Biggest Mistakes Organizations Make Midyear & How to Avoid Them

The best kind of mistake is the one you didn’t make, but you can’t avoid a mistake if you don’t know what to watch out for. 

Let’s go through the most common non-profit planning mistakes that happen mid-year.

#1 Procrastination 

It’s so easy to let your mid-year or end of year tasks go until the last minute. You might think that you have lots of time to complete them later in the year, but the time keeps going by quickly and you end up not revisiting your goals. Procrastination is known to cause unnecessary stress and ultimately leads to reduced productivity.

#2 Lack of Strategic Plan Or An Organizational Goal Setting Strategy 

For instance, you should take some time with your team and determine what needs to be done in the next 6 months, and who will be completing the assigned tasks. Next, it is helpful to mention what each major project entails and ask the team for feedback. When you ask the team for their opinion or if they have questions, you are clearing up the confusion in order to prevent any future problems from occurring, eliminating potential roadblocks. 

#3 Lack Of Trust In Your Team

Trusting your team is important and crucial to getting your goals done by the due date. Your team is here to help and get your business to the finish line, just as much as you are. It is necessary to allow them to take some of the work off of your list and help in the process. Delegation enhances your individual and team success by giving leaders time to complete higher level tasks, building team skills for future projects, encouraging collaboration between team members that would not normally work together, and establishes trust between the leader and their team.

The above are all detrimental non-profit planning mistakes that can make or break your end of year achievements. So, we then ask ourselves what we can do to fix these errors before it is too late. 

For starters, follow the steps below.

#1 Complete A Mid-Year Organizational Assessment

Start this process by completing the mid-year organizational assessment. In this test, we can begin the process of non-profit goal setting and review any due dates for grants, contracts, or even construction. We need to determine what needs to be done and what can be a secondary task. 

The following are some guide questions to get you started on the process.

• What items are complete?

• What goals are on schedule?

• What projects is the team falling behind on?

• What deadlines are approaching this month, next month, and in the next 6 months?

• Are there any staffing conflicts or gaps that need corrected?

• Do we have all the necessary funding to meet our goals?

• Should we be looking for more grants to cover the complete cost of the project?

#2 Assemble The Team 

We can then look at the skills needed to properly complete all of the tasks and start gathering employees with this skillset.

For instance, a team created to compiled to organize the building of a new park and playground, needs individuals dedicated to many different things. Some of these items are a marketing person to promote the park, a supply chain or purchasing person to source the materials, a financial or accounting advisor to manage funding, a grant writer, and a person to manage the construction. This sounds like a lot of moving parts, and it sure is. This is why organization makes or breaks the success of the project, or projects.

One way to keep the team on track and meeting goals is to start by assigning their responsibilities and asking if they are clear on what’s expected of them. If they are ready for the next step, we can move to establishing their accountability and moving towards a plan for completion. However, it is not good practice to assign a large project and never check in with the team. A good leader will take the time to check in with the team monthly to answer any lingering concerns.

A few questions being clearly answered by a dedicated leader saves the team time because they won’t be redoing work many times over, and the company money because they will get more work out of the team members. 

#3 Implement Strategic Plan & Hold Regular Non-Profit Organizational Meetings

To ensure that the company stays on the right track and avoids any grant management mistakes, make sure to gather your team and hold non-profit organizational meetings.

In these meetings, make sure to discuss any non-profit management challenges so they can be solved early on in the process, not at the last minute in December. It is also imperative to talk about the progress the team is making and answer any outstanding questions teammates may have.

Meeting frequency can vary between the group and availability of leadership in the organization. However, I would suggest the following timetables:

Projects On Track for Completion December 31st:

• Meet monthly to discuss goals

• Answer any employee concerns

• Have employees talk about their progress and next steps

• Determine if working relationships are going to help or hinder team progress

  
  

Projects Not Started:

• Meet biweekly to ensure accelerated progress

• Answer any questions in the meeting

• Encourage questions via email between meetings so progress is not held up

• Discuss goals with the team to ensure everyone is clear on their role

  
  

I wish you the best of luck in your mid-year evaluations and strategies. Please know that I’m always here for you and would love to help in any way you need. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns that are troubling you. Let’s get ready for 2027!