This strategic plan (PDF) is the product of a series of planning sessions held between December, 2005 and February, 2006 and represents the first effort of this kind in the history of Keystone Trails Association. These sessions were facilitated by a team of students, under faculty supervision, from the Nonprofit Clinic, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh. As background information to help guide the planning process, two documents were initially prepared by the Clinic. The first document was an Environmental Scan which consisted of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of Keystone Trails Association (KTA). The second document was an Industry Analysis which focuses on the competition facing the association from other similar organizations throughout the United States. These two documents are included in the Appendices.

The plan includes a newly formulated mission statement and a vision statement, the latter of which is an articulated expression of the kind of environment relative to hiking which will be realized in the future if KTA is successful in achieving its mission through the implementation of this plan. In developing its strategic plan, KTA identified a number of strategic issues which were considered important to KTA’s survival and future effectiveness. These issues fall into the following eight categories – staffing, board development, fund development, advocacy, public awareness, partnerships and collaborations, membership, and protection and maintenance of hiking trails. The plan further identifies eight goals which KTA will seek to achieve through a series of action strategies that the organization will implement over the course of the next three years. To this end, an implementation timetable is included in this plan.

In formulating this strategic plan, KTA recognizes the challenges it faces as it seeks both to further promote hiking as a recreational opportunity in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in preserving the present hiking trails.