Business Observer Feature: Nonprofit grows quickly using AI to write strategic plans for clients

Naples-based nonprofit veteran Sophia Shaw and Miami-based Adam Wolford, who has expertise in technology and business strategy, launched PlanPerfect to help small and midsized nonprofits create and track strategic plans. The AI-assisted software uses survey data, strengths analyses and other information to build customizable and measurable strategic plans with clear goals and objectives.

Many small and midsize nonprofits lack a strategic plan or have found creating one to be challenging, time consuming and expensive. The software is helping to change that, and since its launch in January 2025, PlanPerfect has grown to more than 35 paid users.

“It has given them a really fresh opportunity to put their own voices into their plans,” says Shaw. “Previously, either they had fallen into the camp of having their consultants’ voices — if they could afford one — in their plan, or just not having plans because it felt too overwhelming. It’s been really wonderful to see people really owning it.”

In terms of impact, they’ve already seen organizations launching capital campaigns with their new strategic plans and ability to track metrics in hand. PlanPerfect’s first client, Prairieland Adaptive, grew from a brand-new organization created to expand access to adaptive sports for individuals with physical disabilities and visual impairments in Central Illinois to hosting its first-ever expo, with 139 attendees from 70 communities across three states.

“In our second year, we’re really thinking about scale and how to get this out to more people, so that it can continue to grow both as a business, but more importantly, in the impact that it has for our clients,” says Wolford.

Shaw and Wolford are also expanding the software’s capabilities to provide assistance with enterprise risk management and resilience planning, along with strategic planning. “A lot of people are dealing with the changing tides of funding and different macro factors,” says Wolford. “So trying to provide a tool that allows you not only to plan, but also plan in a way that is resilient to change, was really important to us.”

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