Strategic Planning Committee Update

Chris Pattillo of the Strategic Planning Committee reports:

Since December 2017 a small group of CGS members has been meeting monthly to create a strategic plan for our society. The group includes President Vicky Kolakowski, Past President Jane Lindsey, board members Stewart Traiman, James Russell and me. Past President Linda Okazaki and member Marisela Meskus have also contributed.

In January and February Stewart and I met with representatives from all but one of CGS’s active committees. Our purpose was to solicit input on what is working well with the society and to hear ideas about what we could be doing differently. That series of interviews netted 106 specific suggestions, which were then ranked by the committee members to identify top priorities. 71 suggestions were ranked No. 1 or No. 2. 

To help focus our efforts we developed this mission statement for the strategic planning committee: 

The Strategic Planning Committee will devise a plan for the California Genealogical Society’s continued success. To insure the longevity of the California Genealogical Society and Library by identifying the society’s and members’ needs then creating a plan that will address those needs. Goals will be set for 1, 3, and 5 years that will be implemented by Committee members, Board Members and volunteers.

The committee identified 8 specific things to focus on and developed specific proposals for how to achieve them. These include:

• A plan to update our website
• A proposal to create a Member Interest Database
• A plan to host webinars
• A formalized training program
• An update to our organization chart that better reflects how the society functions
• A proposal to update our membership fee structure
• A proposal to charge for some classes
• A proposal and schedule for implementing the Strategic Plan

We received input on these proposals from the Board of Directors at the May and June meetings. The timeline is to present the final report to the Board at the September meeting. Implementation will begin immediately thereafter for a proposal approved by the Board.

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