Preparing for the future—Wilderness Wind
A worthwhile investment
For more than 20 years, Wilderness Wind has offered hundreds of visitors to the Minnesota Boundary Waters the chance to nurture their relationships to God, to creation, and to each other. Wilderness travel and awareness, seeking God, re-examining one’s relationship with creation, relationship building, self-discovery, solitude, wildlife, and skill enhancement are all part of a camper’s experience at Wilderness Wind (WW).
While the camp had invested in formal planning exercises at various times since offering its first canoe trip in 1986, in the fall of 2007 several factors contributed to the board’s sense that WW again needed to undergo an intentional planning session: a capable and diverse board of directors was committed to the camp’s purpose and ready to engage in “future thinking.” The possibility of relocation was on the table. Facilities continued to need attention. Generating an adequate flow of contributed support was a yearly challenge. A small staff carried multiple responsibilities and tasks.
Board Chair Ed Kauffman contacted Rich Gerig in October about conducting a strategic visioning retreat.
Encouraging signs
The event took place March 14-15, 2008 and included thirty persons from the camp’s constituency: board and staff members, campers, volunteers, members of supporting churches, donors and representatives of affiliated organizations.
Participants gathered on Friday night for a meal, introduction to the process, and a presentation of the opportunities and challenges the camp faces. Saturday was spent discussing, brainstorming and prioritizing. Of the process, one participant said, “Energy was high, discussions were full of images and hopes; everyone felt encouraged to see how congruent the brainstorms were with the mission and current programming Wilderness Wind offers.”
Small organization, large issues
In 2001 (the most recent time WW had engaged in formal planning), personnel had identified nine issues worthy of the camp’s attention:
- financial stability
- land acquisition
- people resources
- constituent base
- public relations
- client base
- spiritual grounding
- facilities reflecting who we are
- organizational links
Perhaps not surprisingly, all of these issues surfaced in some way again during the visioning retreat. Strong affirmation was expressed for Wilderness Wind’s mission and its current board; development and marketing were identified as high priorities; limited staff resources and current facilities continue to pose challenges.
Since then
Following the retreat Gerig read through the compiled notes and created a summary document for WW. Camp leaders responded by creating a vision document that called for initiatives—some modest and some more ambitious—in program, staff incentives, facilities and development.
In reflecting upon the retreat, one board member had this to say: “The participants at the visioning retreat convinced me that WW is doing a good and important work. The people present not only believe in what WW is doing, but are willing to support WW in tangible ways.”
