MCPA Unveils Strategic Plan For The Next Decade
(From the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts)
Marathon Center for the Performing Arts (MCPA) has announced Vision 2035, a ten-year strategic plan that charts the organization’s course through the next decade and strengthens its role as a cultural anchor for Findlay and Hancock County.
Built with input from 300 community members, three focus groups, a board and staff working group, and arts planning firm TOC Arts Partners, Vision 2035 is grounded in focused, intentional growth: thoughtful choices that strengthen the organization and expand what it offers the community. The plan opens with a refreshed mission that captures who MCPA is in six words: where the arts inspire and community connects.
Vision 2035 organizes MCPA’s work around five strategic objectives:
- Programming and Artistic Excellence. Deliver a diverse, high-quality season, and expand arts education for children, youth, and adults.
- Community Engagement and Accessibility. Remove the barriers that keep people from the arts and reach audiences MCPA does not yet serve.
- Financial Sustainability and Revenue Diversification. Build diverse, durable revenue streams that keep the organization stable for the long term.
- Facilities and Infrastructure. Care for and improve MCPA’s spaces and technology, so every patron experience is exceptional.
- Organizational Capacity and Staffing. Build the team and structure to reach the goals.
“This plan grew out of real conversations, with our neighbors, our staff, and our partners at TOC Arts Partners, and you can feel that in every page,” said Rick Lofgren, Board Chair. “It gives us a clear path and the accountability to walk it. We are proud of where we are headed and grateful to the team carrying it forward.”
To support the plan’s long-term ambitions, the board has elevated the organization’s top leadership role from Executive Director to President and Chief Executive Officer, a title held by Heather J. Clow. The change reflects the board’s investment in strategic, long-term thinking at the very top of the organization.
