Charity strategy and impact report 2021 - What does a good strategy look like?

Effective strategy-setting makes it clear exactly what a charity is trying to achieve, and whether or not it has achieved it. This helps demonstrate efficacy to an external audience, enabling senior management and trustees to guide the future direction of the organisation.

To help understand what makes a good strategy, RSM has examined how charities in the UK are setting these increasingly important strategies and how their progress is reported. We have mapped the strategies, aims and objectives set by a diverse sample of 40 charities in England, Wales and Scotland and traced their reported progress against these goals over a period of five years.

Key findings

① Almost a quarter produced annual strategies that were either substantively or literally identical each year.

② The largest charities were more likely to adopt longer-term strategic plans.

③ 15 per cent either abandoned, changed or completed their medium or long-term strategic plans before the conclusion of their intended timeframe.

Our report

• Outlines some key considerations your charity needs to consider when setting a strategy and measuring impact.
• Enables you to benchmark your charities strategy and impact against the wider charity sector.
• Provides a self-assessment checklist to see how your charities strategy measures up.