Differentiating between “Big Dreams” and “Strategic Plans”: The Art of Philanthropic Due Diligence (Part 2)
I have had no time in the last 6 weeks to pause and post insights from my daily philanthropic due diligence work. The high number of evaluation, research, and advisory projects on my “to do” list has kept my nose to the grindstone. However, in the course of completing these projects I am employing every element I know from the art of philanthropic due diligence. So let me say a few words about nonprofit “Strategic Plans.”
As part of our Levels 2-5 Due Diligence reports, we collect and analyze 1-3 year “Strategic Plans.” It is my job to tell whether I am looking at a nonprofit’s “Big Dreams” or realistic “Strategic Plans.” There are a few giveaways that make the call an easy one. When the first line reads “Reach every child, everywhere,” I’m staring at “Big Dreams.” When a 2-year old organization serving 2,000 people sets a target for 220 million people in 10 years, again I am seeing “Big Dreams.” The problem is not the audacity of the goals. The problem is the lack of feasible plans to achieve the goals in a specific time frame.