Strategic Planning

Planning for the Future

Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois has a continual focus to be the best at providing a leadership experience for girls that is girl-centric and outcome-based. In striving to exceed the expectations of our communities, families and girls, our council establishes strategic initiatives to ensure opportunities and resources are available to fulfill our mission.

We call it strategic learning, and it’s a journey we started on in 2010. It is not a strategic plan that sits on a shelf.

  • Our Key Priorities
  • Girl Scout Leadership Experience – Develop a progressive leadership experience that is girl centric and mission critical.
  • Volunteer Management – Strengthen systems and strategies to support volunteers at all levels.
  • Communication/Marketing - Enhance awareness to increase brand visibility and organizational relevance of the value of Girl Scouts.
  • Funding/Financial Management- Leverage resources and diversify funding/income streams to fulfill the Girl Scout mission.
  • Outcomes/Data Collection- Develop and support comprehensive data collection processes and tools to acquire meaningful information to support the future work of the council.
  • Partnership/Strategic Collaboration - Develop and implement a cultivation plan that focuses on collaborations that are mission aligned.

Closing the Gap

“Gap” teams are working to achieve a series of goals by 2013. We will then repeat the process to carry us forward from 2014 to 2016.

Community Support

Several corporations supported strategic learning by allowing their employees to dedicate their time and talent to the process. The strategy team included employees from AEGON/Transamerica, BiState Regional Commission, Blackhawk Bank & Trust, John Deere, Loras College, Mel Foster, Mid-American Energy, Mt. Mercy University and the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.

The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation awarded our council $3,250 from its organizational development fund to defray some of the cost of this initiative.

Performance Excellence

Performance excellence focuses our council strategic learning process and council measurements on criteria from the National Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and GSUSA Council Performance Assessment.

This work includes identifying benchmarks and baselines for comparison with council measurement and coordinating the activities of gap teams to ensure implementation of the strategies.

The performance excellence committee guides the work. The committee volunteers are talented professionals knowledgeable in practices of quality and excellence.

For more information about strategic initiatives, contact Allison Johnson.