With a relatively small staff, the Arc depends heavily on volunteers to support its various services and their thrift store operation.  A highly motivated group of Board members, staff and general members dedicated three long evenings to the strategic planning process. They reviewed and revised their vision, mission and values statements; identified the organizations strengths; discussed and outlined the trends (local, state, regional and national) that are and will affect the organization; and listed and prioritized a series of opportunities/goals that they will focus on during the next 2 to 3 years. Their goals included: • Increasing the “Active” Membership of the Arc; • Supporting local and statewide self-advocacy groups; • Implementing community education and training programs; • Increasing awareness of the Arc of Bismarck (expanded marketing efforts); • Pursuing an active legislative and policy platform (local/state/national); • Expanding and stabilizing the organizations financial structure; • Initiating a community-wide employment initiative for individuals with disabilities; and • Promoting community collaboration, cooperation and partnerships. The participants have initiated their work on this ambitious list of goals by identifying a variety of activities and action steps and establishing several committees to continue the development process. In addition, the participants developed a process to make their strategic plan an integral and dynamic component of their routine functions. As one of the participants observed, “The plan is good, solid and exciting. We need to move forward with it to continue the Arc’s growth.”