Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children
State Affiliate Annual Report
Strategic Plan Cycle: January 2004-December 2006
Year Reported: January 2006- December 2006
Mission:
The Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children is a membership
organization whose mission is to facilitate the optimal development of young
children by advocating for the rights, needs, and well being of young children
and educating, supporting, and collaborating with individuals and organizations
working in direct or indirect service to young children.
Vision:
The vision of the Illinois Association for the Education of Young ChildrenIs that every young child in Illinois will have access to the highest quality
of care and education.
Values:
Illinois AEYC values the impact we make as early childhood professionalsthrough public awareness, advocacy, professional development and networking
to achieve positive outcomes for all children and their families.
Internal and external assessment process:
Internal:- SWOT Analysis
- Data Collection
- Board Meeting Evaluation
- Data Analysis
- Member and non member survey
- Conference and event evaluations
Critical needs/priorities
- Marketing
- Public Relations
- Communications
- Finance /Budget
- Membership recruitment & retention
- Staffing/ volunteer burnout
- Advocacy
- Mission implementation
- Inclusion
- Technology
Status of Objectives:
3 year Goal / Year # 3 Objectives / Status of objectives / Notes/ Documented EvidencePUBLIC POLICY
Goal # 1
The organization will provide training and support to its members
Goal # 2
The organizations will establish contacts with other organizations and our government consultant
Public Policy Goal # 3
Develop Collaborative relationships / Encourage members to join listserv for public policy updates and provide technical assistance as needed / Objective met and ongoing / Illinois children’s Champion listserv continues to grow in size, used to educate members and forward important public policy information
Continue to inform membership of outcomes of legislative advocacy issues / Objective met and ongoing / Email alerts
Conference calls for public policy chair
Utilize regular conference call with Legislative consultant and public policy committee / Objective met / Weekly/ biweekly calls for committee and legislative consultant
during session
Increase contacts at state and local levels / Ongoing
Strengthen relationships with public officials with invitations to board meetings, programs, conferences and similar events / In process an ongoing / Invited all legislators to Fall symposium
Hired program director with extensive legislative experience
Continue collaborations with organizations and be open to seek new partners / Ongoing
FINANCE:
Goal # 1 Achieve and maintain a balance budget
Goal # 2 Pursue new public and private revenue
Goal # 3
Investigate the feasibility of an Executive Director Position and make recommendations regarding this matter / Set a revised fundraising goal to ensure a balanced budget / Completed and met targeted fundraising goal
Devise a plan to save money for communication through better use of technology / Completed- plan will be implemented by new marketing and public relations committee / New online newsletter program
Shorter format design for printed newsletter
Develop and implement a revised resource development plan / Completed
Continue to increase the number of funding sources / Completed / Funding sources for 2006 included, private donations, fundraising profits, sales, co-sponsorships, NAEYC, membership feels , grant
The committee will present at the 2006 Board retreat a timeline for suggested funding strategies for an Executive Director / Completed / New Director of Programs hired November 2006
- ahead of schedule
3 year Goal / Year # 3 Objectives / Status of objectives / Notes/ Documented Evidence
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Goal # 1 To develop and nurture new leaders
Goal # 2
Provide ongoing support for current leaders
Goal # 3 Expand participant opportunities for seasoned leaders / Utilize NAEYC’s
technical assistance points to increase opportunities for affiliate members/ committee members to attend state Board meetings and events / Completed / Public policy chairs attended caucus
Expanded non Board member committee participation- Professional development and public policy
Develop full committees for state board as defined by NAEYC / In progress / Organizational Development committee not fully staffed
Initiate “Dinner with an Expert” at least one time during 2006 in conjunction with the Friday Board meeting providing an opportunity for board members to network with some of the state’s leaders in the early childhood or related field / Not fully completed / Decided to put off this idea until a later time
Provide resources and training opportunities at each board meeting based on needs / Completed / Pre-meeting focused topic discussions/ information sharing
Assist seasoned leaders in signing up and participating in state board and state leadership opportunities / In process and ongoing / Board members serve on Early Learning Council committees, President serves as co-chair of statewide DHS Child Care Advisory Council, Members referred for service on statewide Licensing Task Force
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Goal # 1
Begin to implement the AEYC Marketing Plan / Revise Illinois AEYC’s- NAEYC’s scholarship grant, amend the sate plan and implement the revised plan. Assess the effectiveness of the plan to determine rates or new and renewed membership to target membership gaps / Completed / Total membership numbers increased over previous year
3 year Goal / Year # 3 Objectives / Status of objectives / Notes/ Documented Evidence
Goal # 2
Implement a systemic method for tracking membership data / Promote the Value of membership Grant to affiliate chapters / Completed / All scholarships utilized
During even # of years, provide time at the January board meeting for review of marketing plan and sir for October thereafter / Not completed
Make assignments and set appropriate actions in motion for implementation / Ongoing
Conduct training for membership Chairs and Local Affiliates and chapters of the state how to use online system and online reporting / Completed / Karen Hughes presented a training for Presidents and Membership Chairs using the online system
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Goal # 1
Create a system to assess the needs of members
Goal # 2
Analyze data and recommend action to the Illinois AEYC Board
Goal # 3 Provide activities that promote
Quality Improvement in early childhood programs in Illinois / Suggest/ request affiliates incorporate some specific questions on their conference evaluations / Not completed- committee focused on organizing Symposium and did not
Collect conference evaluation summaries from local affiliate conferences, provide information to Board for inclusion in professional development planning / Not completed- committee decided that this was not a priority at this time
Provide a statewide early childhood event, recruit presentations and develop one new collaborative partner for the event
Provide support for and seek ways to expand the Illinois AEYC Sam project
Implement the palm pilot project in collaboration with IRC / Completed
Completed – but ongoing
Completed / Fall Symposium
Strengthening Families Illinois is new partner
Funding expanded to $110,000
Training for mentors in February and April
3 year Goal / Year # 3 Objectives / Status of objectives / Notes/ Documented Evidence
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Goal # 1
Educate affiliate chapters and state chapter on contact methods and building relationshiops
Goal # 2 Provide guidelines/ suggestions for local affiliates to obtain media coverage
Goal # 3
Increase membership of public relations committee by five or more members / Promote participation in NAEYC’s online communities to help Illinois AEYC members develop meaningful connections to the organization by :
1. highlighting the interest forum on the Illinois AEYC website
2. Teaching how to access the interest forums online
3. Communicating in each newsletter regarding interest forum information / Partially Completed / Included in Presidents’ regular email to Presidents, delegates and committee members
No objectives for year 3
Recruit members from local affiliates and chapters of the State
Recruit outside experts as resources to guide work / In Process / Committee now has 4 members and new chairperson
TECHNOLOGY
Goal # 1- To provide ongoing training and technical support for the Board and staff to value and use technology as one of the strategies for accomplishing the organization’s mission and supporting the goals and objectives of the program areas
Goal# 2- To provide ongoing training and support for Affiliate Chapters and State Chapters related to using technology to both accommodate thie rgoals and objectives at the local level and comply with reporting and supporting the goals of the state affiliate / No objectives for year 3 / Completed / All affiliate chapter Presidents using email
Organization subscribed to Constant Contact for e-newsletters and Zoomerang for online surveys
Reviewed website at retreat
3 year Goal / Year # 3 Objectives / Status of objectives / Notes/ Documented Evidence
ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Goal # 1
Continue the ongoing strategic process of Illinois AEYC / Review and update the Illinois AEYC By-laws / Completed / By-laws revised and approved January 2007
Also revised- staff job descriptions and personnel policies
Al committee descriptions reviewed and updated
2003-2006 Outcomes and Target Measurements: Reviewed and updated each year as
needed during three year strategic plan period
ADVOCACY / Members will utilize IL AEYC as a vehicle to become aware of public policy issues and respond in a timely manner. / The percent of members who take specific action on IL AEYC’s public policy issues / 50% of the members will report action in a timely manner regarding IL AEYC’s public policy issues.COMMUNICATION / Members at all levels, i.e. chapters of the state, local affiliate chapters, governing board, executive committee & office staff, will accept responsibility for the flow of communication to ensure access to all communications concerning the organization in a timely manner. / The percent of members who take specific action to communication within our organization. / 50% of survey members report (a) that they took specific actions to communicate within the organization, and (b) being “in the know” concerning the organization.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT / Illinois AEYC will be financially stable and have sufficient funding to implement its programs & services. / Acquisition of new sources of revenue / 2 to 5 new sources of revenue that support our programs and services
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT / Members will recognize IL AEYC as an effective professional organization and actively support its mission. / New and renewal membership rates will increase to reflect diverse professional roles and be inclusive of state demographics. / New membership will increase by 10% and renewal rates will increase to 75%.
PROGRAMS & SERVICES / Programs and services provided by IL AEYC will meet the needs of individuals and organizations working in direct or indirect service to young children. / The percentage of members who identify their needs using a variety of information gathering methods / 5% of members respond to each information gathering method
PUBLIC RELATIONS / The general public will recognize IL AEYC as a professional organization that makes a positive impact on the lives of young children and their families. / The number of media, political agencies, and parent volunteer groups who contact IL AEYC for information, responses, and/or collaborative efforts / Twenty media personnel, political agencies, and/or parent volunteer groups will contact IL AEYC for information, responses, and/or collaborative efforts.
Goals and objectives for 2007:
Illinois AEYC is now beginning a new three year strategic plan cycle- the new goals and objectives are include in our 2007-2009 State Affiliate Strategic plan report
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