How Upper Dublin Education Foundation Is Building a Strategic Plan That Feels Like Part of the Team

"It's like another team member on our committee." — Michelle Boas, Executive Director, Upper Dublin Education Foundation, on PlanPerfect's survey feature

Executive Summary

The Upper Dublin Education Foundation (UDEF) supports learning for the roughly 4,000 elementary, middle, and high school students of Upper Dublin, a suburban township in the Philadelphia area. As a small nonprofit with a limited budget, UDEF needed a strategic planning partner that could guide the process step by step without requiring a costly outside consultant, allowing it to keep funding educators' ideas for inside and outside the classroom.

Using PlanPerfect's software over eight months, UDEF developed the foundation of the plan and are now seeking to share goals and objectives with the Board and other stakeholders for feedback and alignment. Executive Director Michelle Boas pointed to the PlanPerfect team's quarterly check-ins and office hours with UDEF as a reason the process has felt positive and productive for the organization. "It doesn't make us feel as just alone on an island," she said, describing PlanPerfect as feeling like "another member of the committee."

Client Background

UDEF has spent three decades funding innovative ideas to enrich learning for students in the Upper Dublin School District. The Foundation operates as a separate 501(c)(3) that directly supports the district's educators, funding classroom grants for exploratory projects and community-enriching programs that tax dollars alone can't cover.

Boas joined the organization more than a decade ago as its first staff member, working alongside an administrator to handle fundraising, communications, and finances, while the Foundation's direction is guided by a board of community members that includes the district superintendent and school board president as non-voting members. Through its support, UDEF helps bring innovative ideas and opportunities to life across the district – from piloting programs that explore new approaches to learning, to funding cutting-edge STEM equipment and technology, to supporting experiences like the Greenfield Youth Film Festival that celebrate student creativity and voice, and initiatives like UD Tech Trek, a digital wellness resource for district families.

How UDEF Used PlanPerfect

Planning To Plan

UDEF turned to PlanPerfect’s structured planning process to guide the development of its strategic plan. To date, UDEF has used the process to refresh its mission, vision, and values and define strategic goals and objectives. The Foundation is now expanding stakeholder engagement through PlanPerfect’s survey function, seeking feedback from board members, key supporters, and community stakeholders to help inform the next phase of its strategic direction. “We went through the entire Plan To Plan process,” Boas said. “We started by revisiting our mission, vision, and values, and then moved into developing our strategic goals. Those draft goals are now captured in the system and ready to guide the next phase of our planning.”

As part of that process, UDEF has also embraced PlanPerfect’s AI capabilities as a tool to support, not replace, the organization’s strategic thinking. “I don’t want AI to do the work for us. We know our organization, our community, and our needs best. But there are ways AI can support us, streamline certain tasks, and help us work smarter," Boas said of how she views the AI's role. The PlanPerfect AI system prompts the user, rather than the other way around, letting real humans do the important human work.

Building Their Plan

“Whenever we’re in a moment of, ‘Oh my God, what comes next?’ AI is there to help guide us,” Boas said of PlanPerfect. “It prompts the next stage, helps us think through the next segment of the plan, and even helps us brainstorm.” She also appreciated how the platform uses an organization’s own information to personalize the experience. “It was really helpful that the system knows us. It’s not just giving generic advice. It’s working with the information we’ve provided and helping us think through what’s right for our organization.”

Surveying

The UDEF team is currently using the PlanPerfect survey tool to gather feedback from an expanding circle of stakeholders. UDEF started with its own five-person committee before expanding outward. “We felt the people who know us the best are our Board members,” Boas said. “So we wanted to draft all of that first and then share it out – to get feedback, alignment, and the blessing from others.”

With the foundational work complete, UDEF is now surveying its committee on the drafted goals, with plans to extend the survey to the full board and then to additional stakeholders.“The next step, once we receive feedback, will be to share it with the full Board,” Boas said. “From there, we’ll look at engaging additional stakeholders – teachers who have received grants, sponsors, and other community partners. We want to make sure we are truly reflecting who we say we are and that our strategic direction aligns with the perspectives of those we serve and those who support our work.”

Boas noted that PlanPerfect provides added confidence throughout the process by using AI-powered prompts to help shape questions and guide stakeholder input. “It gives us the confidence to ask the right questions and make sure we’re gathering meaningful feedback from the people who know our organization best,” she said.

UDEF is also using the survey feature to gather feedback from educators who have received grants, helping the Foundation better understand their experience with the grant process and how UDEF is perceived as a partner in supporting innovation across the district.

UDEF’s Impact

Separately, UDEF has seen growing engagement with its grant program in recent years. Boas points to a noticeable shift in educator participation, with more teachers seeking out funding opportunities and reaching out with questions as they develop their proposals. “There was a time when we didn’t have as much interest from our educators in applying for grants. It was often the same teachers who applied,” she said. “We’ve seen excitement and enthusiasm, with increased submissions from a wider pool of educators.”

UDEF recently expanded its grant cycle to provide educators with three opportunities throughout the school year to apply, making funding more accessible and allowing more innovative ideas to be considered. That increased engagement has translated into a diverse range of projects across all six district schools, from literacy initiatives and STEM programs to music and arts experiences that enrich student learning.

As UDEF continues to grow its impact, the Foundation is also focused on ensuring its strategic direction reflects the needs of its stakeholders. PlanPerfect has helped create a more collaborative approach to strategic planning and reflection, providing structure, prompts, and opportunities for deeper discussion. “It doesn’t make us feel as just alone on an island,” Boas said, describing PlanPerfect as “another member of the committee” – a tool that helps prompt questions, organize ideas, and guide conversations about the Foundation’s future.

Moving Forward

UDEF is looking ahead to completing its strategic plan and using PlanPerfect as an accountability tool, one that assigns clear ownership of goals, tasks, and tactics while keeping Board members engaged in moving initiatives forward. The Foundation is also exploring new ways to communicate the impact of its work and help the broader Upper Dublin community better understand its unique role as it continues to seek support alongside other local nonprofits.

As UDEF moves toward completing its strategic plan, the Foundation plans to use PlanPerfect as an ongoing accountability tool, helping assign ownership of key initiatives, track progress, and keep Board members engaged in advancing the organization’s goals. The process is also prompting important conversations about how UDEF communicates its impact and clarifies its unique role within a community that is home to many organizations seeking local support.

Boas is optimistic about what comes next. “I really am looking forward to that aspect because we all have great ideas with so many different things and so many different programs,” she said. “I think it could be a great way to keep our Board members engaged and help push the plan forward.”

About PlanPerfect

PlanPerfect is a strategic planning platform built by and for mission-driven leaders. Combining human-centered design with AI-assisted tools, PlanPerfect supports nonprofits in developing, implementing, and tracking strategy, so they can spend less time managing plans and more time creating impact.