Are you ready for success in your nonprofit work this year? If you don’t already have a plan in place for 2009 now is the time to do so. I would encourage you to put all of the major events, fundraisers, program related events on the year long calendar now.

How about getting a wall calendar and writing in all the dates? This way everyone in your office, volunteers that come through, board members and staff have a visual reminder of the important dates. Saving the date AND blocking out the planning time for these events NOW will give you a jump start toward success.

One of the best planning tools, and one that I have used many times, is the SWOT analysis.  Chas Grundy offers a great explanation of this tool and how to use it in his Strategic Planning SWOT Analysis Toolkit.

Will you have a capital campaign or other big fund drive this year? Check out this Free campaign planning tool at Katya’s blog.  There’s also a teleclass on Friday, January 16, 2009 Getting Ready for a Capital Campaign from Charity Channel.

Here are some additional articles/blog posts that can help with your 2009 plan for success:

10 Tips for Goal Planning 2009 from Deborah Miller

Planning 90 Days at a Time (a Case Study) By Nancy E. Schwartz, posted on Fundraising123.org

2009: Looking into the Crystal Ball from i On Nonprofits

Carnival of New Year’s Resolutions for Nonprofit organizations, posted by Joanne Fritz, About.com Guide to Nonprofits

Get some Tech Tips for Fundraisers in 2009 from Andy Wolber, Fundraising Success

Why I Am Optimistic About Non-Profits in 2009 by Thomas W. McKee

How are you planning for 2009? Share a little about your plans in the comments box below.