Why Do You Need a Philanthropic Strategic Plan?
Philanthropy is more than writing a check or making a donation. It’s a deeply personal journey that reflects your values, passions, and vision for change. However, achieving meaningful and lasting impact requires more than good intentions. It calls for a thoughtful, well-crafted philanthropic strategic plan.
Giving vehicles are growing at a tremendous rate as well as the assets housed inside of them. This suggests that philanthropists are hungry for a sophisticated approach to their tax and philanthropic planning. According to Bank of America’s latest report on Wealthy Americans, 91% of wealthy Americans are embracing philanthropy as a strategy to invest their wealth. Additionally, the study points to the great wealth transfer of $84 trillion is well underway; Baby Boomers are passing assets to Gen X and Millennials.
With so much at stake, having a sound philanthropic strategic plan is not only prudent but also gratifying for philanthropists to know how to effectively guide their giving.
What Is a Philanthropic Strategic Plan?
A philanthropic strategic plan is a roadmap for your giving. It aligns your values and goals with actionable strategies, ensuring that your resources are deployed in the most effective and impactful way. This plan not only helps you focus on what matters most, but also allows you to navigate the complexities of modern philanthropy with clarity and confidence.
What does a Strategic Planning Process Encompass?
GPA typically splits our process into 3 sections: Data Collection, Feedback and Planning, and Action Planning. With our clients’ input, GPA advisors map agreed-upon goals and design a process that meets these goals. This process can take 3 – 12 months to complete depending on the number of stakeholders to engage and the depth and breadth of the planning goals.
1. Data Collection
This part of the process includes reviewing historical documents and past giving for a data analysis. The GPA team also initiates interviews with key stakeholders to capture perspectives and opportunities for grantmaking impact.
2. Feedback and Planning
The GPA team plans a retreat to discuss future philanthropic opportunities and to better understand and discuss the data collected. Retreat participants process, understand and discuss the data collected. The GPA team facilitates a discussion around board governance, engagement of family leaders, and strategic grantmaking opportunities to maximize impact.
3. Action Planning
Based on the retreat, conversations and data collected to date, the GPA team creates the strategic plan outlining a clear roadmap for future governance structure and grantmaking criteria, recommendations on family philanthropy best practices and policies, and a timeline for implementation.
Why Do You Need a Philanthropic Strategic Plan?
1. Clarify Your Vision and Goals
What do you want to achieve through your philanthropy? A strategic plan helps you answer this question by guiding you through a process of self-reflection and goal-setting. It ensures that your giving is aligned with your core values and long-term vision, creating a strong foundation for impactful work.
2. Maximize Your Impact
Without a clear plan, philanthropic efforts can become scattered and reactive. A strategic plan brings focus and intentionality to your giving, helping you prioritize initiatives that align with your goals. It also allows you to identify key metrics and evaluate the effectiveness of your contributions over time.
3. Adapt to Changing Circumstances
The world is constantly evolving, and so are the challenges we face. A strategic plan provides a flexible framework that allows you to adapt your giving in response to emerging needs, opportunities, or shifts in your personal or financial circumstances. This adaptability ensures that your philanthropy remains relevant and effective.
4. Engage Stakeholders Effectively
Philanthropy often involves collaboration with family members, advisors, and nonprofit partners. A strategic plan serves as a unifying document that communicates your vision and priorities to everyone involved. This alignment fosters better decision-making and stronger partnerships.
5. Navigate Complexity with Confidence
From understanding tax implications to evaluating nonprofit organizations, philanthropy can be complex. A strategic plan helps you navigate these complexities by integrating expert advice from your broader advisory team, including your tax or estate attorney, financial advisor, and CPA. With a clear strategy in place, you can approach your giving with confidence and purpose.
When should you undertake Strategic Planning?
Of all the strategic planning the GPA team does in partnership with our clients, the common through line is a moment of inflection. These can include:
1. Getting started for the first time: A family may have experienced a wealth event (sale of business, inheritance, etc.) that creates an opportunity for strategic philanthropy. The family needs a framework for their philanthropic focus and grantmaking.
2. Passing the leadership torch to the next generation: The next generation of a family has been invited to the family giving table. What’s next? The older generations want to ensure proper education takes place for the next generation leaders and there is a gradual passing of leadership roles. A strategic planning process can facilitate this process.
3. Succession Planning: Leadership within a family philanthropy will inevitably evolve. Staff positions will change as well as the people who fill those roles. Family members rotate in and out of board roles. How do you ensure a smooth transition on the staff and family side? Decision makers and board roles will be filled by various people over time.
4. Testing Assumptions: It is healthy to reconsider your philanthropic strategies every 5-10 years. Questioning your current focus areas, community needs and approaches helps sharpen your strategic impact. A thorough strategic planning process will help you test your assumptions.
What are the Key Ingredients to a Successful Strategic Planning Process?
Involve all stakeholders: Including many voices in the process ensures overall buy in the plan’s goals. Stakeholders can include family members (board and non board of multiple generations), advisors, staff, grant partners, issue area experts and civic leaders.
Host a retreat style meeting: Creating a time and space when family and staff can come together to listen to each other and plan is critical.
Create a process where all feel heard: From data collection through the retreat and presenting the strategic plan, everyone involved needs to feel that their insights and opinions were heard and considered in the planning process.
Lean into independent thinking: Utililizing a third-party to create a safe environment for all stakeholders to share openly and know that their thoughts will be shared and yet not attributed is important. Incorporating best practices into the planning process also proves useful to looking at other approaches to shared challenges and opportunities within the family or organization.
What are the Outcomes of a Successful Strategic Planning Process?
- Consensus among family, staff and key stakeholders around their future vision and goals.
- Refined mission, vision and values statements are articulated.
- Governance framework with supporting policies are approved.
- Grantmaking focus area(s) and criteria are outlined and agreed upon.
- A confident next generation of leadership is at the helm.
- A clear succession plan is in place.
- A clear timeline for the plan’s implementation is mapped.
- Communication about the plan to the community and nonprofit partners is critical.
What is the Role of an Independent Philanthropic Advisor in the Process?
Developing a strategic plan can be a complex process, but you don’t have to do it alone. An independent philanthropic advisor brings expertise, objectivity, and a fresh perspective to help you craft a plan that reflects your unique goals and circumstances. The GPA team holds all voices and perspectives to ensure stakeholders feel honored in the process. An independent philanthropic advisor brings best practices from the field for consideration while understanding personal passions and views. An independent philanthropic advisor works in collaboration with your other advisors to ensure your philanthropic strategy is seamlessly integrated into your overall financial and estate planning.
Why Now?
The need for strategic philanthropy has never been greater. Whether you’re responding to urgent crises, addressing systemic challenges, or supporting local initiatives, a strategic plan empowers you to make a difference in a way that is both thoughtful and effective. It’s an investment in the future—one that ensures your resources create lasting, meaningful impact.
At Grant Philanthropic Advisors, we specialize in helping individuals, families, and organizations develop tailored strategic plans that turn their vision into action. Let us help you chart a course for impactful, purpose-driven philanthropy.
About Grant Philanthropic Advisors:
We’re an independent, Charleston-based firm helping clients to focus and maximize their philanthropy—in turn, strengthening the fabric of our communities. Founded in 2019, we help donors move from responsive patterns of giving by assisting clients to identify values and become more strategic in their philanthropy. Our goal is to help donors to become more effective as change-makers. Our team has a combined 100 years of experience working in the field of philanthropy.
We work with foundations (large and small staff teams), donor advised fund holders, multi generational families, individuals, philanthropy supporting organizations and corporations to design philanthropic strategies. We work with philanthropies that grant $1 million to $40 million annually. Our clients span the Southeast with a concentration in Charleston, Atlanta and Charlotte.