SWOT Strategic Planning Process Feb 13, 2020

I don't know about you but I am very pleased with our progress yesterday and I am eager to begin the work needed to move this organization that we all love into the future.

Thank you for your candid comments and observations. Your involvement is crucial to the creation of an action plan which will ensure our success.

Fist Step - Please review the below matrix - Do you agree with these statements which summarize the top priorities for each of the items? I have attached a copy of the document as well.

We will complete the "Membership" Topic at the next Board Meeting as well as present the Matrix to the rest of the Board. That will complete our Data Gathering Phase

Remember, it's not only about identifying "what" we want to improve but actually doing something about it. In the next phase we will use a similar format to brainstorm, group, and prioritize ideas to make any changes in our operation and or structure to achieve our objectives.

This process isn't a quick-fix but I am sure that we are up for the task.

Again, Thank you for your commitment. Not for one moment should you think that I don't know how hard each of you work and appreciate you for making SCAS a "focal-point" for our community.



Peace


Toni Duval





SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

















Click for more photos







































Sarasota Sister Cities Plan
Draft Jan 15, 2014
Summary



On October 31, 2013 the Sarasota Sister Cities Board met to identify challenges to the organization and develop a plan to meet those challenges. The Board identified a number of challenges. The Board prioritized the challenges below, listing the four most important.

The four major challenges are:
  • Funding
  • Community Visibility
  • Future Leadership
  • Partnerships

The major ways to meet those challenges are:


Funding
  • Events and Fund raisers
  • Retain City Funding
  • Legalize Status for contributions
  • Hold events such as festivals, gold outings, workshops, balls
  • Raise membership dues
  • Increase membership, more corporate sponsors
  • Larger Tours
  • Grants
Community Visibility
  • Events and Festivals
  • Public Relations
  • Collaboration
  • Presentations
  • Activate speakers bureau
  • Re-establish Newsletter (4/yr)
  • Continue social media activity
  • Alliance Members
Future Leadership
  • Create Executive Vice President
  • Leadership Training / Succession
  • Involve new, younger membership
  • Hold quarterly meetings with keynote speakers to maintain membership, attract new ones.
  • Find mechanism to involve more student members
  • Identify / Involve Membership Resources
  • Review Membership Form / Tracking
  • Quarterly Member Meetings
  • Integrate New Members
Partnerships
  • Identify new key partnerships
  • Energize Alliance Relations
  • Festivals
  • Geographic expansion with other FL SC Organizations





Plan Development

The Board met on Thursday October 31, 2013 to develop the Plan for Sarasota Sister Cities. The Board used a Circle 6 exercise to identify challenges to the organization. Those challenges are depicted on the photos to the right.






 









The Board then voted to prioritize the importance of the challenges. The colored markers show the votes for each challenge.














 









Four major challenges were identified.The list to the right lists the most important challenges.






 






The Board then considered each of the four challenges individually and identified potential efforts to meet those challenges. The photos to the right identify those efforts. 







The Board then broke into two sub committees to discuss and prioritize ways to address the challenges. The summary below identifies the priorities of one of the sub committees. The priorities may be revised when we have the input from the other subcommittee.

The major ways to meet those challenges are:

Funding
  • Events and Fund raisers
  • Retain City Funding
  • Legalize Status for contributions
  • Larger Tours
  • Grants
Community Visibility
  • Events and Festivals
  • Public Relations
  • Collaboration
  • Presentations
  • Alliance Members
Future Leadership
  • Create Executive Vice President
  • Leadership Training / Succession
  • Identify / Involve Membership Resources
  • Review Membership Form / Tracking
  • Quarterly Member Meetings
  • Integrate New Members
Partnerships
  • Identify new key partnerships
  • Energize Alliance Relations
  • Festivals
  • Geographic expansion with other FL SC Organizations
___________________________


The major ways to meet those challenges are:
Funding

  • Events and Fund Raisers
A number of ideas and suggestions were raised.  One event proposed was a Sister City Festival emphasising ethnic food. An effort to make presentations about Sister Cities was also discussed.

  • Retain City Funding
This is an important issue. The committee discussed options for doing this. The consensus was the best means of keeping funding was providing value for the investment - strong programs that promote our city. And we need to let the City Council know we are doing this.

  • Legalize Status for contributions
We must ensure that we have all the proper paper work so that people can deduct their donations to Sister Cities.

  • Larger Tours
Larger tours of our sister cities and countries would expose more people to Sarasota Sister Cities and our sister cities. Bringing a number of tourists to our sister cities would help their economic development.

  • Grants
Grants are a good way to increase our funding. Finding people with the time and expertise to pursue grants is difficult.


Community Visibility

  • Events and Festivals
Sponsoring or participating in other events and festivals is important.  We currently sponsor our Gala, Luncheons, Meet and Greets, and other special events.
  • Public Relations
Getting the organization known to the general public is an ongoing effort. The organization uses email, social media, the web site, the blog, and participation in community events to make the efforts of the organization known.

  • Collaboration
The organization collaborates with a number of organizations on events and programs of interest to the organization. We will continue these efforts, looking for more and better ways to collaborate.

  • Presentations
Making presentations to various groups about Sister Cities is a excellent way to increase interest in Sister Cities.

  • Alliance Members
The Board would like to improve our partnership with Alliance members. We need to examine our partners, determine if there is a need for closer connections, and if so work to improve those connections.

Future Leadership

  • Create Executive Vice President
An Executive Vice President position should be added to the Board. This person would assist the President in his or her duties and be the logical next President of the organization.

  • Leadership Training / Succession
Training our future leaders and planning for succession is a clear need for the organization.

  • Identify / Involve Membership Resources
We need to have a better understanding of the talents and interests of our membership and connect with those members to best use those talents.

  • Review Membership Form / Tracking
The Board determined that we should review our membership form and come up with methods to understand the interests of our members and call upon them.

  • Quarterly Member Meetings
No one if fond of more meetings.  But our members only come in constant with the Board at the Luncheons and the Meet and Greets. A meeting in the evening once a quarter could help inform our members about what the organization is doing and how they might help out.
  • Integrate New Members
Our new members join but often do not know what is happening and how they can participate.  We are trying to let them know by publishing information on our blog and social media. But face to face contact and phone calls from Board members to new members is a very effective way to gain their interest and commitment.

Partnerships
  • Identify new key partnerships
We should always  be on the look out for possible new partnerships. When identified

  • Energize Alliance Relations
We need to examine our Alliance partners and rekindle and revitalize relations where possible.

  • Festivals
The organization participates in some festivals. The organization could lead an international fest featuring booths with ethnic restaurants and shops.
  • Geographic expansion with other FL SC Organizations

There are numerous other cities in Florida with Sister City organizations. Networking with them on programs and tours is a logical way to expand our reach.



___________________

Planning is a process. This planning effort develops a consensus of the Board for future efforts. But of course the plan can and will be revised as different challenges are encountered.

And implementation requires the efforts of the action oriented Board members. It is a simple thing to state a need or write a short plan. But this means little if individuals do not take action to implement the plan.

You should be able to edit a version of this document directly by clicking the link below. Alternately you can propose changes to the plan by emailing sarasotasistercities@gmail.com






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