Between rapid growth, new leadership, and surviving a temporary loss in major funding, New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) has experienced a lot in recent years. That’s why it was so timely that, last summer, we launched a process to write NEFF’s first new five-year strategic plan since 2019. The planning process is now drawing to a close, and we will have much to share with the NEFF community in the weeks and months to come.
Once I’d had a year to get to know NEFF, it felt like the right time for us to ensure we are looking to the future with both vision and a strong organizational foundation. By prioritizing strategic planning, we are giving ourselves time and space to collaboratively design a path forward where we can accomplish our mission successfully, efficiently, and joyfully.
Planning began with a comprehensive data-gathering process that included comparisons to peer organizations; an assessment of functional strengths and gaps; and surveys and interviews with NEFF Board members, staff, supporters, peers, and partners. The findings were both gratifying and enlightening. On one hand, there was overwhelming respect for NEFF’s vision, impact, pragmatism, and unique integration of conservation and forestry. On the other, several interviewees expressed concern that NEFF seemed overextended, which diluted the mission and posed financial risks.
So, what have we made of all this? We’ve distilled NEFF, our challenges, and our opportunities down to these essential truths:
- Ecological and human wellbeing are inextricably linked to forests.
- Forests face numerous and increasing threats, including conversion to non-forest uses, climate change, and invasive pests and pathogens.
- Sustainable, climate-smart forestry, like NEFF’s own Exemplary Forestry approach, has the power to mitigate those threats, but it faces obstacles, including limited awareness and financial limitations.
- NEFF, with increased focus and a healthy bottom line, and by working with partners, is uniquely suited to providing solutions to these challenges.
Following that logic, we’ve identified three key strategies around which the strategic plan is organized: modeling and demonstrating Exemplary Forestry on our own land and promoting it to others; selectively conserving more forests and stewarding those already conserved to the highest standard; and overcoming market barriers to sustainable, climate-smart forestry.
The plan’s few remaining steps include creating a professionally designed version for public use. Everyone at NEFF is excited to share it with you. We’re deeply grateful for the support of our community and partners, and we look forward to moving into this new chapter together.