An association draws up an action plan and budget every year. The action plan describes what the organisation intends to do in the coming year, while the budget sets out the costs and means of financing the planned activities. These documents are presented to and approved by the General Assembly of the organisation's Board of Directors. The action plan and budget are usually adopted in the autumn.
The association should follow the action plan as closely as possible throughout the year, although changes may occur.
It is also a good idea for the General Assembly to appoint an auditor for the organisation. When the year is over, the organisation's auditor will compare the action plan with what the organisation has actually done during the year. Read the Activity Audit leaflet if you want to know more.
It is important to spend enough time planning your activities, as the action plan will guide all your activities for the following year. The board usually prepares the action plan, but it is better if the board prepares it together with the members or volunteers of the organisation.
There are many ways to write a good action plan. It is important that the action plan clearly describes what the organisation will do in the coming year, and how it will do it.
Below you will find an example of the content of an action plan. You can use it as the template for your organisation's action plan as it stands, make some modifications to it.
TEMPLATE
Plan
A. Organization’s background/history, mission and vision
1. Purpose of the organisation
- Remind the reader what the mission and purpose of the organization is.
- Part II of the organisation's statutes explains the purpose of the organisation, you can use this text.
2. How the organisation has developed in the previous year, what has happened (briefly)
- What happened in the organisation in the previous year, in brief?
- Has the organisation received a grant, or carried out a project?
- Has the organisation grown, reduced, or remained the same?
- Has the organisation witnessed any major changes?
- Do not write too extensively on what the organisation has been up to in the previous year. This is an action plan, not an annual report.
- If you have an annual report, you can use the text, but only a brief summarized version of it.
- What happened in the organisation in the previous year, in brief?
3. Who carries out the activities of the organisation
- Write a list
- Current members of the board
- Other responsible members, such as staff, if any
- Role of the volunteers. Include number of volunteers
- You can also write about the division of tasks and responsibilities to get the activity
- Write a list
4. The organisation’s vision for the future
- What will the organization and its activities be like when the coming year is over?
- What challenges will there be in the coming year?
- What sort of risks will there be in the coming future, and how will the organisation prepare for them?
- What are the (new) opportunities in the coming year?
B. Priorities in the association’s activities
1. Priority A (e.g. "Supporting Arabic-speaking mothers and their families")
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- What are the objectives in the priority A? Why does the association do activities about it? (e.g.: "The aim is to help Arabic-speaking mothers to cope and provide them with support in their daily lives and with social services.")
- What are the activities of Priority A? What does the organisation do, and how? (e.g.: "We organise a peer support group for mothers all year round (except July) on Fridays from 6pm to 8pm, and two information sessions with the child protection service (April) and the city youth counsellor (date not decided)")
2. Priority B
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- What are the objectives of Priority B? What are the activities on this theme for?
- What are the priority activities? What does the organisation do, and how does the organisation do it, to achieve the objectives?
- Priorities C-D-E...
C. Other internal activities of the organisation
1. Meetings
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- How many times will the board meet in the coming year?
- Where does the board meet, and does the board meet online?
- Are there board meetings besides the formal board meetings (e.g.: planning weekend, strategy workshop…)
- When are general meetings held?
2. Membership recruitment and maintenance
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- How many members does the organisation have now?
- What is the organisation doing to increase membership?
- How does the organisation organize its membership services, how can you become a member?
- How does the organisation maintain its membership register? How does the organisation manage personal information and ensure that it is secure?
3. Other events and activities not listed above, if any
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- If there is any other event or event that is for board and/or members only, describe it here. If not, you may omit this section.
D. Other external activities of the organisation (if not indicated in the priorities)
1. Partnerships
- With whom will the organisation cooperation in the coming year?
- With whom would the association like to develop cooperation in the upcoming year?
- Which networks or associations does the organisation belong to?
2. Advocacy and lobbying
- Does the organisation help its members with the authorities, social services or the Immigration Service?
- Does the organisation write opinion pieces on a particular subject?
- Does the organisation organise any campaigns?
E. Communications
In this section, you can explain how the organisation communicates its activities to different groups. This section need not be long if your organisation does not have a lot of external communication. Conversely, if communications are a large part of your activities, you can talk about them more in the priorities section.
Describe in this section:
- Which channels the organisation uses to communicate its activities and to whom
- How often the organisation sends out a newsletter or member letter
- What social media channels the organisation uses, and for what purpose
F. Evaluating the activities and developing them
- How can you tell if an action has been successful? How are objectives set and their results evaluated?
- When and how does the organisation collect feedback from members or participants?
- How does the organisation use feedback to improve its activities?
