Benefits of planning

There are a range of potential benefits to be gained from planning:

Building a sustainable future
It maybe attractive to just stick to what you know and tested ways of working. But while you stand still those around you will not, and you will find it increasingly difficult to attract funding and support for your work. Be clear about what your organisation is trying to achieve and how it will do so. It will certainly give you an advantage when applying for funding or generating other income streams.

Keep your eyes on the prize
Many voluntary and community organisations complain that they are constantly ‘fire-fighting’ and reacting to the same issues and problems. They would dearly love to be more proactive in their work and create a sustainable future for their beneficiaries. Planning and thinking strategically can help you achieve this by prioritising your work and helping to deliver those tasks and activities that are essential to your cause...thus keeping your eyes on the prize!

Helping to build relationships
Getting everyone who has an interest in the organisation involved in the planning process provides an opportunity for key stakeholders to get to know each other, make their views heard and help review your objectives and plans together. Communicating your plan or strategy clearly to stakeholders will also encourage teamworking and help build relationships, as they will know exactly what is expected of them and what direction the organisation is heading.

Manage risk
Planning for the future provides an organisation with an external focus and can help identify potential risks for the organisation, highlighting your weaknesses and alert you to future dangers. It also forces you to test the likely sustainability of your future plans with hard financial evidence and devise appropriate risk management methods to deal with them.

Motivate your staff
Thinking strategically or long-term provides the opportunity to look back at past successes and celebrate what you do well. Recognition of such achievements will not only encourage staff to make future improvements but having a clear idea of where the organisation is going and how they fit into the bigger picture will raise staff morale and motivation.

Be creative
Bringing everyone together to talk about the future of the organisation often helps to develop and stimulate new ideas, working out how to do things better, improve on past performance and seek to deliver sustainable services into the future.