Every year, Shawna Stuart, the Director of Sustainability at Academic University, sees students throwing away perfectly good furniture and household items when they get ready to leave the dorms. And even though Academic U is considered to be one of the best schools in the country, 30% of the people in its surrounding communities earn poverty-level wages. Shawna knows that there must be some way to get all those chairs, couches, tables, and kitchen goods to people who really need them, but she needs some help in figuring out how to do it. Fortunately, you are the president of your school’s Business Honor Society, and your group wants to create a new non-profit organization this year. Shawna’s dilemma is perfect for your team, and together, you decide to create a new organization, Share Your Stuff. Today, you are meeting with your team of four students, Shawna, and Alfonso Alvarez, the Store Manager for your local Goodwill store. You want to do some planning for the upcoming year. First on the agenda, the group agrees to create a strategic goal for the organization.

Which of the following is a question that you should ask during the development of strategic goals for the organization?

a. Should our company focus more on giving things away, or on selling things for a reduced price to those in need?
b. Last year, the Office of Sustainability collected 75 usable couches from students, but they were only able to give away 25 of them. What can Share Your Stuff do to give away more couches this year?

After some discussion, the group agrees that they want to create an ongoing, sustainable organization that eliminates at least 50,000 pounds of waste and raises at least $10,000 to pay for organizational expenses. Now that the team has a good idea for a strategic goal, it is important for them to identify a strategic plan that can be used to achieve the goal.

What time-frame should the group consider for this plan?

a. Short-term (One year or less)
b. Long-term (Five years or more)