“Strategic agility” is more than a workplace buzzword—it’s a vital survival skill. As nonprofit organizations continue to face talent gaps, policy changes, and shifting donor priorities, the ability to pivot quickly and make decisive, smart moves can ensure you maintain the momentum of your mission.

Embracing strategic agility will help your nonprofit build institutional capacity and guardrails to navigate sudden change, respond swiftly, and adjust course without compromising long-term goals, such as those laid out in a strategic plan. As your organization explores ways to break down barriers to success and level up its tactics, here are four steps to embed agility into every aspect of how you plan, operate, and lead.

1. Reframe Agility: From Reactive to Intentional

Being agile doesn’t mean acting impulsively or constantly switching direction. Instead, it means having the foresight and systems in place to act with intention when unexpected obstacles or uncertainty threaten to impede your progress. Organizations and their leadership must be aligned on the following:

  • Understanding what agility is–and isn’t. Agility doesn’t negate acting strategically. Rather, it represents that your organization can evolve its strategy when circumstances shift, while still progressing toward your goals. It’s not about deprioritizing strategic planning, but allowing for flexibility and adaptation within the overall long-term plan.
  • Focusing on key stages that create agility. Sensing a change from the onset, predicting its impact, and responding with agreed-upon tactics should all become core organizational instincts among your staff.  
  • Pre-positioning resources for immediate action. Consider flexible budget allocation, maintain responsive staffing capacity, and develop rapid response playbooks to support agile decision-making when the time comes.
  • Shifting your mindset around strategic planning. In today’s world, the ‘set it and forget it’ approach to strategic planning is ineffective and counterintuitive. Instead, develop situational strategic plans that serve as living documents, incorporating scenario readiness models that allow your team to become familiar and comfortable with adjusting course.

2. Design Adaptive Planning Structures

Strategic agility begins with the planning process itself. Strategic plans will help you to level set, redefine priorities, shift resources accordingly, and prepare for new opportunities to increase your reach and grow your revenue. Traditional strategic plans were considered to be set in stone, but to remain agile in today’s philanthropic environment, nonprofits should shift towards dynamic frameworks that allow for ‘wiggle room’ when unforeseen circumstances arise.

Below are some actionable approaches to ensure your fundraising strategy remains agile and relevant no matter what challenges you face:

  • Adopt rolling planning cycles. Swap the static, 3- to 5-year plans for a more adaptive planning cadence, making sure to review and adjust your strategy throughout the year and especially when the unexpected comes.
  • Schedule regular, organization-wide check-ins. Incorporate quarterly strategy reviews across your entire team (including fundraising, marketing, programs, etc.) to assess the execution of strategic priorities, identify pain points, and proactively address emerging risks or opportunities.
  • Practice scenario modeling. While you can’t predict everything, consider using structured ‘what if’ exercises to prepare your team for potential funding shifts, policy changes, program interruptions, or leadership transitions so you are primed to respond promptly if these challenges become a reality.
  • Train your staff and leadership to be agile. Don’t let your team get stuck in the mud when things get rough. Now is the time to proactively instill a flexible and adaptive mindset among your staff and board, equipping them with the tools and confidence to pivot when needed.

3. Equip Teams to Execute with Flexibility and Speed

Without the right team in place, executing your strategy will be impossible. Empowering staff, volunteers, and leadership to act quickly–and without needing to wait for top-down instruction–enables adaptive, real-time execution. Consider the following ways to equip your team with the tools they need to operate effectively:

  • Form cross-functional working groups. By bringing together staff from development, communications, programs, etc., you can break down the silos within your organization’s departments and create faster problem-solving. This will ensure a more productive exchange of information and status updates and can lead to innovative solutions by gaining outside perspectives.
  • Encourage role flexibility. Through training or shadowing, you can expose team members to other functions. For example, consider having fundraisers support event planners or communications staff participate in stewardship projects. This will help build diverse skill sets in each department.
  • Invest in transparent reporting tools. Technology, including project management tools, CRMs, and revenue dashboards, will not only streamline communication and encourage collaboration, but will also provide a clear outlook on progress toward goals and indicate any trouble ahead.
  • Keep your constituents informed. In addition to internal staff, your volunteers and any other community partners should also understand how to respond to change and contribute to your organizational agility.
  • Lean on external partners. According to Orr Group, bringing in outsourced nonprofit consultants can provide your team with the critical capacity and expertise it needs to fill staffing gaps, boost productivity, and strengthen operations without slowing progress. Further, consultants often work with a range of missions and sizes, empowering them with a plethora of experience and perspective that can level up your own strategy.

4. Build Leadership That Models and Scales Agility

Agility must be modeled from the top. Leaders who embrace continuous learning, fast action, and transparent communication set the tone for their entire staff. When building out the right leadership to promote agility and strategic thinking, consider the following:

  • Encourage agile traits. Look to elevate leaders who are open to experimentation, not those who are risk-averse. Agile leaders will lean on their team members, valuing their input and seeking help when they don’t have the answers themselves. Further, when the unexpected happens, your leadership should be able to clearly communicate with (and on behalf of) the organization through moments of instability.
  • Normalize learning by doing, and sometimes failing. Encouraging innovation and adaptation means not shying away from trying new things and learning from mistakes. Leaders who embrace this approach and reflect on their successes and failures openly with staff will empower the entire organization to do the same in their day-to-day work.
  • Foster team-based decision making. To prevent bottlenecks and progress delays, leaders should distribute authority among department staff and equip team leads to make timely, strategic calls.

Wrapping Up

Strategic agility is about building smarter processes to weather difficult storms. Nonprofits that incorporate agility into their culture, strategies, and systems will be better equipped to remain resilient in the face of change.

Establish feedback loops and strategy review sessions across departments and levels. Track qualitative and quantitative data. Encourage a culture of learning and flexibility. Over time, these insights will help you better refine your strategic plan, shift your resources where there are gaps, and strengthen your teams to navigate challenges with confidence.