It’s a new fiscal year here at IUAA, which means we’re spending a lot of time reviewing what went well last year and what we want to improve for the future. And we know that for many of our alumni communities, the summer serves a similar purpose: it’s a time to reflect and plan for the types of initiatives you want to undertake going forward to best serve your alumni.

We hear lots of feedback from volunteers that they want help with strategic and annual planning. We know from working with our groups that the ones that invest time at the beginning of a fiscal year in planning out their year, are more likely to stick to it and better able to achieve their goals. But making the time to plan and execute a strategic planning conversation is time consuming and can feel daunting. Where do you start? What should this look like?

In June, I hosted a webinar on the topic of annual planning and shared tips and tricks on how to best set yourself up for success by setting goals and planning in advance. Here, I’ll review some highlights from that presentation.

1. Conduct an analysis on your group’s strengths and opportunities for improvement: I think any good strategic/annual planning conversation begins with a reflective conversation about the previous year and reviewing what went well and what could be improve upon. I like to use an activity called the SOAR Analysis for this. SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. It’s similar to the traditional SWOT Analysis but instead challenges communities to focus on their strengths and what is already working, rather than dwelling on weaknesses.
2. Set effective goals for yourself: Second, after a community has identified strengths and aspirations for the future, I recommend setting some goals for the year. I like to use the SMART Goal framework for setting goals as a group. SMART is also an acronym – standing for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. Goals that follow this framework are more likely to be completed, since they are written in a way that makes clear how they can be accomplished and by when.
3. Consider ways the Chartered Alumni Communities Program can help you achieve your goals: When we created the four required campaigns, they were chosen because we believed they were broad enough to be adapted to meet the needs of any community. Consider the ways in which IU Day, or the Welcome To program, could be leveraged in order to help you reach your goals.
4. Create a comprehensive timeline complete with volunteer responsibilities: Once you have set goals and considered how the Chartered Alumni Communities Program can be a part of your yearly plan, it is time to choose strategies and programs and begin building your yearly calendar. Here at IUAA, we have resources to help, like an annual campaign calendar that shows graphically when various initiatives take place during the year and event timelines that can be adapted. Check out the full webinar or reach out to your liaison to learn more.

We are committed to continuing to provide our alumni volunteers with valuable resources to improve the quality of programming you are able to offer. I believe that investing time at the beginning of the year into effective planning can help you maintain focus; empower individuals on your board to have a voice in your annual planning; and marry your group’s individuals goals and passions with the things IU and IUAA is asking of our volunteers.

As always, we’re here to help and answer any questions you may have.