Planning for the next 12 months is an extremely important task for the club board, because only those who set clear goals can achieve them. This also prevents the club from aimlessly drifting – our template in the legal section helps with this.
Before you dive into planning for the new year, it makes sense to reflect on the past and draw learnings and conclusions for the future. Whether your club has existed for 100 years or is newly founded, you have a starting point that should be documented and from which you can move forward.
To reflect on the past year, if you haven't set measurable goals and achievements, simply answer the following 10 questions:
Every board member should definitely undertake this reflection (in preparation for annual planning). Members can also be involved in this. It's important to honestly address these topics so you can draw meaningful conclusions. If necessary, create a pros and cons list of the results and compare your viewpoints.
This is actually half the battle for efficient and successful further planning. The idea is to keep successful measures and replace or re-plan less successful ones.
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Furthermore, roughly divide the key topics to be addressed within your board team (e.g., member agendas, club festival, financial matters, excursions, etc.) and set a date for your annual planning session to collaboratively work on goals and measures. Depending on the club's size and the number of people involved, a whole weekend can easily be allocated for this. Some clubs even take their board to a remote alpine hut and plan the new year for 72 hours straight. Try out what works best for you.Furthermore, (e.g., member agendas, club festival, , excursions, …) and set a date for the annual planning to then work together on goals and measures. Depending on the club's size and the number of people involved, a whole weekend can easily be scheduled for this. Some clubs even go with their board to a remote alpine hut and plan the new year for 72 hours straight. Try out what works best for you.In addition, (e.g., member affairs, club festival, , excursions, etc.) and set a date for annual planning to then work together on goals and measures. Depending on the size of the club and the number of people involved, a whole weekend can easily be set aside for this. Some clubs take their board to a remote alpine hut and plan the new year for 72 hours straight. Try out what works best for you.
In collaboration with a legal expert (lawyer), we have launched a download area with 35 Word document templates. For a small fee, the following template packages contain everything your club needs. These specific template documents provide peace of mind and save you a lot of time during implementation.Together with a legal expert (lawyer), we have launched a download area with 35 Word template documents. The following template packages contain everything your club needs for a small fee. These specific template documents provide security and save a lot of time during implementation.In collaboration with a legal expert (lawyer), we have created a download area featuring 35 Word template documents. These template packages provide everything your club needs for a small fee. These specific template documents offer peace of mind and save you a lot of time during implementation.
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Goals are essential for a club to have a driving force that indicates the direction for the coming year. This applies not only to the club board but also to active and passive members. After you have assessed the current situation, you can begin to define your goals, taking into account many opinions (board & members).
Always be realistic and define concrete, measurable outcomes for their achievement – this way, there will be less room for interpretation regarding whether the goals have been met. In this article, we have divided the goals into 'internal' and 'external,' as this can play a significant role in clubs. In the template, we used primary and secondary goals. The final classification is entirely up to you.
It's not only important to attract new members to the club, but also to retain existing members. A good way to do this is to conduct a member satisfaction survey within the club to identify issues that are causing difficulties. You can easily conduct surveys throughout the entire club using our survey function. This provides an excellent basis for defining your goals.
We've already discussed this topic in detail in another post. The issue of finding members is a perpetual concern for many clubs and is a key part of most clubs' strategic planning.
Continuing education for motivated members who wish to take on roles within the club is a great opportunity for the entire club to benefit and distinguish itself from other clubs. A goal could be for 10% of club members to complete a training course offered by the state association.
Youth development is a crucial area that will not only bring you success but can also save a lot of time when searching for new club board members. Set goals and an action plan for how you can improve or establish youth work in the next 12 months.
Without financial security, most goals would be unattainable, which is why it's crucial that goals in this area include sponsor acquisition, and internal and external paid activities like club events. One goal could be to acquire new equipment for the club through club events.
Set ambitious but realistic goals that you can achieve together as a team, individual athlete, or musician. It's important to communicate these external goals transparently within the club so that everyone knows the direction you're heading. This can, for example, take place annually at the general members' meeting. This way, everyone feels informed and involved in the set goals.
Club events are major undertakings, but for many clubs, they provide precisely the financial foundation needed for successful continued existence. In addition to club events, there are many external opportunities to easily raise money for the club's coffers – find out more in our article on improving club finances.
With all the ambitious goals you set, you must not forget to keep the club's purpose in mind. Which goals and measures suit your club, and which are you actually permitted to pursue? It doesn't hurt to review the statutes regarding the club's purpose once a year to ensure you don't deviate from them.
Every year, investments of varying sizes are required to optimally achieve your club's goals. This could be equipment or the renovation of buildings/rooms. It's especially important here to collectively secure financial and human resources within the club. Without a concrete plan, such purchases will otherwise simply be postponed until next year. Unfortunately!
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You can find out how to keep proper minutes during meetings, as well as a template for structured meeting minutes from which you can derive goals, under club protocol.
Establishing the status quo and setting motivating goals was one thing; achieving those goals through defined actions is another. Deliberately break down your goals into smaller stagesDeliberately break down your goals into smaller stages Deliberately break down your goals into smaller stagesDeliberately break down your goals into smaller stages to make them more manageable. After all, a large goal is simply made up of many small goals. You can then clearly define these small goals with specific actions and to-dos.Establishing the status quo and setting motivating goals is one thing; achieving those goals through defined measures is another. to make them more manageable. After all, a large goal is simply made up of many small goals. You can then define these small goals very clearly through measures and to-dos. Assessing the current situation and setting motivating goals was one thing; achieving those goals through concrete actions is another to make them more manageable. to make them more manageable. After all, a big goal is just made up of many small goals. You can then clearly define these small goals with specific actions and to-dos.Establishing the status quo and setting motivating goals was one thing; achieving those goals through defined actions is another. to make them more manageable. After all, a large goal is simply made up of many small goals. You can then clearly define these small goals with specific actions and to-dos.
It's important that there are clear responsibilities for the people in charge, because there's nothing more frustrating than realizing after a quarter that no one felt responsible for a specific goal. For many goals, it's equally important to have the entire club transparently involvedentire club transparently involvedentire transparently involvedentire association transparently involvedentire club transparently involved, with a board member leading each initiative, because some goals can truly only be achieved TOGETHER as an entire club.It's crucial to have clear responsibilities assigned to individuals, as there's nothing more frustrating than realizing after a quarter that no one felt accountable for a specific goal. For many goals, it's equally important to have the , with a board member leading each initiative, because some goals can truly only be achieved TOGETHER as r responsibilitieor the individuals in charge, because there's nothing more frustrating than realizing after a quarter that no one felt accountable for a specific goal. For many goals, it's equally important to have the , with a board member leading each initiative, because some goals can truly only be achieved TOGETHER as an entire club.It's important to have clear responsibilities for the individuals in charge, because there's nothing more frustrating than realizing after a quarter that no one felt accountable for a specific goal. For many goals, it's equally important to have the , with a board member leading each initiative, because some goals can truly only be achieved TOGETHER as an entire association.It's important that there are clear responsibilities for the people in charge, because there's nothing more frustrating than realizing after a quarter that no one felt responsible for a specific goal. For many goals, it's equally important to have the , with a board member leading each initiative, because some goals can truly only be achieved TOGETHER as an entire club.
Always set deadlines for your actions so you can identify delays early. For example, planning a club event has 2-3 overarching goals (raising money for the club, motivating existing members, and attracting new members). Beneath these are many interim goals that help achieve the larger objectives, and below those are many actions that can be scheduled by calendar week to see what is needed when. This way, goals in the distant future no longer seem so unattainable.Always set deadlines for your measures so you can identify delays early. For example, planning a club festival has 2-3 overarching goals (e.g., raising funds for the club, motivating existing members, and attracting new members). Below these are many interim goals that contribute to achieving the larger objectives, and beneath those are numerous actions that can be assigned to calendar weeks to determine what is needed when. This way, even distant future goals no longer seem so unattainable.Always set deadlines for the measures so you can identify delays early. For example, planning a club festival has 2-3 overarching goals (raise money for the club, motivate existing members, and attract new members). Below these are many interim goals that contribute to achieving the larger objectives, and beneath those are many measures that can be assigned to calendar weeks to see what is needed when. This way, goals in the distant future no longer seem so unattainable.Always set deadlines for your actions so you can identify delays early. For example, planning a club event has 2-3 overarching goals (raising money for the club, motivating existing members, and attracting new members). Beneath these are many interim goals that help achieve the larger objectives, and below those are many actions that can be scheduled by calendar week to see what is needed when. This way, goals in the distant future no longer seem so unattainable.
P.S. Stay spontaneous and flexible. Not everything can be planned in advance – if members come up with good ideas during the year, be open to them. It doesn't hurt to plan a buffer for short-term ideas, so you don't perceive club life as unnecessary stress.P.S. Stay spontaneous and flexible. Not everything can be planned in advance – if members come up with good ideas during the year, be open to them. It doesn't hurt to plan a buffer for short-term ideas, so you don't perceive club life as unnecessary stress.P.S. Stay spontaneous and flexible. Not everything can be planned in advance – if members come up with good ideas during the year, be open to them. It doesn't hurt to plan a buffer for short-term ideas, so you don't perceive club life as unnecessary stress.P.S. Stay spontaneous and flexible. Not everything can be planned in advance – if members come up with good ideas during the year, be open to them. It doesn't hurt to plan a buffer for short-term ideas, so you don't perceive club life as unnecessary stress.
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Finally, we would like to share two articles with you on successfully managing a clubmanaging your clubmanaging your association and for efficient time management. Learn in them what's most important and how you can master both topics perfectly even without extensive prior knowledge.Finally, we'd like to share two articles on successfully and for . Learn what's particularly important and how you can master both topics excellently without extensive prior knowledge. and for . Learn what's especially important and how you can master both topics excellently without extensive prior knowledge.
The template is designed to help you get started and orient yourselves. It includes your goals, responsibilities, actions for achievement, and the insights you gain. This is all on a quarterly basis; if you prefer a monthly approach, you can easily expand it yourself in Word.This template is designed to help you get started and find your way. It includes your goals, responsibilities, measures for achievement, and what you derive from them. This is all on a quarterly basis; if you prefer monthly, you can easily expand it yourself in Word.The template is designed to help you get started and find your way. It includes your goals, responsibilities, measures for achievement, and what you derive from them. All of this is on a quarterly basis; if you prefer to do it monthly, you can easily expand it yourself in Word.This template is designed to help you get started and find your way. It outlines your goals, responsibilities, the actions needed to achieve them, and your key takeaways. This is structured on a quarterly basis. If you prefer a monthly approach, you can easily adapt it in Word.
A crucial addition to the template is the budget consideration, allowing you to immediately define the financial aspect of your initiatives. This prevents your plans from failing later due to a lack of funds. For those who want even more precision, schedule board meetings in addition to the evaluations. These meetings will involve concrete discussions about achieved and unachieved goals, as falling behind in the first quarter can impact the entire year.An important addition to the template is the consideration of the budget, allowing you to immediately define the financial aspect of the measures, as your plans should not fail during implementation due to a lack of funds. For those who want even more detail, schedule additional board meetings alongside the evaluations. These meetings should include concrete conclusions about achieved and unachieved goals. Because if you're already behind in the first quarter, this can affect the entire year.A significant addition to the template is the consideration of the budget, so you can immediately define the financial aspect of the measures. This ensures your plans don't fail later during implementation due to a lack of funds. For those who want even more detail, schedule board meetings in addition to the evaluations. These meetings should include concrete conclusions about achieved and unachieved goals. Because if you're already behind in the first quarter, this can affect the entire year.
Continue to annual planning templateProceed to the annual planning templateContinue to the Annual Planning Template
Perhaps you know the saying: Doing the „right thing“ incorrectly is better than doing the „wrong thing“ correctly. Figuratively speaking, this means it's better to move slowly in the right direction than quickly in the wrong direction. Of course, it would be best to move quickly in the right direction, but to ensure you're going the right way, it's always important to check your „path“ periodically.Perhaps you know the saying: It's better to do the 'right thing' imperfectly than to do the 'wrong thing' perfectly. Figuratively speaking, this means it's better to move slowly in the right direction than quickly in the wrong direction. Of course, it would be best to move quickly in the right direction, but to ensure you're going in the right direction, it's always important to check your 'path' along the way.You might know the saying: Doing the "right thing" incorrectly is better than doing the "wrong thing" correctly. Figuratively speaking, it means it's better to move slowly in the right direction than quickly in the wrong direction. Of course, it would be best to move quickly in the right direction, but to move correctly, it's always important to check your "path" along the way.
You can do this monthly or quarterly – the important thing is that you do it. This is also why you should break down big goals into smaller steps. That way, you'll always know if you're still on track. Together, review the measures for achieving your goals and check them off, cross them out, or actively confirm their completion in a way that is visible to the entire board.You can do this monthly or quarterly – the important thing is that you do it. This is also why big goals should be broken down into small steps. This way, you'll always know if you're still on track. Together, review the measures for achieving your goals and check them off, cross them out, or actively confirm their completion in a way that is visible to the entire board.You can do this monthly or quarterly – the important thing is that you do it. This is also why you should break down big goals into small steps. That way, you'll always know if you're still on track. Together, review the measures for achieving the goals and check them off, cross them out, or actively confirm their completion in a way that is visible to the entire board.
On behalf of the entire VereinsplanerVereinsplanerVereinsplaner team, we wish you all the best with your annual planning and successful implementation. Should you have any questions about our club software or digitalization, please feel free to visit our at any time.On behalf of the entire team, we wish you all the best with your annual planning and successful implementation. Should you have any questions regarding our club software and digitalization, please feel free to visit our at any time. Team, we wish you all the best with your annual planning and a successful implementation. Should you have any questions regarding our club software and digitalization, please feel free to check out our at any time.
All the best!All the best!All the best!
Together with nine experts from the field, we have authored a 98-page ePaper on current topics related to club management. The ePaper includes 5 chapters and 15 topics covering important areas such as organization, members, funding, sponsors, taxes, and much more. You can download the handbook for free on the Club Handbook website.
