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What Every Nonprofit Should Know About Strategic Planning in 2025

What Every Nonprofit Should Know About Strategic Planning in 2025

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As we settle into 2025, one thing is crystal clear: change is ever-present. For nonprofits, this means staying agile amid technological advancements, shifting societal needs, and evolving stakeholder expectations. It’s a lot to juggle, but here’s the good news: focusing on what’s within your control can help cut through the noise. That’s where strategic planning comes in—a tried-and-true way to stay focused and mission-driven in a constantly shifting world. 

Having a strong strategic plan to guide and unite your organization can be a game-changer as organizations look to successfully navigate all of this change. If your nonprofit has a strategic plan in place, you’re ahead of the game. But let’s be honest, keeping those plans relevant and actionable isn’t always easy. At Hedges, we’ve seen how a strong plan—one that adapts with your organization while staying focused on your organization’s priorities—can propel a nonprofit to new heights.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the trends shaping strategic planning in 2025 and how your organization can incorporate these strategies to ensure your strategic plan is as relevant and adaptable as your team needs it to be.

1. Revisit Your Vision, Mission, and Values (VMV)

Your Vision, Mission, and Values aren’t just abstract ideas—they’re the foundation of everything your nonprofit does. They provide clarity and direction, especially when things feel uncertain. In 2025, more nonprofits are recognizing the power of a refreshed VMV as a strong foundation for their strategic planning efforts.

What’s new here? Many organizations are realizing that their VMV needs an update to reflect today’s realities. This isn’t just about a few wordsmithing tweaks; it’s about aligning these core statements with how the world—and your community—has evolved. For instance, nonprofits are now weaving their VMV into their Theory of Change, making sure their long-term goals and day-to-day work are deeply connected. Core Values, which may have been an afterthought in the past, are stepping into the spotlight as a key tool for decision-making and culture-building.

Your opportunity: Before kicking off your next planning cycle, pause and revisit your VMV. Gather input from your staff, board, and the communities you serve. Are these principles still relevant? Do they resonate with your stakeholders? When your VMV reflects where you are today, it becomes an effective compass for the road ahead.

2. Embrace Scenario and Agile Planning

If there’s one thing the past few years have taught us, it’s that adaptability is non-negotiable. Enter Scenario Planning and Agile Planning—two approaches that nonprofits are leaning into to navigate uncertainty and complexity as they are implementing their strategic plans.

Here’s how they’re making a difference: Scenario Planning helps nonprofits prepare for a range of potential futures, from best-case to worst-case scenarios. This isn’t about predicting the future; it’s about being ready for whatever comes your way. Meanwhile, Agile Planning emphasizes flexibility and regular check-ins, making it easier to adjust course without derailing your overall mission. These approaches are particularly powerful for nonprofits juggling limited resources and unpredictable external challenges.

Your opportunity: Consider incorporating Scenario Planning into your next implementation strategy session. For example, what would you do if funding suddenly doubled—or got cut in half? Similarly, embrace Agile Planning by building in regular check-ins to review progress and make adjustments to your action plans in ways that remain aligned to your multi-year strategic goals. Introducing these tools to your implementation work can help you stay responsive while keeping your mission and strategic plan goals at the center of your decision-making.

3. Focus on Holistic Impact Measurement

In today’s world, transparency isn’t just appreciated—it’s expected. Stakeholders want to see the tangible impact of your work, and measuring that impact is now a critical part of any strategic plan.

The big shift? Nonprofits are moving beyond traditional metrics and looking to include tangible impact measurements for all aspects of their work. They are ensuring that the impact they are measuring and reporting is aligned with the full scope of the organization’s Vision, Mission, and Values. It’s no longer just about proving you’re making a difference—it’s about showing that your goals reflect your mission, your values, and your community’s priorities.

Nonprofits are often planning towards these metrics with structured goal-setting processes. This goal-setting can follow traditional formats like SMART Goals or KPIs, but there are also alternative goal-setting tools emerging like SMARTIE Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Inclusive, and Equitable) or CLEAR Goals (Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, and Refinable). These tools can bring that structure and focus to goal-setting, while also highlighting your organization’s commitment to your mission and values. 

Your opportunity: Choose an impact measurement framework that aligns with your organization and make sure relevant stakeholders are part of the process. Don’t be afraid to look beyond what you currently report to ensure that you are capturing all aspects of your organization’s impact in a meaningful way. When you measure what matters, you build trust with funders, partners, and the people you serve.

Remaining Relevant in 2025

Nonprofits are vital to their communities, and strategic planning is one of the most powerful tools we have to sustain and grow that impact. The trends we’re seeing around that strategic work—like grounding in VMV, embracing adaptability, and rethinking how we set goals and measure impact—may feel like big shifts, but they also open doors to incredible possibilities.

Here are three ways you can utilize these trends to support successful Strategic Plan implementation for your nonprofit:

  1. Revisit Your Roots: Regularly reaffirm your Vision, Mission, and Values to anchor your work.
  2. Embrace Adaptability: Use tools like Scenario and Agile Planning to navigate uncertainty with confidence.
  3. Measure What Matters: Align your goal-setting and impact measurement practices with your Vision, Mission, and Values to build greater trust and demonstrate effectiveness.

Change isn’t easy, but it gives us a chance to re-evaluate and grow. With an intentional and proactive approach to navigating change, your nonprofit can deliver on its strategic plan priorities, grow its impact, and continue to make a difference in the communities you serve.

kate briertyAbout Kate: Kate Brierty is passionate about asking the right questions to help groups have conversations and make decisions that will create real impact for the people they serve. She has lived out this passion for over a decade in education and nonprofit spaces in Charlotte, Detroit, and Indianapolis. In all her work as a senior consultant at Hedges, Kate is focused on pursuing meaningful results while keeping people at the center of her work.