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ROP Spring 2006 Newsletter

Over The Long Haul

So, little ole ROP based in Scappoose, Oregon has launched a campaign to rebuild America. You can smile, scoff, or roll up your sleeves, but just because ROP is committed to changing the world, don’t think that  we are delusional.  We are ambitious and we are doing our part along with similar groups around the globe.    Of course this effort will take time.  We are still trying to survive the neo-conservative demolition phase.  But ROP has a long-term vision.  We use incremental Five Year Plans to gauge our progress and chart a course towards the world that we are creating.   Right now we are evaluating our last plan and establishing our next plan and we need to hear from you.

             Said Alice “Cheshire Puss… would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

            “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. 

“I don’t much care where,” said Alice. 

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat. 

“So long as I can get somewhere” added Alice as an explanation.

“Oh you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.” 

                                                                        Lewis Carroll – Through the Looking Glass

Why do it?  As the Cheshire Cat explains to Alice, unless you know where you want to go, you can be quite occupied with going somewhere, but it may not get you where you really want to end up.  Strategic planning helps organizations be intentional about where they want to go and sets some mile markers along the way so we can see how far we’ve come. 

What is it?  A Strategic Plan helps focus the priorities of the organization into a written document that can be shared across the organization and assure that everyone is working toward the same goals.  Having clear goals also means that the resources of the organization (people, time, money, creativity) can be used to their maximum benefit.

What’s my part?  We need your best thinking on how we can expand democracy in small town and rural Oregon.  As human dignity activists, your thoughts, suggestions, and perspectives on the challenges of the day will form the basis of our next five year plan.  This plan will lay out our plans to advance the work of your local human dignity group and our collective movement for rural justice.  Email marcy@rop.org to complete a written assessment and plan to attend the Rural Caucus and Strategy Session on May 6^th and 7^th.  Thanks to the support from Western States Center in guiding ROP through this Long Range Planning Process.