As the year draws to a close – hard to believe there’s on a few more weeks of 2011 left, but let’s not dwell on what ifs, what we could have done better – lets look instead to what we CAN do in 2012.
Maybe in the last year you have struggled to gain new supporters, had difficulty in being heard in the ‘noise’ of stories about the work nonprofits are doing, or maybe you’ve just been run down.
Whatever the reason for not achieving everything in the last year, set about in making a change in 2012.
If there’s things you haven’t achieved this year, that you still want to do in the coming year, and provided the won’t sap you of energy or redirect focus – knuckle down and set about to achieve them in the coming year.
If you have missed out on gaining new supporters, set yourself new targets, instead of saying “we will gain 1200 new supporters in 2012” – rephrase it and chunk it down into ‘bite sized’ targets – “we will gain 100 new supporters each month in 2012.” As the phrase says ‘It is possible to eat an elephant, you just have to eat it one bite at a time’ – don’t bite off more than you can chew, this is true with every aspect of our lives, and the work we do.
- Set about your plans for the coming year, do you want to:
- Gain more acknowledgement for the work of your organisation
- Join the social media wave and grow your organisation
- Establish new giving opportunities for supporters
- Upgrade your website
- Start a volunteer network
Whatever it is you want to do, you won’t achieve it unless you have a plan (and a time frame) to do it.
What are you plans for 2012, it’s not too early to start planning – don’t leave it until the first weeks you’re back in the New Year.
How and when do you start planning for the year ahead – share your ideas on making the most of your planning.
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