Resource library · free toolkits, templates and guides
The practical library for people who build nonprofits
211 really practical toolkits, templates and guides for nonprofit and NGO leaders, and the consultants and funders who support them. A mix of the classics and newer methods.
Suggestions are welcome211 resources · 15 topics · 137 publishers · 197 free to use
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7 resources found
- Search: strategic planning guide
- 2.1C015
How Nonprofits and NGOs Can Get Real Value from Strategic Planning
A set of free strategic planning resources for nonprofit and NGO leaders. The lead article sets out 4 elements common to most planning approaches. Its PDF also includes Strategic Planning at a Glance, a one-page overview of the process and its key questions, and Useful Tools for Nonprofit Strategic Planning, a glossary of common tools. A separate FAQ covers practical questions boards and teams ask when judging if they are ready to plan.
CurrentKey online resourceFree - 2.1C017
Strategic planning: a toolkit for small NGOs
A short, step-by-step strategic planning toolkit for small NGOs, including those that fund partners and those that work directly with communities. It is one of 5 toolkits from INTRAC's Strengthening Small Organisations with Big Ambitions project (2021 to 2022), funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It comes as a PDF and as a lighter online version for low-bandwidth and mobile users. It is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Start hereCurrentKey manual or guideFree - 9.2C118
Stories Worth Telling
A guide from Georgetown's Center for Social Impact Communication and the Meyer Foundation, based on a review of storytelling at more than 150 social impact organisations. It covers 5 building blocks of a story: character, trajectory, authenticity, action-oriented emotions and a hook. It then walks through a story cycle of planning, production, distribution and evaluation, and ends on building a storytelling culture. Companion checklists and tools include a culture self-assessment and a story bank guide.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree with sign-up - 7.3C093
Building a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System for Your Organization
A guide from FSG on making evaluation systematic and tied to strategy across an organisation. It covers the parts of a strategic learning and evaluation system: an evaluation vision, a learning culture, clear strategy, coordinated activities and a supportive environment. It explains how to frame learning questions for 1 to 3 years and decide what to evaluate, when, and how to use findings. A webinar and slides accompany it.
Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree with sign-up - 2.1C019
Agile Strategy
A guide to running strategy as a living system for nonprofits and social enterprises. It sets out 3 layers: Strategic Direction, which fixes long-term vision and values; Strategic Signals, which capture new insights and changes in the environment; and Strategic Sprints, focused projects of 2 to 3 months that move the strategy forward. Teams use it with the one-page Agile Strategy Canvas and review the strategy on a regular cycle.
EmergingKey manual or guideFreeNonprofit Builder tool - 4.3C050
Building Leaderful Organizations
Volume 6 of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Executive Transition Monograph Series, written for nonprofit executives and boards. It sets out 3 approaches to succession planning: strategic leader development, emergency succession planning and departure-defined succession planning. A section on the tough issues covers common sticking points, and a resource list closes the guide. Boards and executives use it as a framework to start succession planning and to spread leadership across staff.
Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree - 9.1C112
A Practical Guide to Integrated Communications
A workbook from Idealware that helps nonprofit staff plan communications across channels as one system. It has 18 worksheets in 4 sections: getting started with a self-assessment and an ideal channel mix, planning a campaign with schedules and a week-by-week calendar, planning ongoing maintenance content, and combining both into an integrated week and a longer-term plan. Teams can work through it from start to finish or use single worksheets.
ClassicTool or templateFree
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