A Catholic Priest announced from the pulpit one Sunday morning plans for a visit to Rome and the Vatican. It would be a three-week tour, which would include not only a visit to Rome, but other Italian cities as well. He was excited about the trip and announced the travel agency that would be used to plan and organize the tour. He announced the dates for the tour, which would be nearly one year from the announcement.
It is amazing how churches will plan for trips nearly a near ahead and select a travel agency yet wont spent the time needed for long-range vision planning and often will not use counsel in the planning process. They often “go-it-alone” for a long time, stumbling and fumbling through the planning process and many times bring in an architectural firm long before it is necessary wasting dollars.
The administration and board of a community hospital saw the need to expand and add to their neo-natal care and additional birthing rooms. They proceeded to hiring an architect and began developing plans for expansion. The hospital leadership than decided to conduct a capital campaign and brought in counsel to conduct a campaign feasibility study. They were shocked to learn that most everyone in the community was aware of the expansion and were not likely to make a sizable gift. Many of the hospital’s major donors wondered why a capital gift was needed since it was already a “done-deal.” Obviously, bringing in counsel earlier during the planning process would have prevented this from heappening.
The moral to both studies…use counsel and START EARLY! Professional counsel can guide you through the planning process helping you to determine what is the best course of action and assist you in developing a road map for the church or any not-for-profit organization’s future. Most importantly, mistakes are minimized, volunteers are used effectively and efficiently and the work is completed in a timely manner.
The result…a well-defined plan that enables you to maximize the dollars needed to make your vision plan a reality!