Why Now Is Not the Time to Throw Out Your 3-5 Year Strategic Plan

This year has been anything but predictable for nonprofit leaders. From funding uncertainties to shifting policy landscapes, it’s easy to wonder if long-term planning still makes sense—or if we’re all better off just winging it.

I believe thoughtful strategy and good project practices are more critical than ever to help us stay focused and avoid burnout. Strategic planning isn’t about predicting the future with perfect accuracy—it’s about creating a clear path forward and maintaining the flexibility to adjust when circumstances change.

I’m fresh off attending the 2025 IASP Global Conference (International Association for Strategy Professionals), where the theme was Strategic Resilience: Fostering a Culture of Adaptive Planning and Execution. Over three days, there was powerful discussion about the importance of planning and execution—but with an emphasis on staying adaptable.

This resonates deeply with me. You may see “experts” online proclaiming things like “Forget the five-year plan!” or “The future can’t be predicted, so why bother?” I’d argue that strategic planning and execution are just as critical now as they’ve ever been. The key is that we must be adaptable.

1. Where Strategic Planning Ends, Strategy Execution Begins

Many organizations invest significant time and effort developing a 3-5-year (sometimes even 10-year) strategic plan, complete with vision, mission, goals, and high-level initiatives—only to put that beautifully designed document on a shelf (or simply post it on their website) and rarely revisit it.

Your strategic plan is meant to drive the daily work of your organization. A solid planning process includes prioritizing initiatives, because let’s face it: we can’t do everything at once.

Those prioritized initiatives should have clear owners who lead the work and establish proper project plans. Annual or quarterly targets should guide the organization’s progress, cascading strategy down to departments and teams so everyone understands how their work contributes to achieving larger goals.

Strategy is everyone’s business—not just the responsibility of organizational leaders.

2. Strategic Plans Are Living Documents

Strategy isn’t a “set it and forget it” process. Once your strategic plan is approved, absolutely share it on your website—but don’t let it gather dust.

Instead, establish a rhythm for strategy implementation and accountability. Share the plan internally so staff and stakeholders are on the same page, and create a framework for tracking progress. Ask questions such as:

• How often should strategic initiative leads report on progress? (Monthly updates are a solid starting point.)

• What tools or templates will they use to report progress? (A strategy management or project management tool—or at minimum, a simple dashboard—can make this easier.)

• How will we implement quarterly reviews of our strategy? (These are essential to track progress on targets and initiatives.)

• Are there internal or external factors emerging that might require us to pause, shift gears, or keep a closer watch?

• When will we schedule an annual review of our strategic plan? (This is the time to assess overall performance and adjust priorities or targets if necessary.)

These conversations transform your plan into a living document—one that actively guides decisions rather than sitting idle.

3. Strategic Plans Help Guide Decisions in a Crisis

A strategic plan aligns your organization around why you exist (mission), what success looks like (vision), and what you believe (values). These core elements rarely change—even during times of upheaval.

In uncertain or volatile moments, there’s a strong temptation to toss the plan and just “wing it.” I’d urge you to resist that impulse.

Instead, pause and reflect on your plan. Whether you’re navigating a crisis or not, a strategic plan serves as a guide and a filter, helping you decide what to say yes to—and what to say no to.

4. Refresh Plans Rather Than Discard Them

Creating a 3-5-year plan doesn’t mean it’s set in stone. You should expect to refresh your plan annually, not discard it entirely.

A great example comes from my own work. I worked with a nonprofit client in late 2019 to develop a new three-year strategic plan set to launch in 2020. Then, as we all know, the world turned upside down in March of that year.

Many nonprofits shifted rapidly to address urgent community needs. Some kept their doors open thanks to government COVID relief funds; others, unfortunately, had to close—just like many for-profit businesses.

At the end of 2020, my client’s organization had survived and was wondering if they needed to scrap the strategic plan we’d created since it hadn’t been their focus during the crisis. Instead of throwing it out, we worked through a series of questions to assess how the pandemic had impacted their strategy:

• Did we make changes to programs or operations that now need to be strengthened?

• Are there operational changes we made that are no longer necessary?

• Have any of our strategic goals, objectives, or initiatives shifted because of the pandemic?

• Has budget previously allocated to strategic initiatives been redirected due to COVID response?

• Have resources (people, funding, supplies) tied to strategic initiatives been impacted?

• Do any of our targets for Year 1 or Year 3 need to be revised?

• Are there initiatives that should be stopped, started, or paused?

• Have initiative leads changed since the plan was developed?

• Do timelines for any initiatives need to shift?

By systematically answering these questions, we were able to recalibrate their plan rather than discarding it. They kept the core intact but adapted it for the new reality, refining their plan instead of discarding it entirely.

A Few Practical Steps to Review Your Plan Mid-Year

If you’re wondering whether your plan still fits, here’s how to get started:

• Locate your plan! If it’s been neglected, dust it off and give it another look.

• Assess your current progress. Review where you stand today on both targets and initiative progress.

• Ask the hard questions. The examples above were shaped by a specific moment in time, but similar questions can help you assess any significant shift—whether driven by funding changes, policy shifts, community needs, or internal dynamics. Reflect on how your current reality might prompt adjustments to your goals, targets, or initiatives.

Remember: You may be “winging it” right now because you’ve strayed from your plan. Don’t discard it. Pause, reflect, and recalibrate instead.

We’ve all operated in uncertain times before—and we can do it again. The communities you serve need your leadership and your vision now more than ever.