Strategic planning used to imply a timeline of seven to 10 years. Long-term plans projected stability, longevity, and a clear future. But in the last decade, we’ve seen that timeline drop. Now, even a five-year plan can seem overlong. And a board member recently joked with me that a three-year plan felt out of touch. “Why should we plan past 18 months?” she said. “What’s the point?”

She was partially right. Planning anything in detail past even six or 12 months and expecting it to align with reality is an exercise in disappointment. Instead of a 10-year plan, create a 10-year aspiration that serves as your guiding light. Fuel it with a responsive strategic plan that outlines your path forward, based on your current realities.

The 10-Year Strategic Plan

Nonprofits have always been asked to adapt. Recessions, new funding priorities, shifting community needs. And those changes, while challenging, felt manageable; they were within the realm of what we had already seen and survived. Developing a 10-year strategic plan felt ambitious, but not impossible.

That changed with COVID. In a few short weeks, all our lives turned upside down. People needed support from the social sector more than ever before, and nonprofits, communities, and funders rose to the occasion. But normal never returned.

Since 2020, it’s felt like we’ve been in a state of perpetual uncertainty: dramatic shifts in state and federal funding, a contentious political climate, and rising costs. And that once-common 10-year plan feels like a shot in the dark. How are we supposed to know where we’ll be 10 years from now? We don’t know what the world will look like next year.

What lights the way is your 10-year aspiration.

The 10-Year Aspiration

Before you build your 10-year aspiration, make sure your organization’s vision statement is strong and clearly understood by all. Then work with your board and staff to dream up your 10-year aspiration. Remember these two are not the same thing. Your vision statement should be so ambitious that it almost feels impossible. Your 10-year aspiration is the bold step you take toward making that vision a reality. If your vision is A community without hunger, your 10-year aspiration might be Halving the meal gap by 2036.

Your aspiration becomes what the 10-year strategic plan didn’t often deliver: stability, longevity, and a clear future. It’s a thread across changing leadership and landscapes.

The Responsive Plan

Pair your aspiration with a strategic plan that helps you bridge the gap between where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Your aspiration should be ambitious, but that also means it can be intimidating; use your strategic plan to break down your journey into workable segments. I recommend a three-year plan that prioritizes your work, includes measures of success, and is both human-centered and data-informed.

As you plan, write the first year in ink, the second year in pencil, and the third year in light pencil. Implement by the quarter: