Our Focus: enVision Pawtucket
Foundation adopts 3 year strategic plan, outlines goals
DOWNLOADFor ten years, The Pawtucket Foundation has represented the business community in working to enhance the City of Pawtucket. After a decade of contributing to and envisioning the City’s economic future, The Board of Directors of The Pawtucket Foundation has approved the organization’s first-ever strategic plan that outlines a three- year work plan. After a five-month planning process that began with a survey and board retreat, the board unanimously adopted the strategy document at its May board meeting.
The new plan charts a more focused role for the Foundation’s efforts to advocate and catalyze economic improvements in the City of Pawtucket. As part of the plan, the Pawtucket Foundation refined its mission statement, adopted a new vision, defined its core values and established strategies that will lead to mission success.
Four major goals will reshape how the Foundation achieves its mission. The new plan focuses on designating the downtown as a state “Growth Center,” adopting the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 4-point Main Street approach, as well as taking a more active role in district and real estate predevelopment planning along the river, in the downtown and around major transportation gateways in the City.
“During our strategic planning process, we were already positioning the organization to start our new fiscal year with two ambitious initiatives,” said Thomas Mann, executive director. “A new downtown promotional website is in the works, and we’re working with Mayor Grebien and his team on an exciting district plan concept for improvements along the riverfront and Roosevelt Avenue corridor.”
The plan focuses on how to better market Pawtucket’s assets in a regional economy and also positions The Pawtucket Foundation as a major player in the City’s revitalization. “We want the public and the business community to associate the Foundation with our newly adopted core values: collaboration, creativity, vision, sustainability, quality of place and excellence,” said Kevin Tracy (Bank of America), co-chair of The Pawtucket Foundation.
Co-chair and co-founder, Daniel J. Sullivan (Collette Vacations), said, “we currently have about 100 businesses who annually support the Foundation. With our new focus and clearly defined performance metrics, we expect to multiply that number of supporters; it’s essential for our continued success.”
The Pawtucket Foundation accepts contributions from the business community for operational and program support, and it recently started an endowment. In addition, the Foundation maintains a landscape improvement fund for maintenance and capital improvements of public landscape infrastructure in the City.
The Foundation’s most recent accomplishments include helping to fund and lead the Pawtucket Downtown Design Plan, helping to secure federal funding for commuter rail preliminary engineering, installing over 120 cherry trees along Roosevelt Avenue and helping to foster a vision for the City’s continued economic development.
“We invite every local business – large and small – to get involved,” said Mann. The strength of our organization is in the unity of civic-minded businesses that want to contribute to making Pawtucket a better place to live, work and visit. We have room for anyone who supports our important cause.”
Click to read the full plan: download our Strategic Plan (pdf).