Strategic Planning Assessment Program

elevating community, creativity, and culture in Nevada

Strategic Planning Assessments For Organizations

The Community Arts Development Program area supports arts and cultural organizations, statewide partnerships, and provides resources to creative communities across Nevada. The Nevada Arts Council is committed to elevating the cultural landscape of Nevada by introducing strategic organizational assessments, designed to support the specific needs of cultural organizations.

The CAD Strategic Planning Assessments is a free, comprehensive self-assessment designed specifically for Nevada Arts Council grant-funded nonprofit organizations. The assessment features a tiered evaluation framework, where each of the three tiers reflects a distinct stage of capability and strategic growth. Each tier of the assessment will include evaluations of organizational governance structures, risk management protocols, and internal systems. This tool will help ensure that your organization can expand its skill set, cultivate robust networks, and increase access to the arts across Nevada. After completion of the assessment, the Community Arts Development team will schedule time to meet with your organization and set up a targeted plan that may include technical assistance, program support, and resources to enhance skills, knowledge, and the overall infrastructure of the organization and its personnel.

How to take the Assessment

Please email community arts development specialists Ren Frick or Michelle Patrick to start the process. The assessment is accessible via Submittable. CAD staff will send you a direct link to the assessment once it has been determined that you are eligible.

Strategic Areas of Assessment

The assessment gathers detailed information across five strategic areas: (1) Organizational, (2) Programming, (3) Community Engagement, (4) Resource Development, and (5) Venue Accessibility.

Organizational: Assesses governance structure and leadership practices, internal policies, risk management, and operational systems. The CAD team will provide technical assistance in areas such as board development, crisis management, nonprofit management, budgets, policy reviews and strategic planning.

Programming: Assesses program design and delivery mechanisms, impact, and challenges. The CAD staff will provide assistance in creating an efficient timeline for and offer next steps in moving programmatic activities forward.

Community Engagement: Assesses engagement strategies, local cultural partnerships, and the overall impact on the creative community. The CAD team will review the demographic assessment of your community, highlight distinct cultural assets to identify gaps in your programming, help improve the focus of mission driven statements and strengthen narratives for supporters, funders, and grant applications.

Resource Development: Assesses financial diversity and fundraising that reflects the mission of the organization. The CAD team will assist in identifying alternate funding sources and will recommend and support organizations towards applying for grant opportunities as available and relevant.

Venue Analysis: Assesses efficiency, accessibility, and sustainability of physical and/or virtual spaces. CAD staff will provide personalized facility walk-throughs, as well as inclusive ADA compliance resources, recommendations and overall organizational best practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Strategic Planning Assessment Task Force

Members of the strategic task force are experts in organizational planning. Each member contributed to the development of the art council’s strategic assessment.

April Mastroluca has 20 years of experience working and volunteering in the nonprofit sector and is currently a nonprofit consultant specializing in nonprofit board development, organizational assessments, strategic planning, and advocacy education. Her organizational knowledge comes from working as a staff member for a number of Nevada nonprofits in numerous roles including program management, membership cultivation, board training, director of development, and executive director. In 2023, she became a licensed consultant for the Standards for Excellence, which is an ethics and accountability code for nonprofits. This knowledge gives her access to nationally recognized best practices in the area of organizational governance, operations, and management.
Laura Meyer has more than 20 years of experience in program development, implementation, and evaluation. Programmatic areas of interest include youth development, educational enhancements, arts education and outreach, social-emotional learning, and nonprofit/school district partnerships. Her evaluation experience uses a model of continuous program improvement to develop metrics for success that can also be applied to improve program impact year over year. Additionally, her program design and impact strategy complement each other to ensure that reporting impact metrics; metrics that consider nonprofit capacity and impact what funders expect to see from programs of similar scope. These evaluations eventually lead to scalable programming with a clear illustration of impact.
Jen Tune is the program director of Main Street Gardnerville, a 501 c(3) nonprofit corporation and the only accredited Main Street America program in the state of Nevada. Jen oversees board and committee development, budgeting, and executing work plans. She also manages donors, funding and surveys. In addition, she manages volunteers, develops transformation strategies (strategic planning) for programs and projects towards community development. She also creates policies and procedures, while conducting monthly committee and board of director’s meetings.

STAFF

Community Arts Development Specialist (Northern Nevada), Lauren Frick
Community Arts Development Specialist (Southern Nevada), Michelle Patrick