Over the past 15 years, Benefactor Group has supported nonprofits in their strategic planning, we found that too many organizations fell into one of two buckets:  

1. Their plan was a beautiful dream for the future with little clarity on measurement, action, and accountability or;  
2. Their plan sat on a shelf, untouched and unreferenced, until it was time to put together another one.  

At Benefactor Group, we never settle for good enough. We believe deeply in celebrating our geek factor. Which means continuously poking at what we know, what is (and isn’t) working for our clients, and what we can do better to serve those who serve the common good. 

To address these widespread problems, we dove into every aspect of our strategic planning process. Admittedly, that transformation was influenced by who we are as people—which means a deep love for data and spreadsheets—resulting in a process that is heavily informed by data. Data, when paired with accountability, can drive change, progress, and clarity. 

But data isn’t everything. As 2025 came to a close, I found myself coming back to the human element: the people that help shape the plan and ultimately fulfill it. Data-driven strategic planning didn’t feel like it was enough. You can include as many measures of success, dashboards, and Gantt charts as you want. If you aren’t prepared to implement the plans with people, it may go nowhere.  

So, in a world where we’re constantly inundated with information—blasting news reports, AI bots at the ready, search engines with limitless knowledge standing by, and ever-evolving technology—there’s power from leaning into being human. At Benefactor Group, we know there’s magic when strategic planning is both human-centered and data-informed. See how the magic happens below. 

Why human-centered strategic planning? 

Organizations are fundamentally human. 

They are groups of people coming together for a common purpose. Which means, for better or worse, they pick up our habits, traits, and idiosyncrasies. Organizational culture is created by the formal and informal leaders of your organization.  

Perceptions matter (even when they don’t reflect reality).

It matters if your organization is well known or financially stable. And it matters whether your internal and external stakeholders believe that’s true as well. Understanding how people feel and perceive your organization is an essential part of knowing where you are today, so you can plan appropriately for the future.  

Culture eats strategy for breakfast. 

Putting all of your measures and action items in a spreadsheet is the easy part. Implementation succeeds or fails based on people actually doing the work, which means creating a culture that embraces accountability, prioritization, and discipline. If these aren’t already in place, some of the most difficult work of activating your strategic plan will be getting people on board. Inspiration can matter here too; your team should be passionate about the mission and believe that the plan is leading the organization in the right direction. But they can be inspired by your day-to-day activities while also deprioritizing the strategic work that will really push the organization forward.  

Words inspire, and inspiration is a pathway to change.

If we have measures of success and projects that make our direction clear, why do we need to spend so much time on words? Because the right words can resonate in ways that data can’t. The right words give us memorable pillars that our team can’t help but remember and consider as they go throughout their day. Like the right vision, mission, and values, the right language in your strategic plan makes your strategy sticky, helping to integrate it into everything you do.  

Why data-informed strategic planning? 

In our hearts, we’re still geeks. 

We believe that good data is sexy and that good data is like a great relationship. And we know that measurement matters in strategic planning. We will always include some level of data in both strategic planning and strategy implementation.  

Humans have biases, and data can help counter those biases. 

“My idea is the best use of our resources.” “We have a communication issue within the organization.” “Our mission statement is very compelling.” All of these statements can sound like facts; they could even be facts. But they could also be (and likely are) tinted by the biases of the people that said them. We all have lenses that impact how we see the world, and they can differ from those of everyone around us. Our truth is not always the truth. Which is why data can help provide an objective perspective. Can data have biases as well? Absolutely: sampling bias, response bias, measurement bias, among others. But these are known biases that can be controlled during your analysis. 

Looking at something with a number next to it makes us think a little differently. 

It puts things in an objective, transferable format that qualitative descriptions can’t quite capture. Consider Gallup’s Q12 Employee Engagement Survey. “Engagement” on its own is a subjective idea, but Gallup has turned it into a set of 12 questions, answered in a scale that produces an engagement percentage. That number can be compared to past data from your own organization, others in your sector, or even organizations entirely different from yours. You can compare numbers to numbers, instead of words to words. 

Measures provide clarity (which supports accountability). 

Even when you’re working with objectives that seem obvious, there’s not always clarity for everyone involved. Let’s take increase revenue as an example. Increase revenue from what sources? By how much? To support which aspect of your mission? The answers to these questions will help shape your actions and making them clear up front means less confusion later. 

Why both? 

A human-centered, data-informed process blends the best parts of both approaches. It acknowledges the deep value of human experiences and perspectives, while giving us the structure and clarity that data can provide.  

An effective strategic plan is powered by people and guided by data. Benefactor Group is the only firm that delivers both. 

A Journey Forward

Will we ever be done updating our strategic planning process? Probably not. There’s always a better way to meet the needs of our clients, new ideas for how to plan, and new technology to consider. And we’ll be here, embracing our geek factor, and continuing the journey of serving those who serve the common good. 

Want to talk more about human-centered, data-informed strategic planning? Let’s chat.