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Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice

By Bridget Brewster
Posted: 05/28/2024

Most nonprofit boards meet at least annually to review the work of the past year and plan for the year ahead. When conducting this important organizational business, “retreat” is something of a misnomer. It’s pretty much all work and no play for several hours. 

Our Board of Directors gathered for a planning retreat in late April to review and update our Strategic Plan for 2024–2025. We were very fortunate to have help from Jericho Road, who provided a Facilitator, Ashok Boghani, to guide our work.  We are grateful to Jericho Road for making it possible for us to have a professional guidance. Additionally, a Planning Committee, comprised of Sue Kujawa, Dick Meyer, Pat Dawe, Bridget Brewster and Katie Brandon, gave considerable time to ensuring critical aspects of the Strategic Plan were covered.

We want you all to have a glimpse of what was accomplished so that you are fully informed and can determine how you want to participate in volunteering and leading the many aspects of Village life.  As you well know, we (each and every one of us) are the Village. Our fulfillment and satisfaction as Villagers is absolutely dependent upon individual involvement at whatever level feels good to each of us.

PRIORITY 1: Membership Diversity and Growth

Pasadena Village must grow to be sustainable, and we must rise to the challenge of expanding our reach. By June 2025, Pasadena Village strives to have a membership of 200, an increase of 70 members (this goal was set a year ago and has been updated). Inclusivity is a core value of Pasadena Village, and outreach strategies will be targeted to reflect the rich diversity of our community. A recruitment and retention strategy will be developed that will be accessible to members from diverse communities. Members will work together to cultivate an atmosphere of participation and contribution.

We focused primarily on:

- Villager retention

- attracting new Villagers specifically representing the Latina/o/x, Asian communities

- creating a new orientation process, including a type of “buddy system”

- evaluating organization configurations to identify models that significantly facilitate Village growth and diversity

PRIORITY 2: Member-driven Programming & Community of Support

Pasadena Village members take an active role in building our community, thus strengthening their independence, reducing the negative effects of isolation, and addressing the wide variety of needs that come with aging.  As members age, interests and abilities change, while the desire to find purpose and meaning in life remains. Pasadena Village will maintain its core structure of member-driven programming and build on its community of support so that all members are enriched by their involvement in the Village.

We focused primarily on:

- attracting new and current Villagers in team leadership roles

- creating effective processes with clearly defined team descriptions and leader - -responsibilities

- providing support for those facing limitations and those in temporary situations

As a result of our in-depth discussions, we were able to set goals for the year ahead.

GOALS FOR 2025–26

Membership Growth

· 225 Villagers by July 2025

· 275 by July 2026

· Take time to evaluate capacity for this kind of growth. Explore how other Villages are functioning with large numbers.

 

Village Diversity

· Attract 5–7 additional Latino/a/x Villagers 

· Create a plan for outreach to AAPI (Asian American, Asian Islander, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) older adults

Board Liaisons

· 4 [to address Membership Retention, New Orientation, Organizational Configuration, Team Restructure]

 

Villager Engagement

· Make sure ALL villagers are engaged in Village life through all stages of membership

Volunteer Involvement

· Boost volunteer involvement. Increase the number of members who volunteer to 70% by June 2025

 

The success of these goals is dependent upon each of us, first and foremost, knowing what our goals are and then determining if or how we want to be a part of growing our incredible Village. The Board of Directors needs and wants to hear from you; we need your thoughts and ideas, so please feel free to contact any director. More importantly, get involved on a Village team and help create processes and programs that bring you joy.