Strategic Planning, Reframed: A Tool for Donor Investment Presented by the Winkler Group - September 22

Strategic Planning, Reframed: A Tool for Donor Investment Presented by the AFP Miami Chapter In Partnership with the Winkler Group 
                                                                                  September 22, 2026, 9 - 1pm
                                                                Presented by Chapter Sponsors The Winkler Group 


Description: Strategic planning tends to be treated as an internal exercise, something organizations do behind closed doors before returning to business as usual. This workshop challenges that framing.

During the four-hour workshop, participants will learn how to use strategic planning as an active donor cultivation tool rather than a document that sits on a shelf. By inviting individual donors into the process—seeking their input, keeping them informed, and showing where the organization is headed—nonprofits deepen donor investment and build long-term loyalty. The process also helps organizations demonstrate clear direction to foundations, government funders, and other institutional partners.
The session moves through the full arc of planning—from the data-gathering methods that anchor a plan, through the structural choices that keep it implementable, to the common mistakes that cause plans to stall. Two hands-on breakout activities give participants practice applying what they've learned before they leave the room.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
•Describe the core elements of the strategic planning process.
•Distinguish a strategic plan from an operational plan.
•Define the respective roles of board and staff in the planning process.
•Structure a plan around goals, strategies, and action items so initiatives stay aligned with mission.
•Identify common implementation mistakes and the safeguards that prevent them.
•Explain how a 3-year versus 5-year planning horizon affects goal-setting.
•Use the strategic planning process, during and after completion, as a cultivation tool.
•Connect strategic planning to campaign readiness

Speaker Bios:
Jessica Browning, MBA, Principal and Executive Vice President
Jessica Browning brings more than 25 years of nonprofit experience to Winkler Group, with particular expertise in donor communications and fundraising strategy. She has led strategic planning engagements for nonprofit clients across sectors, building roadmaps that align board, staff, and donor priorities. She has written case statements and fundraising materials for more than 100 schools, universities, churches, and nonprofit organizations, and her writing has received the CASE
Circle of Excellence award. Prior to joining Winkler Group, Jessica spent 15 years in the museum field, working with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Mount Vernon, the Flagler Museum, and the Chrysler Museum of Art. She holds a B.A. from Duke University and an M.A. and M.B.A. from the College of William and Mary.

Josh Olmsted, Consultant
Josh Olmsted brings more than 20 years of fundraising and nonprofit experience, having built development programs from the ground up—annual giving, grants, and capital campaigns—across organizations ranging from large institutions to one-person shops.

Before joining Winkler Group, he served as Vice President of Development for the Zoo Miami Foundation, where he established the Foundation and Government Relations Department and more than doubled grant revenue. He has published in Connect magazine and presented on fundraising strategy for groups including the Junior League of Miami and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Josh holds a Master of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management from Indiana University's O'Neill School and a Certificate in Fundraising from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He currently serves as Scholarships Chair for AFP Miami.