Review the plan and share your feedback
11/19/2024
Being the Board of Directors Chair comes with challenges and opportunities, including planning for the future while keeping our identity and organization strong. I asked our Board of Directors to go into 2024 with a few priorities, among them to create a strategic plan that was attainable and helped us determine who we want to be. I want our next generation of Board of Directors’ to have a plan to reference that will ground their work.
As a reminder, the UMN Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program of Ramsey County (Program) and the Ramsey County Master Gardeners 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation (Corporation) are separate organizations who work in collaboration with one another. The Program shares research-based horticultural information through the work of volunteers, committees and projects. The Corporation provides funding and support for the Program but does not organize or manage the Program’s projects or activities. Volunteers in the Program are members of the Corporation once they complete intern requirements.
Since our Corporation was founded in 1995, it has not had its own mission, vision or value statement. Past strategic plans combined goals for the Program and the Corporation. At the request of UMN Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program state leadership, the Corporation and Program are working to distinguish the two organizations. This strategic plan is not a legal document, rather, it’s a process that helps our Corporation ensure that our members are working towards the same goals while assessing and adjusting our direction in response to a changing environment. In 2025, the Program plans to create their own strategic plan.
The strategic planning committee began its work in May by conducting research and gathering input, determining our foundational ideas of a vision, mission and guiding principles, conducting a variation of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, setting focus areas & goals and deciding on action steps. Many voices and opinions were heard and included, ranging from the Program Coordinator to past Board of Directors members to project leads, plus the fresh perspective of interns.
Our goals include:
By January 2026, the Corporation’s Board of Directors will adopt policies governing Corporation expenditures, investments and allocations to be implemented by the Finance Committee.
By 2027, there will be a process to identify a talent pool of potential Board of Directors members.
By December 1, 2026, there will be an understanding with the UMN Extension about the relationship between the Corporation and the UMN Extension.
A draft of our vision, mission, guiding principles, goals and actions were voted on and approved by the Board of Directors. Click on this link to read about it. As you read, consider how each action relates to its goal, and how each goal relates to our vision, mission and guiding principles. Ask yourself: Are these actions getting us to the goal? Are they feasible? Is the wording clear? The intent is to emphasize that the purpose of the Corporation is to help fund and advise the Program while not managing its projects or activities.
Once you’ve reviewed the strategic plan, please take a moment to ask a question or make a suggestion using this comment form. We appreciate our members’ input and want to hear from you on how to make this plan even better. The final version will be reviewed and voted on by the Board of Directors in December. If approved, implementation will begin. Our 2025 Board of Directors Chair, Kay Wimer, is fully committed to this plan and will work hard to see it implemented. As the outgoing Board of Directors Chair, I will continue to help ensure this strategic plan is successful.
Thank you to everyone who donated time and talent to creating this strategic plan: Cynthia Anderson, Julie Bechtold, Susie DeShon, Beth Fritcher, Brianna Gohde, Abby Gust, Darren Lochner, Mary Montagne, Gene Ranieri, Laura Savin, Chris Strong, Kay Wimer and all the project leads who attended our summer brainstorming session. An extra big THANK YOU to Karen Randall for being the best facilitator and keeping us organized!
Julie Bechtold
Board Chair
juliebechtold@gmail.com | 651 497 7072