A New Year’s Resolution for a Nonprofit President

This year, I resolve to stay focused on our cause and our mission.

• In the past year, we have spent too many hours talking about finances.
• We’ve spent too many hours focusing on what we lack.
• And we’ve spent too few hours remembering why we care about this very worthy organization.

This year, I resolve to aspire to the greatest heights, instead of focusing on what we cannot do.

• I will work with my peers to build a plan for achieving that aspiration.
• I will work with my peers, staff, volunteers, clients, and community members to execute that plan.
• And I will tell everyone about the plan, so they can join us in supporting this goal.

Because a vision without a plan is just a dream. An aspiration without the time, talent and treasure to make it a reality will never come about.

But first, I resolve to stay focused on our cause and our mission. Without that vision in front of us, we will once more spend our year focusing on what we lack, and not on what we can achieve.

Happy New Year! May this year be a year in which we all aspire to our highest heights.

Let me know what you’re planning for 2016! For help with that plan, or to find out more about our work in strategic planning, contact me at sdetwiler@detwiler.com.