A Strategic Plan for a Community Based Organization, The Vollintine Evergreen Community Association
Degree Name
MS in Management
First Advisor
Annie Viets
Abstract
The Vollintine Evergreen Community Association (VECA) in Memphis, Tennessee was in a period of transition as it moved towards an all-volunteer organization with new objectives and a new mission statement. Thus, it was in need of a strategic plan to help it achieve this new mission. Some of the key questions that needed answering were: What is the direction that the organization now wants to move in? What is the mission of the organization? What programs should the organization work on to achieve this mission? How can it get the resources needed to accomplish these programs?
The organization was unable to obtain a grant to create a strategic plan on its own, and so I was called in. By working with key stakeholders, the Board of Directors and community residents, I created a strategic plan for VECA that the organization will be able to use as it moves forward. Surveys, discussions and combing through the organization’s records were the main forms of methodology used to gather the necessary information to create a strategic plan. I learned the importance of planning and making sure that everyone at the table had a voice while also discovering that anyone can create a strategic plan; the hard part is getting people to follow through with it.
There were several results of the strategic plan. 1) It gave the organization the necessary guidance and framework for the organization to go out and achieve its mission. (2) It showed the organization that it needed to look for new funds if it wanted to be a viable player in the community and, finally, and possibly most important, 3) without the strategic plan VECA would have continued to jump from project to project without a sense that they all related to the other, and board members would have continued to only work on their pet projects. While this strategic plan is not a solution for all of the
organization’s challenges, it is a good start and it will be reviewed every six months by the board to make sure the organization is still working towards achieving its mission.
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Civic and Community Engagement | Organizational Behavior and Theory | Strategic Management Policy
Recommended Citation
Falion, Marcus George, "A Strategic Plan for a Community Based Organization, The Vollintine Evergreen Community Association" (2010). Capstone Collection. 2363.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2363