[ Update 2/11/20: Thank you to everyone who participated in the C4C Survey! Also, thank you to those who took part in focus groups last week. Check back soon to learn more about take-aways from the input—valuable information that we will use to guide future efforts. As promised, input is being kept anonymous, so our consultant will be the one who is contacting gift certificate winners next week. ]
Please take a few minutes to answer C4C’s new survey to help us focus our community-building efforts in Sisters Country over the next several years.
THE SURVEY WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL NOON TUESDAY, FEB. 11.
You might even win a gift certificate to a great local Sisters business!
Several local businesses, including R Spot Italian eatery, Fika Sisters Coffeehouse, Paulina Springs Books, Suttle Tea, Sisters Coffee Company and Blue Burro have graciously donated gift certificates as drawing prizes. (Next time you’re in one of our supportive local businesses, please make sure to say Thank You!)
To conduct a thorough and professional strategic planning process we’ve enlisted Jan McGowan. As you might know, Jan is an extremely accomplished nonprofit consultant who lives right here in Sisters. She is leading us through this process, which also includes several focus groups this week. Our thanks to her and also to organizational consultant Bill Birnbaum for his help.
This survey and strategic planning process will help our nonprofit prioritize our activities, better understand community perceptions about us, and help C4C focus on ways to improve our processes and fundraising.
SO, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO ALSO SHARE THIS SURVEY WITH LOCAL FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
We’re hoping to reach as many people as possible in the Sisters Country community.
As an organization, we’re just over 4 years old now. Time has flown. But C4C is still a relatively young nonprofit; and this survey and planning will help us stay in tune with Sisters’ values and wants.
YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAME TOGETHER TO FORM C4C DURING THE FALL OF 2015.
Our first initiative was the Sisters Country Civility Project (Speak Your Peace). That project included several free “Soup & Civility” workshops. Those events aimed to strengthen local relationships and build communication and leadership skills. We also designed wallet-sized civility “tool” cards to offer quick tips for better conversations. You’ve perhaps seen these cards displayed in local businesses or at City Hall. Some 4,500 cards—featuring the incredible art of Kathy Deggendorfer—have been distributed since we started.
WE HEAR SOME OF OUR CIVILITY CARDS HAVE EVEN MADE IT AS FAR AS EUROPE!
And we regularly get queries from other towns in Oregon and across the country who want to emulate Sisters’ civility project.
C4C later organized the Sisters Community Quilt Project to help kick off outreach efforts for the Sisters Country Vision. Our all-volunteer team then assisted on the Vision Action Plan. And we’re currently active Vision Implementation Team partners.
Last year C4C also started hosting “Community Builder” gatherings. These meetings bring area nonprofits, agencies and other groups together to explore new ways to collaborate, leverage local resources and pool funding on cooperative efforts.
Over the years C4C has hosted nearly 30 free community-engagement activities and other learning events, including a City Council candidates night, the Fiesta in Fir Street Park, a forum on the First Amendment, collaboration and facilitation training workshops, November’s all-community singing event at the Belfry and the monthly Let’s Talk, Sisters! discussions.
Our goal is to help foster a vital community—where residents are comfortable engaging and working as collaboratively as possible and where there’s a strong sense of well-being and connection—even as Sisters Country grows. This survey will help us gauge our effectiveness so far and think about what we could do better.
C4C has some real opportunities to bring funding into Sisters, so it’s important we stay community-led; this survey is a way to help that happen.