Creating Better Nonprofit Department Plans & Budgets
Here's a critical mistake to avoid when submitting your department plan and budget this year.
It's committing yourself - and your team - to work beyond your true capacity.
Listen, ambition is important.
In the social good realm, we're out here trying to solve - or at least stem the tide on - big issues for the people and places we serve. Dreaming of a better world and working to make it a reality are hallmarks of our sector.
But you know what doesn't work?
Overpromising and underdelivering.
Overworking your team because you focused more on the potential capacity represented by your new department org chart than on your team's actual capacity.
Setting goals based on "making the Board happy" rather than reality.
Using the "in a perfect world" approach to planning rather than one grounded in your current reality.
Exacerbating staff turnover by overcommitting is destabilizing your team and putting you even further behind on your big goals. Failing to recognize and account for the ongoing high staff turnover rates in the nonprofit sector as you plan is a huge mistake.
If you need help understanding your true capacity, start here:
Know your vacancy rate.
The vacancy rate is:
The number of vacant positions on your team
Divided by the total number of positions on your team
Multiplied by 100
So, if your department has:
5 open positions
Out of 23 total positions
Your vacancy rate is 𝟮𝟮%
Here's why it matters:
When you're making your plans and budget, are you:
Creating workloads and investments with a full team in mind?
Or are you dialing it back by at least 22%?
I say "at least" because there's still family and disability leave, onboarding time, mandatory training, collaboration across the organization, and other important elements that need to be factored in.
As department heads, it's critical to align our aspirations with our capabilities - and to bring a practical understanding of the progress we can make with the people, tools, and resources we actually have.
We need to care less about what looks good on paper and instead focus on what works well in real life.
Knowing our team's true capacity - so we don't start from a place of overcommitment - is essential to creating plans and budgets we can actually deliver on.
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As strategic advisors to nonprofit CEOs and department leaders, this is one of the ways LaFemina & Co. helps - enabling you to explore the bigger strategic questions facing your organization, avoid common pitfalls, and navigate the day-to-day complexities of nonprofit leadership. If you’re ready to get the right support to help you and your team succeed, send us a message and we'll set up time to connect.