2026-2031
Strategic plan
The Reno Philharmonic Association (RPA) enters this strategic planning period from a position of artistic strength, community trust, and educational impact, while operating within an increasingly complex and volatile external environment. With a clear mission to inspire, educate, and engage audiences through diverse symphonic performances, and a vision of a community enriched and connected by music, the Reno Phil is one of Northern Nevada’s most visible and valued cultural institutions.
This strategic plan is the result of a deliberate and data-informed planning process conducted throughout FY26. The process included stakeholder feedback, focused ad hoc task forces, industry benchmarking, environmental PEST analysis, organizational SWOT analysis, internal capacity assessment, and long-term financial modeling. A steering committee composed of Board members, staff members, and community leaders guided the work to ensure broad perspective, mission alignment, and thoughtful prioritization. Each task force involved in plan development was similarly structured and included subject-matter experts relevant to its focus area.
Using insights revealed during the planning process, particularly the RPA’s identified strengths and opportunities, the Vision, Mission, and Values statements have been refined to make them more clear and memorable while maintaining their original intent and direction. The three pillars and associated initiatives presented in the plan reflect the highest priority needs and opportunities identified through this process. Further prioritization is provided in the financial cost model. A central finding of the planning process was that existing organizational capacity must be intentionally expanded to sustain current activity levels and successfully implement new initiatives. As a result, this plan integrates financially responsible administrative expansion.
Together, the Strategic Plan, Cost Model, and Staff Hire Schedule provide a cohesive roadmap for the next five years. The plan outlines a future of growth and enhancement that will strengthen the Reno Phil’s position in the community and provide a stable foundation for Reno Phil’s future.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Strategic Plan is designed to protect and amplify what the Reno Phil does best, while addressing key opportunities and positioning the organization for sustainable growth. The plan’s three core priorities — Expand Our Community Reach, Invest in Our People, and Secure Our Future — are intentionally interdependent. Together, they emphasize audience development, education and engagement, staff and Board capacity, musician support, financial stability, and long-term facility planning.
The data clearly supports the direction of the plan by signaling areas that require focused investment and intentional change. Audience growth and diversification, long-term financial resilience, talent recruitment and retention, and space constraints consistently emerge as top challenges. These pressures are intensified by broader political, economic, social, and technological shifts affecting arts organizations nationwide. These range from inflation and cost-of-living pressures to changing audience behaviors, evolving funding landscapes, and heightened expectations for community impact.
The range of opportunities facing the Reno Phil makes strategic prioritization essential. While many paths for growth exist, impact will depend on focusing resources where they matter most. The three strategic pillars, provide the framework for this focus. Sequencing initiatives within these pillars balances ambition with feasibility. The Cost Model further illustrates how financial resources are prioritized to support effective execution.
In addition to measurable outcomes, the plan is flexible, enabling the organization to rapidly respond to shifting social and economic climates. Several of the plan initiatives also include the collection and analysis of data that will be used to further define tactics and metrics for measuring progress against plan goals. To ensure both accountability and adaptability, an ad hoc Strategic Plan Oversight Committee will meet twice each year. This committee will review progress, assess alignment with stated goals, and recommend adjustments as needed. This structure reinforces disciplined implementation and shared ownership, while keeping the plan responsive rather than static.
Grounded in data and shaped by community input, this plan serves as both a roadmap and a framework for decision-making. It prioritizes adaptability, fiscal responsibility, and mission clarity, ensuring that the Reno Phil remains artistically excellent, financially resilient, and deeply connected to the evolving needs of Northern Nevada.
VISION
To create a community enriched and connected by music
Mission
Inspire, educate, and engage audiences through diverse symphonic performances
Values
Inclusion
We seek to reach and serve the entire northern Nevada community
Excellence
We conduct our work with impeccable integrity and present transformative performances
Innovation
We embrace creativity, experimentation, learning, and growth
PLAN PILLARS
EXPAND OUR COMMUNITY REACH
Grow Our Concert Audiences to Increase Earned Revenue
Increase attendance at all current concert offerings, utilizing enhanced data analytics and innovative marketing strategies.
Increase our Education Impact
Build on our organizational strength in education to expand our footprint in the Reno Phil Association Kids (RPAK) program.
Enhance our Community Value
Create the infrastructure to support and increase the Reno Phil’s current community engagement programs, with the addition of a community engagement staff member and a new Board committee focused on engagement efforts.
INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE
Amplify Staff Professional Development
Provide administrative staff members with additional opportunities to grow professionally within the RPA organization.
Augment Board Development
Ensure that Reno Phil’s Trustees clearly understand their role and purpose as Board members and are fully engaged with the Reno Phil’s Mission and Vision.
Foster Musician Development
Support a wide range of musician development activities that strengthen artistic excellence, professional growth, and leadership capacity while also extending the Reno Phil’s community impact through small competitive grants. The creation and administration of these grants will be developed in consultation with musicians, Board members, and staff, and may include a wide range of supported activities.
SECURE OUR FUTURE
Legacy Giving
Grow the Reno Phil’s endowment funds.
Relocate/Reconfigure Administrative Offices
Relocate or reconfigure the Reno Phil’s office to effectively support the organization’s current and future needs.
Evaluate Overall Space Utilization
Conduct a rigorous and realistic assessment of the Reno Phil’s long-term needs, aspirations, and options for its future operations, performance, education, and community engagement spaces.
Grounded in data and shaped by community input, this plan serves as both a roadmap and a framework for decision-making. It prioritizes adaptability, fiscal responsibility, and mission clarity, ensuring that the Reno Phil remains artistically excellent, financially resilient, and deeply connected to the evolving needs of Northern Nevada.
The Reno Phil FY27–FY31 Strategic Plan reflects a clear commitment to sustaining what the Reno Phil does best while strengthening the areas necessary for long-term growth. The organization enters this period with meaningful momentum: strong artistic performance, deep community trust, and education programs that define its regional impact. At the same time, the scale and pace of recent growth have outstripped portions of current staffing, data, and space. This plan directly addresses that gap.
The three pillars—Expand Our Community Reach, Invest in Our People, and Secure Our Future—are designed to function as a coordinated strategy. Expanding reach increases visibility, patronage, and relevance in the community, driving revenue. Investing in people strengthens the leadership, expertise, and culture required to deliver high-quality programs and effectively manage growth. Securing the organization’s future through legacy giving, financial planning, and space evaluation ensures that current momentum can be sustained over time. Together, these pillars create a unified direction for the organization rather than a set of parallel efforts.
The plan establishes (or creates the conditions for setting) clear goals, measurable benchmarks, tactics, timelines, and a structured review process to ensure accountability while maintaining flexibility. Built-in oversight and phased implementation allow the organization to adapt as conditions evolve without losing focus on its core mission.
This Strategic Plan serves as both a roadmap for the next five years and a foundation for sustained impact beyond the planning horizon. With disciplined execution and shared ownership across staff, musicians, and Trustees, the Reno Philharmonic Association is positioned to deepen its community role, strengthen internal capacity, and continue creating a community enriched and connected by music.