Looking Ahead and Call for Volunteers

The IPRA Board recently approved the new version of the rolling five year strategic plan, giving us the new 2017-2021 plan. This article is a summary of the high points of the plan for next year, 2017.

We will continue our discussions and plans for streamlining our committees and volunteer groups. We recently put together a draft handbook of committees and found that we have 91 volunteer groups within IPRA, all of whom are working hard on a wide variety of programs. ***If you are interested in joining a committee for 2017, please contact me as soon as possible at debbie@ilipra.org to let us know as incoming Chair Rita Fletcher will be working on appointments very soon. You may also complete an online volunteer form to indicate your interest in getting involved in IPRA!

We will be working with the University of Illinois to host some focus groups to gain feedback from our members on a few specific strategic areas.

We will stay at our current home at the Park District of La Grange, but as they spread out within the facility, we may make adjustments to our space as well. We will be hiring a new staff position over the next month or two which takes us to a staff of seven full time and one part time positions. The new position will serve as administrative support for our growing education and conference programs.

We will be upgrading our membership database over the 2017 summer months, transitioning to a system with more opportunities for better reports and tracking so that we can serve you better.

We will continue in 2017 and the coming years to build our relationships with students, faculty, and their colleges and universities. We have developed a presentation which both staff and volunteers use when they present about IPRA at colleges. If you are planning to speak to students, let us know and we will provide everything you need. Additionally, with free student dues and several new student member benefits, we have rolled out a new student membership brochure and will continue to actively recruit students and identify ways to serve them better.

We have approved dues for 2017 and have agreed to hold to the 2016 rates without an increase. 2016 was our first dues increase since 2012. We will also continue to have a regional discount for areas further from Chicago and the suburbs where the bulk of our events are held.

The Foundation is working on their own strategic and fundraising development plan in November, but will continue to raise money for and distribute funds for the student and professional scholarship programs.

In 2017, we will host a Leadership Summit including IPRA, IAPD, and state park and recreation associations from our border states. We will invite the boards and staff of each association to come together for a day and a half in a retreat to learn and share with each other.

We will continue in our Unplug Illinois community campaign focused on educating the public about the value of parks and recreation in our state. In 2016 we formed a new website for the public at www.unplugillinois.organd began offering the Transformational Toolkit for agencies who want to purchase this tool kit of ready-made marketing pieces and research put together to help you educate the public. Additionally, our Unplug Illinois team recently presented at the Illinois Municipal League conference in Chicago teaching our municipal partners across the state about the value of parks and recreation. We will continue these efforts in the coming years.

We will continue to develop some of our recently started programs including ProConnect, IPRA Connect (our online communities), and our many educational schools and programs.

We will continue to pursue grant opportunities through a partnership with the University of Illinois. Likewise, we will continue to pursue sponsorship partnerships like the one we recently announced withPlayCore and GameTime who are offering up to a million dollars in matching funds for Illinois park and recreation agencies putting in new playgrounds.

If you have questions, comments, or feedback about our 2017 goals, please feel free to reach out to me or to any IPRA board member. My email address is debbie@ilipra.org.

Debbie Trueblood, CAE

Executive Director