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Strategic Plan

Vision
We envision Seattle leading the way in facing the great challenges of our time – a city that is fair to all, prosperous, and environmentally visionary.

Mission
To bring together all members of the community — conservationists, neighborhood advocates, business people — to listen, learn about obstacles and opportunities, and above all, work to implement pragmatic solutions to realize our common vision. Our effectiveness hinges on our ability to engage diverse communities, and to transcend political and social barriers in order to achieve a common cause.

How We Work

Great City believes that we must confront the challenges facing Seattle by motivating broad based coalitions that transcend traditional affiliations and find common ground in the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of our city. To do this, we use the following three strategies:

  1. Campaigns –On an annual basis, Great City identifies the issues that are most pressing in the community, bringing together the most appropriate stakeholders to develop campaigns designed to achieve very specific goals.
  2. Community Engagement – We believe change requires not just community support, but community leadership, if change is to be meaningful and enduring. We look to engage communities through our campaigns, forums, brown bags, and programs such as the Neighborhood Assistance Project. We recognize the value of an empowered citizenry in achieving a sustainable future.
  3. Pilot Projects – Great City is looking to play a pro-active role in developing pilot projects in Seattle that will showcase the efficacy of our beliefs.

Core Values
At Great City, our commonly shared values unite us.

  • Sustainability – We believe true urban sustainability is only possible when it takes into account environmental, social and economic goals. In today’s world, it is self-defeating to focus on one set of goals to the detriment of others. Effective solutions are those that address these goals:
  • Environmental – The challenges of global warming, sprawling land use patterns, pollution, waste, and unsustainable resource use require more efficient use of our existing resources, and a transition away from polluting practices. Thus long-term goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting resource lands by directing growth into compact communities, eliminating sources of toxic pollution, and changing patterns of consumption and waste.
  • Social – Our vision of Seattle is one in which people of all income levels and stages of life have opportunities for meaningful work, affordable housing, good transportation choices, great public places, safe and beautiful neighborhoods and all the other amenities that increase our quality of life.  How we confront growth and environmental challenges will have profound impacts on social equity.  We are committed to strategies that enhance Seattle for all of us.
  • Economic – We believe a strong and sustainable economy, while not an end in itself, is a critical means to sustaining the high quality of life we strive to achieve for all of the existing and potential residents of this city.
  • Transcending Orthodoxy: All too often, groups with admirable objectives become entrenched in ideological approaches to complex challenges. As the saying goes, when the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything is a nail. At Great City, we believe that Seattle’s challenges are multi-faceted, and solutions are best when they strive to address multiple goals and contain a range of viewpoints. We continuously develop and update our tool kit, try to think outside the box, and always look for the best tool to address any given issue.
  • It’s About People:  As a society, we face extraordinary challenges. But  collectively, we have the ability to face these challenges and make the choices to create the future.  Great City believes that the success of our mission relies upon the strength of the people in all our communities.

Organizational Goals
Great City’s primary organizational goal is to create a groundbreaking organization which, through its continued success in Seattle, becomes a template for other cities in the region to create the sustainable, just, and vibrant communities we all want to live in.

In order to reach this overarching goal, the following goals must be met:

Create an Efficient Organization
Great City strives to have an organization that reflects its vision, mission and core values. Having a vision that attracts dedicated open-minded and passionate volunteers is the first step in organizational success. Just as crucial, however, is developing an organization that can harness the power of ideas and passion into a swift and nimble movement that achieves results. Great City shall utilize the following organizational format:

  • Board of Directors – The Board of Directors shall meet on a quarterly basis to give guidance on strategic, issue-related, and organizational meta-issues. The Board shall review and ratify any threshold recommendations made by the Executive Committee, and will have the power to approve the budget, approve of staffing decisions/salaries, approve changes in the organizational goals and priorities, and fundraise on behalf of the organization.
  • Executive Committee – Made up of 5-7 Board Members, the Executive Committee shall meet on a monthly basis to review and advise organizational priorities such as the budget, fundraising, strategy, and personnel.
  • Staff – Great City shall hire an Executive Director, who shall strive to realize the vision, objectives, and core values of Great City. The Executive Director shall oversee development and execution of a yearly plan on an annual basis.
  • Advisory Committee – The advisory committee shall be comprised of those leaders whose breadth and depth of experience provides Great City with a repository of knowledge and ideas from which the committees and staff shall draw.
  • Committees – Great City’s heart and soul will consist of its committees, which will be responsible for articulating the Great City’s strategies and achieving its issues-related goals as set forward on a yearly basis.
  • Membership – Great City will develop a defined membership.  Upon reaching an appropriate membership base, Great City will rely upon its members to elect the Board of Directors and provide essential feedback, fundraising, and volunteer power to the organization.

Hold an Annual Planning Retreat
Great City recognizes that in order to be successful, an organization must constantly be defining, redefining, and achieving goals. In order to drive our mission forward, Great City’s Board of Directors shall hold an annual planning retreat within the first two months of each calendar year.

Develop a Sustainable Fundraising Plan
Great City strives to develop a diversified funding structure that will allow it to succeed without compromising its vision, mission, and core values. On an annual basis, the leadership in Great City shall set fundraising goals that will allow us to meet our annual goals, ongoing staffing needs, and other necessary overhead costs. A responsible cash reserve will also be identified and funded. The fundraising plan will include, but not be limited to, the following sources:

  • Private donations
  • Grants
  • Matching Funds
  • Fundraising events

Create a Consistent and Inspirational Great City Brand
Great City will develop a brand by developing clear messaging through website redesign, public forums, presentations, updated graphic design, and increased public communications.

Recruit, Retain, and Galvanize Volunteers
Great City has been blessed with extraordinary volunteer interest in our work.  We need to focus on involving volunteers in all aspects of the organization.  We must empower volunteers to make significant contributions to our work and take action on our behalf.  A key step will be to develop a plan for increased membership, for training volunteers, and for moving volunteers up a “volunteer ladder” to positions of leadership.

Foster our Relationship with Cascade Land Conservancy
Great City, an unincorporated organization, currently has a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Cascade Land Conservancy that sets forth how the respective organizations will collaborate in pursuit of Cascade Agenda goals.  This includes CLC’s 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship of Great City. The relationship between CLC and Great City has grown and deepened since Great City’s inception, and it is Great City’s goal to create greater value to both organizations as Great City grows.  Accordingly, Great City will annually review and, if needed, revise the Memorandum of Understanding with Cascade Land Conservancy with this goal in mind.