Strategic planning is not merely a bureaucratic exercise—it's a vital tool that small town arts organizations can use to define their future and ensure their relevance and resilience in their community. With all this said, strategic planning can be extremely difficult for small organizations in small communities. Bandwidth is at a premium and this includes bandwidth of time, finances and people. Strategic planning facilitation can be expensive and time consuming. 
This month we welcome back Virginia Commission for the Arts Executive Director Margaret Hancock. The Virginia Commission for the Arts worked with the consulting firm Spark Mill to create an open source and FREE strategic planning workbook. As a grant giving agency, she speaks to the importance of a strong strategic plan and a pathway to execute a plan with limited and stretched resources.