Western Colorado Congress - A Citizens' Voice since 1980

WCC Planning Survey

WCC is planning for our future. Your input will help build a strategic plan for the next five years. It doesn't matter if you are the most active WCC member or someone who supports us from the sidelines. We need your ideas.

There are 11 multiple choice questions and two options for comments. Please take time to answer them all.

When you are finished, click the Submit button.

1. To which of WCC's community groups do you belong?

Concerned Citizens Resource Association (Mesa County)
Grand Valley Citizens Alliance (Garfield County)
Ridgway-Ouray Community Council (Ouray County)
Sheep Mountain Alliance (San Miguel County)
Uncompahgre Valley Association (Montrose County)
Western Slope Environmental Resource Council (Delta County)
General member, not a member, no local commmunity group.

2. How active are you in WCC and/or your local community group?
(Check highest level that applies.)

Leadership (officer, spokesperson or key role in fundraising)
Active (attend regular meetings, work on a committee or in fundraising)
Somewhat active (attend special events, write letters or make phone calls when asked)
Financial and pholosophical supporter (send in dues and contributions)

3. How long have you been a WCC member?

Less then 1 year
1 to 3 years
4 to 10 years
More than 10 years

4. What age group are you in?

Under 20
21 to 29
30 to 44
45 to 60
60 or over

5. What is your occupation?

6. What issues do you think WCC should focus on in the next five years?
(Check your top five choices.)

BLM wilderness designation	Land use and growth
Timber harvesting	Food safety (labelling, GMOs, etc.)
Off-road vehicles on public lands	Voter Education/election reform
Oil & gas/coalbed methane development	Cororate power
Coal mining	Disparity of income/wealth
Energy conservation	Air quality
Sustainable living	Affordable Housing
Electric utility deregulation	Social justice/workers' rights
Recycling/solid waste	Family farms/agricultural policy
Radioactive waste disposal	Other

7. How do you think WCC is doing in the following areas?
In the first column, check your TOP FIVE choices for things that WCC does well.
In the second column, check your TOP FIVE choices for things that WCC needs to improve on.

DOES WELL	NEED TO IMPROVE
		Offers a variety of ways for people to get involved
		Lobbies the state legislature
		Maintains vigilance on our issues
		Listens to members; follows democratic process when making decisions
		Provides timely and well-documented information on the issues
		Builds new local community groups
		Provides support to established community groups
		Provides training to our members
		Networks with others who are working on similar issues
		Gets our message out in the media
		Builds a constructive image in my community
		Organizes creative and fun actions and activities
		Maintains a clear set of values
		Offers a variety of ways for people to contribute money
		Other:

8. What would increase WCC's effectiveness and strength?
(Check your top five choices.)

Develop better/more tools to educate the public
Build bridges to other organizations in the community
Actively recruit a more diverse membership (youth, minorities, ranchers, etc)
Have more members involved in getting the work done
Expand into more Western Slope communities
Use computer technology more to our advantage
Use more direct actions (rallies, marches, boycotts)
Use negotiations and compromise more
Focus on more issues
Focus on fewer issues
Focus on issues that affect more than one community
Focus more on the underlying causes of our environmental/social problems
Rethink our organizational structure
Get involved in electing better people for public office
(WCC would have to get a different tax status to do this one)
Other:

9. What might help you or someone you know to become more involved in WCC?
(Check your top five choices.)

Call me; I've never heard from you. Name: Phone:
I don't have a local community group in my area. Please organize one. Town:
Make your meetings shorter or hold them at different times.
Make your meetings more welcoming to newcomers.
Provide daycare at more of your meetings.
Sponsor more social events.
Work on an issue that I care deeply about. Example:
Make issues easier to understand.
Provide more training so that I feel more confident in what I'm doing.
Find more ways for me to do things by e-mail or over the internet.
List volunteer opportunities in WCC's newsletter and web site.
Send out more action alerts that list phone calls I can make or letters I can write.
Other:

10. Which sentence best describes WCC’s most important role?
(Check one)

WCC protects western Colorado’s environment and communities.
WCC helps individuals become effective participants in community decisions.
WCC is a watchdog over corporations, politicians and government agencies.
WCC helps local community groups succeed on their issues.
WCC promotes a sustainable society in western Colorado.

Other:

11. Last year, WCC raised 50% of its $334,000 budget from private foundations and 50% from individuals and special events. As a non-profit organization, WCC is constantly searching for new answers to fundraising and budgeting. Please share with us any ideas you may have for improving our efforts (e.g., ideas for fundraisers, major donors, foundation contacts, money savers).

12. WCC is a member of Community Shares of Colorado, a workplace giving program similar to United Way. If your workplace had a way to allow you to contribute to WCC and other non-profits through payroll deduction, would you participate?

Yes

Maybe

Employer’s name (optional)

13. Please share any other comments or suggestions you have for WCC's next five years.