Jul 28, 2026
In these times of constant disruption, nonprofit leaders do not need to abandon strategy—they need a different kind of strategy tool. Host Carol Hamilton introduces scenario planning as a practical approach for navigating uncertainty. Scenario planning:
- · helps organizations move beyond reacting to the crisis of the moment and toward intentional, mission-centered decision-making.
- · Is not about predicting the future, the process prepares leaders to respond thoughtfully to multiple plausible futures.
- · Is a series of structured conversations about trends, possibilities, and responses,
- · Helps organizations build greater alignment, confidence, and readiness by focusing their energy on what is within their control.
Episode Highlights
00:00 – Why This Conversation Matters Right Now
02:45 – What Scenario Planning Is
04:15 – What Scenario Planning Is Not
05:45 – Why Traditional Planning Falls Short During Uncertainty
06:45 – Reclaiming Agency Through Strategic Choice
07:20 – Benefits for Boards and Leadership Teams
08:00 – From Reacting to Steering
08:30 – How the Scenario Planning Process Works
09:30 – Finding Common Priorities Across Multiple Futures
10:00 – Strategic Thinking Instead of Strategic Overload
10:20 – A Practical Tool for Today's Nonprofit Challenges
11:00 – Invitation to Engage in Scenario Planning
About your podcast host:
Carol Hamilton, principal of Grace Social Sector Consulting, helps nonprofits become more strategic and effective through inclusive strategic planning, evaluation design, and organizational assessment. With over 30 years of experience, she brings a practical, human-centered approach that helps organizations align around clear priorities and take meaningful action toward their mission. Her Shared Action Strategic Planning Framework moves groups from shared language to shared understanding, shared vision, shared priorities to shared action.
When she is not working with nonprofits to improve their strategy and alignment, you can find her reading a good book, making diary comics, having a dance party in the kitchen, swimming, biking or kayaking on the Anacostia River.
Be in Touch:
✉️ Subscribe to Carol’s newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting and receive the Common Mistakes Nonprofits Make In Strategic Planning And How To Avoid Them
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