Greetings VOBS Friends,
Here we are, well into the first quarter of a new year!
Days are getting longer and we are busy enrolling summer and even fall students.
This month, the VOBS team is taking time to engage around our 2022 Annual Plan, and today, we are sharing these priorities and goals with you, The VOBS Crew.
If you’re unfamiliar with an Annual Plan, think of it as a “road map” for VOBS. Most organizations create one each year. The VOBS Annual Plan lays out our shared organizational priorities and goals, and scopes a budget and strategy for doing the work, realizing the revenue, securing the funding and employing the people.
Why care about the VOBS Annual Plan?
The Plan helps VOBS enact our vision:
More compassionate and resilient leaders for a more compassionate and resilient world
Our Annual Plan also helps VOBS keep our long term goals front and center.
Below we’ve outlined our big picture goals, which fall into into three key areas: Purpose, People and Place.
PURPOSE
We want our programs and workplace to be safe and create the best conditions for learning and leadership.
We want to work with more students, and serve a greater diversity of young leaders.
We want to advance Equity, Inclusion and Diversity in our programs and in our workplace.
PEOPLE
We want to recruit and retain more staff and more diverse staff.
We want to continue to improve staff support and compensation.
We want to continue to foster a culture of connection and community.
PLACE
We want to create a long term plan for sustainable and effective operations.
We want to improve the systems that support our students and staff.
We want to improve the facilities that support our students and staff.
The 2022 Plan is a product of collaboration across Leadership, Board, Staff and community. It represents an increasingly inclusive process to meet goals and develop work plans to pursue our mission and help grow more compassionate and resilient leaders for a more compassionate and resilient world.
The VOBS Leadership Team is responsible for steering the planning process and the Board of Trustees must approve the Plan and Budget. The Leadership Team and Executive Director are accountable to the goals outlined in the Plan, and the Plan is informed by all departments, and it, in turn, informs all of our shared work. The VOBS 2022 Plan is the beginning of information and accountability… but not the end.
Our Annual Plan can foster awareness in our workplace, and it can also help our community and crew understand where we want to go, and how we’ll get there. A solid Plan can show us why all work at VOBS is important work.
Better yet, when we have a collective sense of where we’re headed, anyone – employee, Trustee, alumni, partner, donor – can ask important questions about the best way to get there. Sharing information can empower ourselves and others to participate in accountability, to contribute solutions to dilemmas, to recognize contributions and to grow ourselves, and VOBS… for a more compassionate and inclusive world.
Ready to engage?
Would you like help VOBS enact our 2022 Annual Plan?
SUPPORT VOBS 2022 GOALS WITH A DONATION
About the Author
At Voyageur Outward Bound School, we believe in the potential of every individual. We believe when people discover strength of character, an aptitude for leadership and a desire to serve, it has a positive impact on their lives and the lives of those around them. And that discovery has the power to make the world a better place. Our mission is to change lives through challenge and discovery. We offer life-changing expeditions for everyone, regardless of social or economic status, race or gender, from struggling teens, to first generation urban youth, adults in transition or veterans integrating back into life outside of active duty.
