I’m an idiot. I forgot to screenshot. 🤦♂️
A bunch of years ago I came across a nonprofit website whose hero image (the upper banner) included a countdown clock.
Their mission was to cure X by 2030. What would happen then? They would SHUT DOWN OPERATIONS because they had accomplished their mission.
The clock showed people how much time- years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds- was left to hit the goal.
That my friends is a BHAG- a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. And I believe every nonprofit should have one.
Unfortunately, this is a pain point I am constantly running into. A lack of goals, a lack of long-term vision and an inability to think beyond tomorrow. That’s a recipe for stagnation, staying put and not moving forward towards thrival.
Let’s talk about goals for a minute:
- Short term: What you’d like to accomplish in 2025. Break it down into quarters and months. Every employee and Board member should already have a copy of the year’s targets, including the vision and reasoning that led to setting those goals for this year, plus how you’ll reach those goals.
- Long term: Goals your organization has decided to aim for, let’s say by 2030. You break down those goals by year so you can visualize and experience growth year after year. Imagine how that could inspire staff, volunteers AND your supporters!
- BHAG: Dream baby, dream!
Last week I discussed the “What If” game. Here’s another: What if you thought BIG? What if you dreamed? What if you had a goal that seemed far away and unattainable right now but you created a roadmap to try and get there?
Let’s say you have a BHAG in mind. How do you plan for it? Start with “the gap” (thank you Robert Sheehan!) which can be outlined in three steps:
- Current condition: Describe the current state of the persons/places/things for who/which you want to make a difference.
- Ideal condition: Describe their condition in an ideal world.
- Mission gap: Difference between the current reality and the ideal condition. That’s the gap your nonprofit commits itself to closing.
For example:
- Current Condition: In Milwaukee, 10% of all adults, age 18 and older, are homeless.
- Ideal Condition: All adults in Milwaukee, age 18 and older, have a home.
- Mission Gap: With 500,000 adults, age 18 and older, living in Milwaukee, the Mission Gap is 50,000 adults.
Once you know the gap, you start working on your BHAG to close the gap as much as possible. (It may not be something that is 100% solvable but what about 20%? 35%? 50%?)
Not only do you have short and long-term goals to present to supporters but now you have a BHAG. From today you’re in GROWTH mode to help a lot more people, lessen poverty, better test scores at school etc.
Start rallying your audience around that BHAG. Challenge them to join you in hitting the goal or getting as close as you can. Help them visualize what their community would look like if you accomplished your BHAG. (Project 2035: 40% fewer homeless adults in Milwaukee! 20,000 more people with a permanent roof over their head!)
There are immediate needs which must be dealt with. But people want to see you have a plan for growth and making their community exponentially better, with many many more people impacted positively.
Too many nonprofits shy away from long-term goals and BHAG’s. Too focused and worried about the here and now.
But if you want to grow and thrive, you have to look not just at what’s in front of you but far off into the distance.
