The Five-Step Nonprofit Strategy Blueprint: A Proven Playbook for Executive Directors to Drive Collaboration, Governance, and Growth

A Proven Playbook for Executive Directors to Drive Collaboration, Governance, and Growth

By John Matthew Kundtz

Transform your nonprofit's strategic planning from a stale ritual into a living roadmap for real impact.

In today's rapidly changing nonprofit landscape, traditional three-ring binder strategies no longer cut it. Executive Directors and Board leaders need more than good intentions-they need a clear, repeatable system that connects mission with measurable progress. The Five-Step Nonprofit Strategy Blueprint offers exactly that: a practical, human-centered framework that turns scattered ideas into focused action.

Drawing on design thinking, agile methods, and decades of executive experience, author and podcast host John M. Kundtz delivers a modern strategic planning approach tailored to nonprofits of every size. This guide is built for real-world application-not academic theory-and equips leaders to co-create with their teams, align with stakeholders, and stay responsive in an era of constant change.

• Engage diverse stakeholders with empathy mapping and co-creation workshops.
• Define and prioritize your biggest strategic challenge with clarity and confidence.
• Generate bold, high-impact ideas using proven innovation methods, such as the Double Diamond Framework.
• Turn plans into progress with agile tools like the Cake Experience Roadmap and 90-day sprints.
• Avoid the 10 most common pitfalls that derail nonprofit strategy.

Whether you lead a multimillion-dollar nonprofit or an all-volunteer grassroots organization, this playbook gives you the tools to lead with intention-and to never settle for strategy as usual again.