Friends of Finland Strategic Plan
Our community has always drawn its strength from the spirit of helping that we inherited from the community ancestors that settled in this area. Those early settlers had to work together in order to survive, and over time they created systems and organizations to make Finland and its surrounding area an inviting and vibrant place. It’s from that spirit that Friends of Finland was born. And through that spirit, our community has achieved amazing things. In an effort to create an even brighter future, Friends of Finland worked with the community to create a Strategic Plan, and we are very excited to share the final result of that process!
Please take a moment to review the plan, then let us know how you’d like to help make this plan a reality. Because individuals setting aside their differences and working together to get real work done is the only way our community has made it this far, and it’s the only way we will thrive into the future.
Friends of the Finland Community Strategic Plan
About the Strategic Plan
The Friends of Finland Community (FoF) benefits from the strong community that calls this place home and is honored to be able to serve that community through its work. During 2019-2020, FoF went through a restructuring process to enable it to “put the mission in the middle” to co-create a thriving future. With this restructuring process under way, FoF held off making a new strategic plan until the new structure was in place. In the summer of 2021, the FoF board began to gather community input for the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan by tabling at the farmers market, leaving out comment boxes, and posting at various local establishments for thoughts on how FoF can best reach its mission. Culminating at a community potluck, FoF was given incredible ways the organization can reach its mission of helping make Finland and its surrounding area an inviting and vibrant place.
Keeping the FoF mission and community input as the guiding forces, the FoF core staff and board created the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. While each and every community desire was not able to be reflected directly within the plan, FoF made sure that each community identified need was addressed in some capacity through the 6 goals of the plan. Some of the biggest themes that came through this process of how FoF meets its mission were:
- Nurturing future generations.
- Providing resources and finding champions that are ready to serve community needs.
- Invest in people through capacity building (Capacity-building is defined as the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world).
- Share stories of this place that showcase, build pride, and show what’s possible.
Thank you to everyone who has helped to build this plan and to those who will help FoF reach these goals. Nothing happens without the many people invested in this place and community!
How will the Plan be Used?
To guide the board and staff in their actions to serve the Finland and surrounding area community.
How will the Plan be Implemented?
Teams within the organization consisting of FoF board members, staff, and/or volunteers will collaborate to develop work plans to implement each of the goals and outcomes. The work plans will describe timelines and measurement to know when the goal has been met successfully.
About Friends of Finland Community
We are a non-profit entity in the Northern Lake County area providing space for youth, senior citizens, community groups, events, rentals, small business support and incubation, community education classes, social programs, community recreation, free wi-fi internet, public computers, trail maps and information, all in one location!
FoF was formed after the creation of the Crystal Bay Comprehensive Community Plan. A group of citizens realized that the formation of a nonprofit such as the FoF could help carry on the momentum started by the Comprehensive planning process and work towards making the community’s vision a reality.
A board was created and the first meeting was held in March of 2007 to incorporate. We then applied to become a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. We received our official nonprofit status in April of 2008.
Mission
The Friends of the Finland Community’s Mission is to help make Finland and its surrounding area an inviting and vibrant place by:
- Creating community spaces and connections,
- Supporting economic initiatives,
- Implementing social programs,
- Enhancing natural surroundings, and
- Demonstrating sustainable practices.
Values
Friends of the Finland Community value that:
- Bonds between people strengthen a community.
- Strong partnerships between people and organizations foster shared vision, action and collective impact
Goal 1: Operate the FoF organization and the Clair Nelson Center as adaptive and accessible resources for the community.
- Being aware of the community landscape in order to connect community members with needed services.
- Maintaining a regular presence in the Clair Nelson Center
- Upkeep facilities in order to host community events and programs
- Cultivate a financial strategy that allows access to the Center and programs
- Maintain open forms of feedback with the community
Goal 2: Build and strengthen our partnerships with the community and community organizations to identify and achieve collective goals.
- Strengthen and deepen FoF partnerships with Township and County and advocate for our community needs (i.e. housing and/or a recycling program).
- Examine current partnerships and look for new strategic partners (govt as well as community)
- Provide a platform for networking between people and local organizations
Goal 3: Invest in and empower people and the community itself in order to make and keep our community accessible as a viable place to live, raise a family, and age well in.
- Plant seeds of possibilities for entrepreneurial opportunities that would serve community needs (i.e. laundry & shower facilities, campground, sauna, etc)
- Sustain framework/process for community members to bring forth their ideas and get the ball rolling in partnership with FoF.
- Promote opportunities for people/youth to do community service
- Coalesce stakeholders around identified community needs
Goal 4: Prioritize investing in local community capacity.
- Invest in FoF employees & employee development
- Regularly invest in community leadership and/or capacity building work
- Provide educational offerings that empower local leaders (including youth) to share knowledge and support
- Foster mentorships, apprenticeships and tutoring opportunities that support technical, leadership, and cultural development
Goal 5: Uplift and empower community stories in a way that builds pride and participation.
- Use multiple forms of media to share community assets and activities.
- Collaborate with existing organizations (ex. historical society) to amplify their stories and impact.
Goal 6: Ensure the long term viability of the FoF for future generations of the community.
- Safeguard financial sustainability for the organization
- Use Community Conversations to guide long-term organizational goals
- Intentionally invest in the leadership capacity of the next generation
