Action Plan - Malheur Cultural Trust

Cultural Trust Action Plan

Purpose: Building community support for the arts, heritage, and humanities in Malheur County.

Our Vision: Malheur County residents and visitors will be afforded the opportunity to enjoy a vibrant cultural life that engages citizens of all age groups from all parts of the county.

Strategic Directives for Project Funding
The strategic directives and the strategies that support each directive are to be the basis upon which applications for funding are prepared and awards made.

Benchmarks:
These need to be outcomes that can be achieved over a 10-year period. Annual benchmarks will be needed to determine the impact of grant funds.

Quantitative benchmarks
Each project application is to establish a baseline number from which to measure quantitative increases. For example, what has been the average attendance at the event? The project success will then be measured by an increase in this number. This increase can be expressed in a number or as a percentage increase.

Qualitative benchmarks
These benchmarks measure the quality of the program through stories and other personal narratives and anecdotes.

All benchmark tracking of the plan will be over a 5-year span from the time completion of the grant.

DIRECTIVE – 1 MARKETING

A broader range of residents and visitors who appreciate and take advantage of locally offered cultural programs and opportunities

Our challenge:

Though a wide array of cultural opportunities are offered around the county, many are poorly attended or are only supported by the same small group of people. There tends to be an emphasis on participating in and attending sporting activities, rather than attending cultural events.

There are a number of artisans interested in selling their work, however, local interest is poor and there is no permanent location from which artworks are displayed and sold.

Strategies	Activities	Measurement	Benchmark
Create a larger, more diverse audience for cultural activities	Marketing Develop Community information sharing hub between disciplines Coordinate marketing Develop marketing fund resources Explore new marketing techniques Update/reprint current marketing material Explore a “virtual co-op”	Track attendance figures at local events Track increases in sales by artisans
Develop a youth audience	Subsidize attendance fees Develop after school experiences Initiate Artist in Residence/Historian/Author programs Develop a local history curriculum Staff development to integrate cultural areas Summer camps for youth	Track attendance Track the numbers of programs developed and the attendance at each
Develop experiences for mature audiences and families	Specialty “camps” for adults and families Elder hostel Adult education (credit and non-credit) through TVCC and EOSU “Brown Bag” classes/workshops Encourage formation of “study groups”	Track the numbers of programs developed and the attendance at each
Develop entrepreneurial opportunities	Develop an art coop or folk art center, using the Baker City model Scholarships to train crafts persons (saddle makers, silversmiths, etc.) to keep the craft alive Hold juried arts/crafts shows Encourage cooperative participation by different disciplines and organizations.	Track the numbers of new programs developed and the attendance at each

DIRECTIVE 2 MAINTAIN CURRENT INVESTMENT

Maintain our investment in preserving and developing heritage sites and cultural opportunities and to maintain the opportunities offered in our k-12 through community college.

Our challenge:

The county-community has a number of historical sites and is developing festivals and cultural events. It is important to evaluate these events and to preserve and enhance these rather than starting new events if the current activities/sites are worthy. It is equally important to maintain programs in the local k-community college systems.

Strategies	Activities	Measurement	Benchmark
Preserve the heritage sites in Malheur County.	Identity/inventory and prioritize sites and determine development or maintenance needs such as signs, upkeep/repairs, brochures Identify funding and labor resources Undertake the maintenance and development projects Assist through grant writing workshops, bring state and federal historical registration people to the area. Encourage the forming of historical districts.	Track the number of sites needing and receiving preservation assistance
Continue and enhance the current and on-going historical site development.	Examples Cemetery project Trails and mapping projects		Complete the cemetery project Complete the mapping project
Maintain and enhance the current arts (visual –performing) and humanities programs.	Programs/projects to allow K-12 and CC programs to continue Programs/projects for non-profits Assist current festivals to continue and expand Provide opportunities for entrepreneurs.	Track the attendance at current festivals Track the state and local funding levels of programs in the local school districts and TVCC Track entrepreneurial opportunities and success

DIRECTIVE – 3 COLLABORATE AND COOPERATE

Strengthen the various cultural disciplines in the county community by working together and supporting each other.

Our challenge:

Though Malheur County has a number of cultural opportunities and organizations, due to the size of the county and the sparse population, there has not been a history of the groups working together or sharing resources or of even having much knowledge about each other.

The county also has untapped cultural tourism opportunities.

Strategies	Activities	Measurement	Benchmark
Open the doors between disciplines	Prepare inventory Maintain this inventory Meet together occasionally Include Spanish on web site	Track frequency of inventory maintenance Track frequency of meetings
Share schedules and activity information with each other and the public	Develop and maintain community-wide information hub Web site Brochures Media	Track “hits” to the web site Track brochures location and distribution information
Develop cultural tourism opportunities	Work with chambers and others to develop and market products	Track number of opportunities developed Track partnerships

DIRECTIVE – 4 EXPAND AND BROADEN OPPORTUNITIES

The cultural opportunities of the community will continually be expanded and developed. This includes opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Our challenge:

The rural nature of the county, as well as the small population, has made it difficult for arts, heritage and humanities groups to attract outside project funding. With the exception of monies donated to build Four Rivers Cultural Center, the county has yet to have a major benefactor “step up to the plate” to sponsor a project or program.

Strategies	Activities	Measurement	Benchmark
Expand resources – fiscal and human- by developing funding sources/resources	Share grant opportunity information Sponsor a community grant writing workshop Consider a joint grant writer Take advantage of the county inmate work crews for certain construction and maintenance tasks Develop a volunteer base Collaborate on fund raising activities	Track success of grant preparation efforts Track projects using inmate labor
Follow equitable re-grant policies	Assure that local grants address the directives of the plan Encourage leveraging with matching and challenge grants	Annually evaluate the distribution and effectiveness (as measured by the benchmark set by the applicant)

Plan review and maintenance

This plan will be reviewed at the end of the second full year of operation by the members of the Malheur County Cultural Coalition Committee. The focus of this review will be on strategy and project clarification and/or application requirements.

Numerical benchmarks, based on the baseline data prepared as a part of the application process, will be inserted as appropriate.

At the end of the fifth year a planning committee, representative of each of the disciplines, will be named and charged with a public review and revision of the plan. This will include, at a minimum, community meetings. Other strategies to encourage public participation are recommended.