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Strategic Planning Process & Template

Strategic Planning for the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year

Strategic Planning is essential to running a chapter like a business and is consistently noted as a need for both resources and development. These documents will serve as both a guide to best practices in strategic planning and a modifiable template aiding chapter leaders in developing a cross-committee, integrated strategic plan. Professional Chapter Annual Strategic Planning Guide/Template

This template includes tips based on Board in a Box recommendations, items you will be evaluated on in your CEA entry, and elements that tie to your Chapter Budget. However, key CEA categories organize it to make the submission process easier, only suggestions. Feel free to reorganize, merge or split out plan sections based on what makes sense for your chapter’s unique structure and preferences. The tips are in gray boxes and should be deleted from your actual plan.

The Strategic Planning Process & Template will help:

  • Facilitate Strategic Planning Excellence: Provide Chapter Leaders with a strong starting point for the strategic planning process, format, and content
  • Increase Success Potential by integrating Board in a Box Truths and Chapter Excellence Award best practices into the plan and planning process
  • Create Strategic Alignment: Facilitate a mutual understanding of chapter-wide strategies and promote integrated, aligned committee plans
  • Drive and Assess Performance: Improve ability to track and verify performance metrics against goals throughout the year and for CEA at year-end
  • Simplify the Process and Boost Confidence: Support all/new chapter leaders with a foundation of strategic planning and goal-setting experience
  • Be Flexible: Please feel free to customize or use an organized, visual format that best illustrates your chapter’s plan

Prioritize Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in your plans this year. Embedding DEI goals and strategies within the core areas of your strategic plan such as Leadership, Programming, and Membership can make a big impact. The following SMART goals are an example of where to begin:

  • Add a DEI Statement/Pledge to our website by September 1
  • Create a DEI role description by October 1
  • Name/Recruit a DEI leader to the board or within an appropriate committee by November 1
  • Develop a DEI plan for the Chapter by January 1
  • Incorporate DEI action plans into Chapter Strategic Plan and submit a revised overall plan to Support Center by February 1
  • Initiate DEI plan/activities/programming by the end of the Chapter year, June 30, 2024

Additional Strategic Planning Resources:

Related Resources:

Ways to request guidance, assistance, or information for Strategic Planning:

Support Center: membersupport@ama.org