Vision and Mission

1. River's Way will be a small, community centered non-profit intent on pursuing its mission: Growth through Experiential and Adventure Based Programming for Youth of All Abilities.
2. River's Way will focus on achieving measureable results with evidenced based programming whenever practical.
3. River's Way will maintain and continually upgrade its current program site and its current level of programming resources.
4. River's Way staff will continually seek to improve programs and strengthen ties to people and organizations in the Bristol area and in experiential education circles.
5. River's Way will continue to be a United Way agency and will continue to maintain close ties with the Association of Exeriential Education and the Association of Challenge Course Technologies.
6. River's Way will strive for efficiency and effectiveness in teaching soft skills and in building self efficacy with youth of all abilities.

Values

1. Conviction that all students have the potential to become more invested in their education through the development of soft skills and the building of self efficacy
2. Conviction that experiential and adventure based programs provide a proven means for developing soft skills and building self efficacy
3. Long term commitment to students, schools and organizations
4. Strong community base
5. Careful stewardship of donor dollars

Goals

Continually refine a program model that

1.  Leads to greater student investment in school through the application of soft skills and the building of self efficacy
2. Is feasible in schools
3. Leads to measureable results indicating achievement in terms of grades, standardized test scores and teacher/student surveys
4. Works for students of all abilities
5. Enables River’s Way to work with large numbers of students with minimum staff
6. Allows for 25% involvement with students with disabilities
7. Employs principles of Experiential Learning

Build a sustainable organization

1. Conservative. Extreme care with expenses. Highly efficient.
2. Cultivate and grow funding from major corporate funders and foundations in the region: United Way at 5% of the operating budget, corporate funders at 20% of the operating budget and foundations at 25% of the operating budget by 2015.
3. Pursue and cultivate indivdual donors to reach 10% of the operating budget by 2015 while building the endowment at a minimum of $25,000 per year starting in 2015.
4. Pursue grants from outside this region with outside grants comprising 10% of the operating budget by 2015
5. Develop and maintain programs at 15% of the operating budget by 2015
6. Increase lodge rental income to 10% of the operating budget by 2015.
7. South East Fly Fishing Festival average 5% of operating budget by 2015.

Professional PR/Marketing

1. Face book
2. Higly targeted mailings
3. Upgraded web site
4. One major news story per year
5. Build donor base with person to person contacts

Board role

1. Keep true to vision, mission, values
2. Fiscally responsible
3. Appreciation to donors

Community Service

1. Chamber of Commerce
2. Bristol Organizations
3. United Way
4. Involvement with other non- profit agencies

Professional Affiliations

1. Association of Experiential Education
2. Association of Challenge Course Technologies
3. Bristol's Promise
4. Bristol Organizations
5. United Way of Bristol
6. United Way of Russell and Washington Counties