[Ohio-talk] Ohio Membership Committee Presents, The National Federation of the Blind strategic plan

[Suzanne Turner]

Ohio,

 

Please read this through to its entirety. It is from the desk of the
National Federation of the Blind, National President, Mark Riccobono!

 

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Braille Monitor                          February 2019

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A Message from Our President

by Mark Riccobono

December 28, 2018

Dear Colleagues:

Since our revolutionary start on November 16, 1940, the National Federation
of the Blind has carefully crafted strategies built upon the priorities of
the membership and executed by the leaders of the organization resulting in
tremendous growth. Over the years, the growth of the organization has
brought great opportunities and increased complexity to the movement.
Consequently, we must continuously review, revise, and communicate the
evolved plans of the organization. The enclosed strategic plan is built on
that tradition and reflects the organization's priorities for our next phase
of growth. The plan is significant for what is not included in it as much as
what is included. 

This strategic plan is rooted in our national convention. To quote our
constitution, the convention is the "supreme authority of the Federation."
Our convention is where dreams are developed, policies are established,
priorities are adjusted, and leaders are elected. This plan, like everything
we do, is subject to review and adjustment by the national convention.
During our 2018 convention in Orlando, Florida, focus groups with a diverse
range of members identified a number of important themes for strengthening
and expanding the reach of our movement. There are no references to the
national convention in the plan itself, because the convention is what
everything is built upon. There may be other specific programs not directly
mentioned; you can be assured that we continue to review and execute all
aspects of the Federation that are now well-established programs and
activities. This means that the plan does not represent the entire scope of
our work but rather key areas of focus for the next few years. 

Our current strategic plan has four pillars to organize our next phase of
growth: Education, Rehabilitation, and Employment; Membership and Community
Building; Advocacy; and Development. Each pillar contains objectives to
drive our focus in that particular area. The board of directors of the
National Federation of the Blind identified strategies and goals to assist
in measuring progress toward those objectives and will regularly review and
update them as progress is made and new opportunities are realized. All of
the pillars are a natural extension of our progress as a movement and
advances we have made during the past decade. 

As the elected President of this organization, I have the humbling
responsibility of leading the implementation of this plan. I have been
deeply involved in the development of the plan including spending time
reviewing the extensive notes from our focus groups with members. I am
filled with hope, energy, and determination when I imagine what the
prospects for blind Americans will be once we have met the objectives in
this plan. It will take the collective efforts of our thousands of members
across the country to achieve all that we imagine. I look forward to your
participation in reaching our goals for this strategic plan. Once these
objectives are achieved, we will generate new objectives in order to
continue raising expectations and advancing our march for independence.  

In closing, this plan represents the details of the promise we make to each
other in this organization on a daily basis: a promise that is fulfilled in
the large-scale strategic work we are doing to build our movement and the
small acts of friendship that are shared among members on a daily basis.
That promise is that together with love, hope, and determination, we will
transform dreams into reality.

Let's go build the National Federation of the Blind.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Riccobono, President
National Federation of the Blind

National Federation of the Blind
2019-2021 Strategic Plan

Introduction

Welcome to the blind movement! Together with love, hope, and determination,
let's transform dreams into reality. The National Federation of the Blind is
a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of
the nation's blind. Through the efforts of the blind pioneers before us, we
are the largest and oldest organization of blind people continuously working
toward securing independence and respect for all blind and low-vision people
including adults, seniors, veterans, students, and children. To carry out
our vital mission, we develop and implement strategic plans based on the
priorities of our members.

Our Strategic Plan for 2019-2021 consists of four major pillars. Each pillar
outlines objectives and strategies to drive engagement and growth to its
particular focus. As a result, numerous goals and action plans will emerge
to pursue. This plan invites active participation of all of our stakeholders
as we continue raising expectations and advancing our march for
independence.

Strategic Pillars 
Pillar I  - Education, Rehabilitation, and Employment
Pillar II - Membership and Community Building
Pillar III - Advocacy
Pillar IV - Development

Vision, Objectives, and Strategies

PILLAR I - EDUCATION, REHABILITATION, AND EMPLOYMENT 

Vision: 
The National Federation of the Blind develops, leads, and supports
high-impact programs and initiatives that offer best practices to
rehabilitation professionals, educators, and employers, while also ensuring
blind people build skills and confidence to thrive in twenty-first-century
classrooms, careers, and everyday life.

Objective #1: To increase employment readiness of blind people

*	Strategy 1: Hard Skills: Develop programs that prepare blind
individuals to work in twenty-first-century careers (e.g., college programs
in STEM and access tech).
*	Strategy 2: Blindness Skills: Maximize training centers in terms of
manageability and resources. 
*	Strategy 3: Soft Skills: Develop internship and career-mentoring
opportunities for members.

Objective #2: To ensure that blindness professionals understand what blind
people need to succeed and what skills are required to help blind people
turn their dreams into reality

*	Strategy 1: Regularly attend and present at conferences and programs
where blindness professionals receive training.
*	Strategy 2: Develop paid internships for blindness professionals at
our centers.
*	Strategy 3: Create opportunities for blindness professionals to earn
continuing education units (CEU) during programming offered at national and
state conventions.
*	Strategy 4: Engage chapters to grow membership of teachers and
blindness professionals. 

Objective #3: To set high expectations for and by blind individuals, their
families, and the community in education, rehabilitation, and independent
living

*	Strategy 1: Maximize use of the BELL Academy to teach Braille and
expose young blind people to alternative skills of blindness and successful
blind mentors.
*	Strategy 2: Maximize use of STEM programs.

Objective #4: To ensure that employers make employment decisions based on
skills and capacities of potential employees, not misconceptions based on
blindness

*	Strategy 1: Develop publicity pieces and presentations that can be
sent to and shared with HR professionals, etc.
*	Strategy 2: Identify opportunities to demystify blindness among
professionals. 
*	Strategy 3: Develop an employment leadership network as a part of
the Center for Employment Opportunities.

PILLAR II - MEMBERSHIP AND COMMUNITY BUILDING

Vision: 
The National Federation of the Blind has an active, diverse, coordinated,
and ever-growing network of affiliates, chapters, and divisions across the
country. Engagement in our innovative and empowering initiatives attracts
lifelong members who build a community unified in our purpose.

Objective #1: To develop and implement a more formal and standardized new
membership process for the National Federation of the Blind

*	Strategy 1: Develop a guiding document outlining pre-membership
conversations.
*	Strategy 2: Establish a standardized welcoming ceremony.
*	Strategy 3: Develop and implement a standardized new member
orientation that includes mentoring.

Objective #2: To ensure that chapters and affiliates are executing common
brand and program priorities and organizational practices

*	Strategy 1: Identify and document common practices.
*	Strategy 2: Develop infrastructure for implementing the common
practices.
*	Strategy 3: Establish a process for reviewing the need for
development in affiliates.

Objective #3: To strengthen tools and strategies for leadership development
at all levels of the organization

*	Strategy 1: Train a core of leaders at the national level to conduct
leadership training in the field.
*	Strategy 2: Develop a collection of best practices for identifying
potential leaders.
*	Strategy 3: Create a training specific to affiliate board
development.
*	Strategy 4: Maximize the success of the scholarship program by
increasing both the number of applicants and the retention of members who
were previously scholarship applicants and winners. 

Objective #4: To further develop methods and practices for recruitment of
new diverse members from a diverse pool

*	Strategy 1: Form a network of blind parents across the country to
share information and strengthen community.
*	Strategy 2: Create a multimedia campaign to invite people to join
the organization. 
*	Strategy 3: Establish an open national member recruitment
teleconference once a month.
*	Strategy 4: Develop a collection of best practices for recruiting
new members at the local level.

PILLAR III - ADVOCACY

Vision: 
The National Federation of the Blind is the leading advocate for all blind
Americans in areas such as education, employment, transportation, voting,
and civil rights. Blind people, their families, agencies for the blind,
corporations, and the government turn to our organization for expert advice
on programs, skills building, encouragement, nonvisual access, and
technology that level the playing field for blind people. 

Objective #1: To strengthen the advocacy capacity of National Federation of
the Blind members

*	Strategy 1: Develop an "advocacy leadership core" within the
National Federation of the Blind. 
*	Strategy 2: Train more of our members on the fundamentals of
advocacy.
*	Strategy 3: Train more of our members in specific content areas,
such as education, employment, civil rights, social security, and
rehabilitation.

Objective #2: To establish and strengthen our relationships with industry
and federal, state, and local government officials

*	Strategy 1: Educate our membership on the importance, value, and
techniques for building relationships with elected representatives,
agencies, and staff. 
*	Strategy 2: Develop relevant national-level, industry relationships.

*	Strategy 3: Develop relationships with state and local businesses.

Objective #3: To increase public support to achieve acceptance, full
integration, and equal opportunity of blind people

*	Strategy 1: Develop and carry out public awareness campaigns at all
levels. 

PILLAR IV - DEVELOPMENT 

Vision: 
The National Federation of the Blind builds synergistic community and
corporate relationships that are mutually enriching. The stories of our
impact and of members' achievements are widely known and celebrated. Our
brand is so well recognized and respected that it empowers our members and
enables us to expand our reach to our community, new members, and the world.

Objective #1: To ensure that we have the financial resources needed to
continue and expand the transformational work we do

*	Strategy 1: Plan and conduct a human capital campaign that focuses
on blindness initiatives around education and employment.
*	Strategy 2: Cultivate new contributors and steward existing
supporters.
*	Strategy 3: Support affiliates and chapters in their fundraising
efforts.

Objective #2: To create new relationships and develop existing partnerships
into true synergistic collaborations

*	Strategy 1: Identify new event sponsors and exhibitors.
*	Strategy 2: Nurture existing sponsor and exhibitor relationships so
that they work with us on a broader range of programs and projects.
*	Strategy 3: Identify and develop new relationships with
not-for-profit and grant-maker organizations.

Objective #3: To ensure that the general public and the blindness community
understand that the National Federation of the Blind makes a difference,
creates opportunities, and is the voice of the nation's blind

*	Strategy 1: Consistently communicate our philosophy and brand.
*	Strategy 2: Educate the medical community and organizations that
serve senior citizens.
*	Strategy 3: Create a campaign including social, broadcast, and print
media that positions the National Federation of the Blind as the go-to
source.
*	Strategy 4: Leverage the Bolotin Awards to increase awareness and
engagement in the National Federation of the Blind.

 

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