NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FELLOWSHIPS ADVISORS
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN
July, 2009-June, 2014

June, 2009

Background

In July of 2001, the National Association of Fellowships Advisors officially adopted a constitution. Article 2 of the constitution included the statement: The purpose of the NAFA is to provide its membership with access to necessary information concerning national undergraduate and graduate grants, scholarships, and fellowships and the foundations that support them, and to provide a format for the exchange of ideas concerning the scholarship process, the foundations, the ethical issues surrounding the advising process and so on. The long term goal is to provide information and support for faculty and staff who are assisting students through the complex process of applying for these awards. By-laws were adopted by the membership at the national conference in 2003.

Following NAFA’s biennial conference in Washington in July, 2007, there was strong feeling within the Executive Board that NAFA was well established; the time had come to develop a strategic plan and code of ethical principles for the organization. In response an ethics committee was established and the Executive Board was charged with developing a strategic plan. The ethics committee completed its work in the summer of 2008. Its recommendations will be submitted to the entire membership for an up or down vote in the summer of 2009.

Between May, 2008, and April, 2009, the Executive Board convened for a series of in-person and telephone conferences to develop a strategic plan. Its recommendations, designed to guide the organization over the next five years, appear below.

Recommendations

For membership:

1. To develop strategies for manageable growth of the organization both in terms of advisors and of foundations;

2. To evaluate existing committee structures and procedures for recruiting volunteers;

3. To maintain, continue to develop, and enhance advisor relationships with foundations;

4. To provide guidelines for an ethical approach to scholarship advising;

For programming:

5. To assess and address the needs of the two main advisor constituents of NAFA, new advisors and experienced advisors;

6. To support professional development programs;

7. To assess NAFA programs and to determine the best ways to make biennial conferences, summer workshops, and overseas study tours a value to all members of NAFA;

For resources:

8. To assess our financial situation and determine what is most responsible approach to developing resources to ensure the long-term health of the organization;

9. To develop technological tools to assist advisors in providing sound, accurate advice, including an up-to-date, dynamic Website;

10. To support and maintain NAFA publications, ensuring quality, timely publication, and content that appropriately reflects the mission of the organization.

Implementation

The full NAFA membership will vote on the strategic plan in July, 2009, and implementation will begin immediately. The Executive Board has created an agenda (action plan) that assigns action items, committee structures, and time lines for each goal within the strategic plan. This plan will be available for viewing by NAFA members prior to our 2009 conference in Seattle.

Each committee will be responsible for reporting its progress to the executive council on at least an annual basis, and for submitting funding requests to a finances committee chaired by the NAFA treasurer. Minutes of all meetings will be submitted in compliance with the NAFA constitution.

Presented to the Membership June, 2009; adopted by the Board July, 2009.