I have attached the paper and website for your review Website: https://naturediscoverycenter.org/ SWOT: · Complete a SWOT analysis and highlight areas that support their strengths and take advantage

Organization Name: Nature Discovery Center

Address: 7112 Newcastle, Bellaire, TX 77401

Website: https://naturediscoverycenter.org/

Mission: To ignite life-long curiosity, understanding, and respect for nature through education.

The Nature Discovery Center (NDC) consists of a four-acre nature park and the historic Henshaw House which serves as a nature center located in Russ Pitman Park. The NDC was first established in 1979 as what was then called Friends of Bellaire Park. In 1981, the four-acre Henshaw Estate in Bellaire was advertised for sale. Despite an astounding $1.4M sale price, a volunteer group led by Hana Ginzbarg undertook a fundraising campaign to buy the property in phases with the help of the Trust for Public Land. Through canvassing efforts, the park was purchased and turned over to the City of Bellaire. Russ Pitman made a generous contribution to complete the park purchase and became the namesake of the park. Renovations to the house and land were led by the local community volunteers.

All programs are hosted at Russ Pitman Park and the historic Henshaw House. The park is equipped with multiple learning environments including a Critter Classroom, Pecan Grove, Deciduous Woodland, Prairie Wetland, Shady Glade, Western Woods, Pocket Prairie, Thrush Hollow, and Cypress Pond. There are two Discovery Rooms inside the Henshaw House that allow children to take a hands-on approach to nature and science exploration.

The NDC is currently a leader in the Nature Play Movement in Houston, which focuses on allowing children to have free and unstructured play in nature. The goal is to expand children’s creativity, confidence, and social skills by giving them the ability to manipulate their play environment.

We Strive to:

• Spark interest in nature and science, nourish the inquiring mind, stimulate a desire to explore, discover, and learn; and keep a sense of wonder alive.

• Develop students’ critical thinking, problem solving, and reasoning skills needed in all walks of life, and give them the tools to explore, discover, and learn.

• Enrich and enhance educational opportunities for children, particularly those under-served, to improve their chances of success in school and in life.

• Improve the teaching of science in the elementary grades by example, teacher training, and publications.

• Advance general understanding of how nature affects our lives, and of the ecological systems that keep the earth in balance.

• Foster love and respect for nature that inspires people to become responsible caretakers of the earth.

• The NDC offers a multitude of nature education programs for children, adults, families, and educators. Some of our most popular programs include Summer Science Camp, Family Nature Night, Outreach Presentations, and Senior Bird Trips.

• The NDC serves 40,000+ people each year. Our main market is currently children ages 3-12.

• Pumpkin Patch: A two-day festival held at the NDC in October, Pumpkin Patch is a family event complete with face painting, a rock wall, local vendors, carnival games, and of course selecting prime pumpkins in preparation for Halloween.

• Twilight Gala: The Twilight Gala is a long-honored tradition complete with cocktails, dinner, dancing, and fun! The Gala attracts supporters of the NDC and is a major income source for our program offerings.

• The NDC is comprised of five full-time staff members including the Executive Director, Development Director, two Naturalists, and an Office Manager.

• Three part-time staff members include a Media Coordinator, Park Steward, and Weekend Naturalist.

• Oversight: The Board of Directors is comprised of twelve voting members and two non-voting members.

• The NDC’s annual operating expenses are roughly $560,000. The majority of expenses are driven by SWB (salary, wages, and benefits).

• Key sources of revenue include donations, grants, and program services.

• The organization has a Reserve Fund with a balance of $900,000.

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One of the goals of our current strategic plan (adopted May 2018) is to continue to grow the number of people that we impact annually in order to better meet our mission: to ignite life-long curiosity, understanding, and respect for nature through education.

1. Goal is to reach a sustainable 50-50 revenue split (in this new budget year, we are at 37% program revenue goal with goal of 15% increase in program revenue from last year)

   1. We specifically are looking at our day camps (by far our highest revenue source), adult programs (our biggest attendance challenge), birthday parties, and rental income (special events here)

   2. Challenge is space use (we have limited classrooms) and marketing to get the attendance we need in these fee programs

   3. Another growth area/challenge – we want to expand programs while relying on our volunteers and contract/hourly staff better

2. Create a plan for increasing the outcome of the Twilight Gala

3. Create a plan for renting the facilities.

1. Increase educational/ service revenue.

Our goal is to reach a sustainable 50-50 revenue split between donations and product revenue (in this new budget year, we are at 37% program revenue goal with goal of 15% increase in program revenue from last year).

1. We specifically are looking at our day camps (by far our highest revenue source), adult programs (our biggest attendance challenge), birthday parties, and rental income (special events here, see #3).

2. Challenge is space use (we have limited classrooms) and marketing to get the attendance we need in these fee programs.

3. Another growth area/challenge – we want to expand programs while relying on our volunteers and contract/hourly staff.

Last year our revenue from activities were derived from these categories:

Pricing:

• Pricing data for similar nature-based programs (birding trips, summer camp, after school classes, field trips).

• Research and produce pricing among competitors in the Houston area

Product:

• Identify several target markets

• Identify novel ideas or expansion in terms of scope and scale for the client

  • Explain your ideas in detail. They will need to fit with the mission, the location, the reality of the site and the constraints of the budget and staff.

  • Create pro-forma financials for all new products

SWOT:

• Complete a SWOT analysis and highlight areas that support their strengths and take advantage of opportunities. Also acknowledge their opportunities and threats.

Competitive Analysis:

• Houston is a competitive market. You should complete a completive analysis with other providers of day camps and similar competitors

Highlight major macro concerns and opportunities:

• Complete a PESTEL analysis with major factors clearly listed. What are the big varibles that can help or hurt NDC?

As an organization we strive to “enrich and enhance educational opportunities for children, particularly those under-served, to improve their chances of success in school and in life.” In accordance with this effort, emphasis should be placed on identifying programmatic opportunities that will enable us to reach traditionally under-served communities or those lacking easy access to nature and environmental education.

1. Create a plan for increasing the outcome of the Twilight Gala

This plan should identify the outcomes, be sure to include net income. You will also want to create a marketing roadmap for the Gala. In other words, who will target, why, and how? How will you measure success?

1. Create a plan for renting the facilities.

The analysis should include prioritized list of ideas, market potential, breakeven, and pricing structure. Include marketing segmentation and competitive pricing.