4 minute read
GOAL 1
GOAL 1 PRESERVE PLACE
Bring people together to experience and create place. Establish and sustain the organization and its new physical home through a deep understanding of place: past, present, and future.
STRATEGY A // Establish Our New Home
In 2019, after two successful and influential start-up years, Craigardan purchased 320+ acres in Elizabethtown, New York. The land is a mixture of field and forest; recently logged and ready for stewardship. Defined by its river and streams, mountain views, and rocky outcroppings, the property borders Hurricane Mountain wilderness and sits between the fertile Champlain Valley and the forever-wild High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. The existing farmhouse is part of an early settlement that included a mill, forge, kiln, and cattle. We have repurposed the roadside farmhouse into a farm store and gallery, reintroduced animals and vegetables to the land, and renovated our riverside cabin. We are now charged with building the remaining physical structures of our new campus and doing the work necessary to ground our organization, affirm our mission, and imagine the long-range possibilities for growth and expansion.
OBJECTIVE 1 // Build a Campus
Complete design and construction phases of the main campus and auxiliary buildings, with a focus on accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Although the entire scope of the project includes three large, main structures, a kiln pavilion, two barns, and six cabins, the project is designed to be built in phases over many years and still provide necessary space for concurrent, scalable programming.
OBJECTIVE 2 // Steward the Land
Conduct farm master planning and implementation in order to develop a fully diversified working farm in harmony with our conserved wilderness landscape, using agroecological principles. (Agroecology is the study of the relation of agricultural crops and environment.) Repair damage done by careless logging practices and turn select skidder tracks into public trails. Develop Land Acknowledgment protocols and practices in partnership with our Indigenous neighbors, reflecting a commitment to build mutually beneficial and intergenerational relationships rooted in our shared obligations to care for the land.
OBJECTIVE 3 // Understand Place
Learn, record, and acknowledge the history of our property and the surrounding region through Indigenous and non-Native documents, land-use studies, and story sharing. Understand how Craigardan’s distinctive place-based identity has evolved over time. Develop a multidimensional conception of place through our organizational impacts, and within our organization and the people it serves.
STRATEGY B // Build Fiscal Stability
To facilitate our 2019 transition, we raised $900,000 to purchase the property, invest in design and permitting, improve current infrastructure, run programs, and sustain general operations. This responsive effort would not have been possible without incredible trust and support from our dedicated community. Now we must stabilize and grow on our new campus by increasing revenue and diversifying income streams. This in turn will allow us to improve the property, build infrastructure, provide greater economic support to participants, and exceed the expectations of the communities we serve.
OBJECTIVE 1 // Complete Capital Campaign
Raise remaining silent phase funds and launch the public phase of our capital campaign to build campus buildings and support programs in stages.
OBJECTIVE 2 // Pursue Grant Opportunities
Improve grant-writing skills, cultivate new relationships, and increase revenue to fund the capital campaign, programs, and general operations through grants from foundation, organization, and government sources.
OBJECTIVE 3 // Improve Annual Fundraising
Grow Craigardan’s constituency, improve donor engagement, and increase annual giving through multiple opportunities to support — and be supported by — Craigardan’s work year-round.
OBJECTIVE 4 // Increase Program Revenue
Offer educational programs with affordable fees to a growing audience while realizing a net gain; increase residency revenue in tandem with campus construction while providing more financial aid; and generate reliable and profitable farm store and gallery sales.
STRATEGY C // Strengthen Our Organizational Foundation
Within our first four years, we built an exceptional team of 13 staff and board members, developed a strong organizational platform for our work, met demanding fiscal benchmarks, surpassed expectations on transparency and accountability, developed critical policies, and pursued the goals of a much larger organization. As a young but quickly growing nonprofit pursuing major plans, it is important now to invest in ongoing structural growth and measurable improvement, with special consideration for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Craigardan’s staff, board, and operating systems must continue to mature over the next five years to meet these advanced goals.
OBJECTIVE 1 // Grow Staff and Board
Attract, train, and support a diverse, inclusive, and talented staff and board of directors who are dedicated to advancing the mission of Craigardan through progressive thinking, heartfelt engagement, and strategic risk-taking.
OBJECTIVE 2 // Improve Outward-Facing Efforts
Promote the organization’s mission, innovative programs, and social leadership, and expand its reach through well-designed and thoughtful forms of communication that inspire diversified and inclusive participation.
OBJECTIVE 3 // Refine Inward-Facing Systems
Refine and build out anti-racist policies, plans, and procedures across branches of the organization in order to ensure efficacy, transparency, inclusivity, and accountability across all of our systems.
