WHALE’s Board of Directors adopted an ambitious new strategic plan in April. The plan is intended to chart the organization’s course for the foreseeable future. It is WHALE’s first strategic plan since 2008, and it comes at a critical time for the organization.
Today, as WHALE embarks on its next half-century, we envision New Bedford as a vibrant seaport community where the historic and architectural heritage of its diverse peoples is celebrated, preserved, and continually used to enhance the city’s economic and civic vitality for the benefit of all residents of the South Coast.
To advance this vision, WHALE has adopted a multi-faceted approach. “It is absolutely critical that we accelerate the pace of historic preservation activity in New Bedford,” noted Derek Santos, who chaired the 8-member Strategic Plan Committee. “We will continue to rescue endangered historic properties and work to grow our capital resources for preservation projects,” he said. “But, we will also help private owners of historic properties be the best stewards possible of their buildings, through education, training and connections to resources. We will forge even stronger partnerships with the City of New Bedford and others to create preservation-friendly policies and programs, and we will advocate for historic preservation everywhere in the city. Lastly, we will communicate broadly about historic preservation, and why it matters to our city and our region.”
To read WHALE’s Strategic Plan, Click here: WHALE_StrategicPlan2013 . It benefitted from generous grants from the Island Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its publication was made possible by the generosity of Reynolds-DeWalt and mediumstudio.
WHALE welcomes new Partners in Preservation
This spring WHALE launched a new program to engage businesses and individuals who care about New Bedford’s future and want to help WHALE advance its vision and new strategic plan. We are delighted to welcome this growing corps of champions for WHALE’s projects and programs.
