ROAD RUNNERS CLUB OF AMERICA INC Parent

Be a leading force in the establishment and operation of safe and successful running clubs and events in every community in the US in service of empowering everyone to run.

Be the most trusted source for programs, services, and information that fosters the continued growth of the running community in the U.S.

Produce the most respected education and certification programs that support the development of club leaders, race directors, volunteers, and coaches that serve the running community in the U.S. and around the World.

Promote the benefits of running for enjoyment, health, and well-being through the delivery of turnkey programs and services that educate and engage youth and adult runners that can be implemented nationwide.

Facilitate and promote fair competition, to support the development of professional runners, and to create a fan-base that embraces the competitive sport of running.

Ensure long-term stability of our organization by fostering a culture of giving to support our programs and services that serve the running community.

As part of this Strategic Plan as outlined above, the RRCA seeks to enhances its strengths, invest in opportunities, and be mindful of and address its weaknesses and its threats.

There are three overarching objectives that are critical to the success of the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan:
Technology: The RRCA will continue to invest in regular updating of technology that supports all strategies outlined in the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan.
Marketing & Communications: The RRCA will effectively utilize a variety of methods to communicate and engage with our audiences through personal outreach, word-of-mouth, RRCA.org, emails, social media, print, and early adoption of new methods as they emerge to support all strategies.
Financial Support: The RRCA, with leadership from the Board of Directors, will focus on member recruitment, engagement, retention, and fundraising with members, donors, sponsors, and the running community to ensure the success of the RRCA.

The RRCA has the capability to implement, improve and financially support programs through earned income and contributions to the organization. The RRCA is financially stable through membership dues and earned program income. The organization has extensive governance policies that ensure best practices in organizational governance and management are followed by the board, staff, and volunteers. The RRCA has extensive outreach abilities with members to ensure effective communication with key stakeholders, supporters, and general membership.

Each year the Board of Directors and RRCA staff have discussions about ranking organizational priorities based on trends, membership needs, financial support, and furtherance of the Strategic Plan. To rank priorities the Staff surveys the Board and reports on the results of the survey. The Staff also surveys the membership every 2 to 3 years to ensure that internal ranking of priorities reflects the interested of the external audience. The Strategic Planning Task Force recommends that the RRCA Board of Directors continue the established practice of documenting and approving annual objectives that are tied to an annual operating budget. The annual objectives and budget should reflect the ranked priorities of the organization and clearly outline new programs and/or enhanced programmatic improvements. Continuing this annual exercise help the organization achieve the long-term strategic direction for the RRCA. Fundraising and financial support play a major factor in the success or failure of any nonprofit organization. The RRCA must, based on its own history, always maintain the long-term financial stability of the organization as a top priority. As such, the Board has a goal to ensure no less than 6 months worth of operating reserves be maintained by the organization. To this end, the RRCA has established and grown our positive net asset balance since 2004. Although the Board policy is to ensure a balanced budget, the Board and staff must always establish realistic annual income goals and work together to achieve the goals. Inflating income goals without a realistic plan to cover expenses on paper is a dangerous practice that should be avoided. The Board needs to ensure 100% board giving to the RRCA and assist the National Office in fundraising efforts.\n\nThe RRCA should leverage strategic partnerships to help in the assistance of program and service delivery to help manage costs. The RRCA should always seek to find creative solutions by implementing the latest technology designed to maximize communication while minimizing costs. The Board has re-examined the Strategic Plan every 2-3 years since its inception in 2009. In 2012, only minor tweaks were made to the Strategic Plan. In 2016, the Strategic Plan underwent significant editorial changes to streamline language and to remove strategies that had been achieved or were no longer relevant. In 2021, the The RRCA strategic plan again underwent significant changes, streamlined strategies to achievable and relevant to our community of members. We will next review the strategic plan in 2025 to outline success over the last five years, and to outline new or evolving strategies to ensure our organization continues to meet the needs of the running community in the US.