarding for new board members, staff, and key volunteers
Tie department and staff performance goals to strategic outcomes
Review progress against strategic goals as a regular agenda item in board meetings
Justify key business decisions based on alignment with strategy
Schedule regular reviews to revisit and update aspects of their plans and business strategy
I assist my clients with each of these steps by helping them prepare summaries of their strategies that they can use for many of these purposes, as well as templates for tying organizational goals and performance metrics to strategy. My clients’ strategies also include an evaluation plan with a schedule for periodic updates.
You can revisit the same processes above and incorporate your strategy, such as by employing a decision matrix to choose strategic initiatives.
These are among my 10 tips for turning strategy into action. Download them today! And if you get stuck on any step, set a time to explore how I can help.