STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS - PWV

STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS Poudre Wilderness Volunteers

Committee Members • Jerry Hanley (chair) • Mike Corbin • Alan Meyer • Margaret Shaklee • Dave Cantrell • Jacques Rieux • Jennifer Watson

• Garin VandeMark • Sandy Erskine • Wil Biddle • Bob Manuel • Kevin Cannon • Eduardo Bone’ (facilitator)

Makeup of Committee Participants:

• 8 – 12 participants ideal • Some new members • Business experience • Balance of men and women • Government employee experience

Timeline •  4 all-day workshops:

•  August 23, 2014 •  October 5, 2014 •  December 6, 2014 •  Feb 1, 2015

• Several shorter meetings with subset of committee •  Formal presentation to the full BOD – March 19, 2015

How can visionary nonprofits make the critical transition to stronger management? • Without sound management practices, even the most successful nonprofit will be unable to sustain, let alone increase, its impact over time.

• A Bridgespan consulting team survey of 30 nonprofits revealed… •  Respondents consistently rated their organizations

•  higher on leadership dimensions •  lower on management dimensions

•  Passion, and a compelling case for a cause, drives fundraising, helps leaders attract and motivate staff and volunteers.

•  Nonprofit leaders are not recognized or rewarded for their managerial qualities.

According to the Bridgespan study…

• What can be done? • Clarify their organization’s strategy • Establish meaningful metrics with which to assess

progress • Make it a priority to assemble a balanced team at

the top.

• Make a point of engaging the organization to adapt these changes in ways that were consistent with – and animated by – the overall vision.

•  (Daniel Stid & Jeff Bradach, Bridgespan Group, 2008)

Why Develop a Strategic Plan? •  Planning serves a variety of purposes in organizations, including to:

1.  Clearly define the purpose of the organization and to establish realistic goals and objectives consistent with that mission in a defined time frame within the organization’s capacity for implementation.

2.  Communicate those goals and objectives to the organization’s members & constituents.

3.  Develop a sense of ownership of the plan. 4.  Ensure the most effective use is made of the

organization’s members and other resources by focusing the resources on the key priorities.

5.  Provide a base from which progress can be measured and establish a mechanism for informed change when needed.

6.  Listen to everyone’s opinions in order to build consensus about where the organization is going.

Why Develop a Strategic Plan? • Other reasons: 1.  Provides clearer focus for the organization, thereby

producing more efficiency and effectiveness. 2.  Connect members and the board of directors. 3.  Builds strong teams in the board and in the membership. 4.  Provides the glue that keeps the board members together. 5.  Produces great satisfaction and meaning among planners,

especially around a common vision. 6.  Increases productivity from increased efficiency and

effectiveness. 7.  Solves major problems in the organization.

2014 BOD Motion - Passed •  That PWV move forward with developing a 3 – 5 year

strategic plan, to be facilitated by an internal resource. The committee to be made up of 8 – 12 selected volunteers of varied backgrounds.

Example of a Strategic Plan – Ventana Wildlife Society

Example of a Strategic Plan – Ventana Wildlife Society

PWV Mission Statement • To assist the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the United States Forest Service in managing and protecting wilderness and backcountry areas within its jurisdiction.

• To achieve this mission, Poudre Wilderness Volunteers recruits, trains, equips and fields citizen volunteers to serve as wilderness rangers and hosts for the purpose of educating the public, and provides other appropriate support to these wild areas.

Process • Review current PWV Mission Statement •  Identify objectives/goals within Mission statement,

synthesized into: •  Recruiting & member retention •  Train (internally) •  Field •  Support •  Educate (public)

Process (con’t)

• Develop survey to solicit input from the general membership •  50+ respondents •  Within each objective category:

•  Identify strengths of organization (what do we do well?) •  Identify perceived weaknesses of organization (what don’t we do as well

as we could?) •  Identify opportunities •  (SWOT analysis)

Summary of Membership Survey RECRUIT / RETAIN RECRUIT / RETAIN RECRUIT / RETAIN TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN FIELD FIELD FIELD SUPPORT SUPPORT SUPPORT EDUCATE THE PUBLIC EDUCATE THE PUBLIC EDUCATE THE PUBLIC LAST QUESTION

What are we doing well? What are we doing that needs improvement?

What could we do that we aren't doing? What are we doing well? What are we doing that needs

improvement?What could we do that we aren't doing? What are we doing well? What are we doing that needs



improvement?What could we do that we aren't doing?

Are there any areas where PWV could support the Forest Service or another agency where we are not currently active, and you believe PWV's involvement would be helpful?

Attending local events w/booth; passing out brochures.

Recruiting stock members Parking lot greeters. Spring Training Too much dependence on internet for communications.

Creat Supplemental Training catelog.

We have some of the cleanest trails in the state.

Backcountry mentoring to beginners.

More trail maintenance while patrolling.

Everyone promotes encouragement and positive attitude. Encourages comradery.

Communicating how organization is structured, and relationships between committees.

Work with other organizations like Larimer County Search & Rescue, RM Conservatory, etc.

Informing our members: social media, website, newsletter.

Reach out state wide. We do things well.

We need to teach and reiterate some of the basics principles like Leave No Trace and the Essentials when out on the trail. Perhaps provide an online quiz covering these topics and PWV handbooks to keep members engage with our doctrines.

I think the notion of "supporting the Forest Service" should be replaced with the notion of "preserving, protecting, and maintaining the wilderness character of trails in Northern Colorado". This would give us more leeway to think outside the Forest Service box.

Training new recruits.Should not solicit donations from our own members. Only outside resources.

More shadowing - encourage it.Supplemental training opportunities

Provide more field-related training such as wilderness survival, wilderness first aid, plant/tree identifications, GPS and constellation navigation, emergency preparedness, wildlife habitat, animal scat & track identification, etc.

Presentation on how to pick out equipment.

Doing.Sharing with members the encounters with GP that are difficult.

Encourage more core training: fire & shelter building, map/GPS/navigation; first aid.

Moving in right direction for fundraising.

Communications strategy. Add times/locations for checking out spots.

STCommunicate to our membership what is on our website.

Develop strategy for communicating our "message" to members and GP.

if the general public were allowed on Young Gulch you would have a usable trail in 6 months. They did it for Hewlett before we got there. About all PWV did was to improve on what the casual users had already developed.

Social media Recording accurate info on potential new recruits.

More social events. Ultralight concepts; winter survival.

Refresher training for veterans. Naturalist training on flora and fauna.

Restoration; MaintenanceEncourage more trail maintenance during regular patrols.

Improve designated backcountry camp sites (e.g. in travel zones).

New scheduling web page is a huge improvement. One website. List of skills (and knowledge)

within org.Reaching out to other volunteer groups

Educate GP to do their part in cleaning up and maintaining our trails.

Post all e-mails on a news page rather than send them out.

Cover more trails.

Open HousesMaking members feel part of a community. Attracting younger members Mentoring Advanced training for veterans. LNT class geared to people who

want to teach it.Help to hikers Share patrol statistics with

membership.Cover more areas, esp Red Feather Lakes area.

Patrol reports. Process for checking out spot units and radios; phone?

Train reporting simplification; 2 trails on same day.

Restoration public workdays.Communications. Social media is haphazard and lacks a strategy.

Better communications about our activities with USFS staff.

we should concentrate on improving what we currently do, than expand later.

Trail repair/volunteers/coordinationRecruit stronger members. "Fun" is played up; "service" is played down.

Lead hike for GP. Classes at ST for returning members.

More Social events Recruit & train new members every other year. Weeds Encourage more holiday patrols.

Update signs that are easy to read.

Spot units big improvement over radios.

Keep website more up to date.Regular review/evaluation of all of our committees and projects, programs;

Facebook, public awareness events.

More newspaper releases about our patrol work (vs restoration work)

Public presentations on LNT, etc.We could do more with local school groups, from grade level up through university. Both in terms of education (lower ages) through joint programs (high school and university).

Sp ring T ra ining Setting expectations correctly. Members need to feel like part of a community.

Field Guide.Bigger pool of mentors who stay in contact with new recruits; must be good communicators.

Continually keep members informed of closed roads & trails.

Tree removal Signage needs updating. Week-day trail maintenance events.

ST well organized. Too many e-mails. Review committee for quality of patrol reports

Supplemental training opportunities are great. Keep them coming.

Better communications with CLRD staff.

More public service messages on radio and newspapers.Ex. KRKS 94.7 does free ads for non-profits.

Manage ski resorts.

Communicating mission and purpose

More advanced training for returning members.

Have a list of people who would like to help with restoration.

Stock patrol training. More training on First AidTrain all members in core skills: navigation, packing a pack, survival skills, first aid.

Patrol reporting & website. Enlarge trail maintenance group. Trailhead greeters. BOD and organizational structure

Equipping members for patrols. We are being overly-critical about quality of patrol reports.

PWV visibility.More public education, or partners with schools to education the youth

Possibly design "online" training CD to help new organizations get started

Have plenty of new recruitsBetter coordination with USFS on priorities.

Have a welcoming committee at social events. Help people feel part of a community.

information about hunting regulations and seasons

Create a community bulletin board for training by other organizations.

Continue to encourage members to patrol in the Wilderness areas.

Set goals for patrols on trails higher up the canyon.

Organization Handbook; documented processes; strategic planning.

More support from AGLs. Provide gas money for stock patrollers. Public Outreach

More local & regional media exposure.

Less "flat" organization? Too many comittees?

Supplemental training Retaining members. More info on weed ID.Train the new members on actual wilderness hikes. Design on-line test on core skills.

Veteran led patrols in wilderness areas for newbies

Train & equip patrollers on certain types of trail maintenace. Facebook page. More grant writing.

Streamline backpacking patrol reporting if over multiple days to avoid redundancy.

More public outreach and education (local, regional, national)

Informing recruits of expectations ahead of time Letting GP know who we are.

Better follow up on first-year members. More time on weed training.

Partnerships with outside groups who can provide training.

Week day restoration events; might be better for retirees.

Include more women as trail crew leaders.

New Field Guide Share financial info with membership 2 - 3 Xs/yr

Work with a professional fund raiser. Tap into "big giver" organizations.

KIN seems a waste of time and resources, as so many other local agencies do this.

Affiliation meetings How GP can help without joining. Help USFS at their office. Better advertise supplemental training. AM/PM patrols, especially for trails closer to town.

data management. More structure and support on fundraising.

Partner with outside CPA for advise on chart of accounts.

Message board on the website.

Mentoring hikes very useful Easier way to find short-notice partners.

More emphasis on commitment of members, # patrols, etc.

Supplemental Training Committee have 2 - 3 year training strategy; ID which ones to repeat, and frequency.

Some volunteers can be a bit too aggressive with the public, re. regulations.

Financial position for all-volunteer organization

We have some great processes in PWV with a large and successful org - perhaps we could work with other regional (or beyond) groups to share what has worked for us, and to learn more from others.

More work on presentation of our model to others

Offering warm & open envirnment to new recruits More social events Group activities at interviews to

see how people interact.Navigation as a core skill requirement. More member participation on

restoration; weed pulls, etc.Fundraising. Annual report to include key

committee activity.

(If you really want to read this, use 200% magnification)

Process (con’t)

• Committee identified root causes of our weaknesses •  Why aren’t we as good as we could be?

• Committee identified Critical Success Factors •  What do we have to be really good at in order to achieve our

objectives/goals?

•  Brainstorm activities required to bridge perceived gaps or pursue new opportunities

• Group like ideas • Prioritize groupings/activities

Process (con’t)

•  Identify what our major goals are within each objective category •  Ex. Recruiting & Member Retention goals:

•  What makes a good PWV member? •  Targeted advertising •  Evaluate & Select – find appropriate people •  Retain members

• Align activities with goals •  Identify responsibility for further development and

execution

RECOMMENDATIONS Activities, Responsibilities, Path Forward (High priorities only)

Objective: Recruiting & Member Retention • Goal: What makes a good PWV member?

Activity Responsibility Develop a standard recruitment flyer with expectations, opportunities, necessities to be used as a flyer as well as on our website.

Ø  What PWV does and does not do Ø  Medical conditions and physical shape

guidelines for patrolling Ø  Criteria for what we are looking for in a

recruit. Ø  Who needs to be at Spring Training

Recruiting Committee Executive Committee; Jim Shaklee Executive Committee; Jim Shaklee Executive Committee Executive Committee

Objective: Recruiting & Member Retention • Goal: Targeted Advertising

Activity Responsibility Create list of alternative programs for non-patrolling members

Off-Trail Committee

Develop U-Tube commercial Photography / Website Committees

Objective: Recruiting & Member Retention • Goal: Evaluate & Select Appropriate People

Activity Responsibility Strengthen interviewing process and carry through KON

Executive Committee

Develop guidelines for the recruiting process timeline

Recruiting Committee

Objective: Recruiting & Member Retention • Goal: Retain Members

Activity Responsibility Plan for more social gatherings Executive Committee

Develop on-line survey to get feedback from membership (and new recruits)

Survey Committee

Please refer to Excel Planning spreadsheet for Medium and low priority activities.

Objective: Train (internally) • Goal: What Skills do we train?

Activity Responsibility Develop Basic skills courses required for veterans

Supplemental Training Committee

Identify core skills and develop standards for training

Executive Committee

Develop a more comprehensive training program and catalog; develop a data base of experienced trainers.


Objective: Train (internally) • Goal: Methods of Training and Who Trains?

Activity Responsibility Offer re-occurring training for patrolling skills


Develop a more comprehensive training program and catalog; develop a data base of experienced trainers.


Objective: Train (internally) • Goal: Evaluation of Training Programs

Activity Responsibility Self-assessment


Self guided, on-line tools


Encourage self assessment Supplemental Training Committee

Review training curricula Supplemental Training Committee

Objective: Train (internally) • Goal: Other

Activity Responsibility Develop detailed backup plan for Spring Training

Spring Training Committee

Change the focus of the ST Committee to be responsible for logistics for the weekend rather than scheduling “training”.

Spring Training Committee

Some 2nd year returning members have not completed their mentoring patrols or 6 patrols. Develop expectations, communications to complete mentoring.

Mentoring & AGL Committees

Create standards for how AGL / Mentors can follow up their interactions with members.

Mentoring & AGL Committees

Objective: Field Members • Goal: Trail Maintenance

Activity Responsibility Develop goals for trail maintenance while on patrols; recognition.

Executive Committee

Provide trail maintenance training as a core skill Supplemental Training Committee

Objective: Field Members • Goal: Patrolling

Activity Responsibility Develop program to encourage more wilderness area patrols; establish measurement process, goals, and recognition.

Executive Committee

Form trail committee to manage patrolling, focus on quality, and reporting.

Executive Committee

Expand training on patrolling skills and policies. Executive Committee Establish metrics for patrolling, collected and reviewed each year to identify trends and action areas (ex. Current Shaklee data).

Executive Committee

Objective: Support • Goal: Financial

Activity Responsibility Re-designed Fundraising Committee should "coordinate" all fundraising, including grants. All committees involved in fundraising work together as a team. Responsible for developing the income side of the budget. Set goals, etc.

Finance Committee

Annual budgeting addresses needs of both internal board & committees, and also external grants (e.g. internal & external views)

Finance Committee

Objective: Support • Goal: Organizational

Activity Responsibility Ask all committee chairs to document their processes in a way that will help successor chairs. Develop a template to help this process.

Handbook Committee, Chair

Establish objectives/goals for all critical activities. Measure. Evaluate annually.

Executive Committee

Objective: Communications • Goal: Organizational

Activity Responsibility

An effort to communicate with other organizations and explore what can be done together

Executive Committee, Strategic Plan Ad-Hoc Committee; NWSA

Other:

Establish a “Strategic Plan Monitoring” group - Executive Committee w/i context of BOD.

Executive Committee

Note: Equip objective – medium priorities.

Objective: Educate (Public) • Goal: Educate Public

Activity Responsibility More newspaper releases on LNT, Wilderness tips, regulations, etc. (ex. One short article/month). Also post on website and Facebook. Develop quiz. Place in PWV brochures and other literature.

Executive Committee; Recruiting Committee

Develop on-line resource to help other organizations get started. Align with NWSA more closely. Develop "experts" knowledgeable in startup activities.

Executive Committee

Identify what is our consistent message(s). Executive Committee

Next Steps •  Solicit BOD approval for general strategy, and how to proceed •  If approved, responsible parties/committees to develop

execution plans, timelines, specific goals to be achieved, and how to measure success.

•  Strategic Planning ad hoc Committee will communicate expectations to non-BOD committee chairs and other responsible parties and act as sounding board.

•  Final execution plans completed by Aug, 2015 BOD meeting. •  Report progress to ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee on

periodic basis. •  Solicit approval from BOD to maintain a Strategic Plan

monitoring group – within Executive Committee?

Next Steps (con’t)

• Run a pilot for one of the execution plans and communicate by July BOD meeting.

New Motion •  That the PWV Strategic Plan be approved in principle,

and that execution plans be developed by the recommended responsible parties by Aug 20, 2015, and that the present ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee monitor and advise for the development of the execution plans. A motion will be made at the August, 2014 BOD meeting to approve the final plan.

Hypothetical Execution Plan • Activity: Create Instructional Videos

Steps Responsibility Metric Goal Timeline

1. Determine/prioritize what training should be on video.

Supplemental Training Com

# videos completed

3 videos Apr – May, 2015

2. Determine resources required

Sup Trng Com & Photo Com

May – June, 2015

3. Outline script for each video


June – Aug, 2015

4. Select locations, actors, props, etc


July – Sept, 2015

5. Contract with Tom Hanks for lead role. Tom Cruise as backup.

Karl Riters, Fred Allen

Contract $$ < $1 M Aug, 2015 – May 2016

6. Shoot and edit videos Sup Trng Com & Photo Com

Member feedback on video effectiveness

Scale 1(L) – 5 (H), avg = 3.5.

June – Aug, 2016

STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS - PWV

Documents