by Rebekah Phillips, Mazama Executive Director
Welcome to spring! Or should I say, “Welcome, Spring,” as this season of awakening and renewal offers opportune insight. In the last issue, I wrote about the changing financial landscape, constraints the staff and board are working with, and the organizational response it will require to secure a more stable foundation. (The CliffsNotes version, for those that didn’t read it, goes like this: rising costs have outpaced revenues, and we’ve got serious work to do.) This conversation continues to develop in real-time, representing a dynamic scenario which calls for clear communication, strong coordination, and decisive action.
Ominous as that may sound, trees and shrubs are beginning to bud, song sparrows serenade us earlier each day, and the sun is gradually warming our hemisphere, apt reminders that regeneration is part of life. Aligning with both the season and the theme of this Bulletin, my own innate belief in the power of potential has me feeling deeply inspired by a vision of vitality—an active, connected, and strong Mazamas creating our future together.
But what does it look like to cultivate vitality? What does it take to persevere and grow?
Connecting with our purpose
The Mazamas is a nonprofit, and nonprofits are full of purpose. Whether they deliver social, economic, or environmental impact, nonprofits solve real problems and offer meaningful, fulfilling work for both those carrying it out and those benefiting from their services.
At the Mazamas, we’re in the business of building community through activities rooted in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. We take our cues from nature: interdependent systems, mentorship between the established and the new, and resource-sharing, to name a few. Fitting as these concepts may be, let’s not discount how fundamental to the mission they are, nor how rare they are to find in a business setting. As strategies, they lead to resilience. As tactics, they develop personal and collective trust, camaraderie, engagement, and accountability. Is the Mazamas curing cancer? Maybe not, but we sure as hell are giving people tools to build a life worth fighting for.
Reflection and revision (rinse and repeat)
Despite being anchored in a shared purpose, when we look under the organization’s hood we find a business model that’s unsustainable by many measures: budgeted deficits rather than calculated growth; income streams that don’t cover their operating costs; and under-supported resources spread thin across a tangled web of objectives. The 2025-2027 Strategic Plan addresses all of this by prioritizing responsible financial planning, recalibrating our revenue model, and identifying ways to better future-proof operations.
But this doesn’t live with the board and staff alone. This is a call to all members to come together in support of our mission and community. To ask, “How can I help?” To refer a friend, or make a donation. To be an engaged ambassador of the organization. Zooming out to examine the big picture, we’re experiencing the kind of watershed moment that inspires evolution. It’s not the first time in our 131-year history, and it won’t be the last.
Gratitude and celebration
In nature, spring has a way of making things look easy. That’s because once balance is in place, rebirth unfolds seemingly like clockwork. In truth, it took millions of years of trial and error for Earth’s ecosystems to harmonize.
Volunteers, leaders, and staff are working tirelessly to support and uplift the Mazamas—every one of us experiences moments of exhaustion, disappointment, and fear of failure. To support vitality, it’s especially important that we hold space to acknowledge all that’s going right:
Our people: Nothing short of extraordinary are the staunch corps of volunteers upholding the Mazamas’ reputation for excellence, the board of directors rising to the occasion, and the capable staff that’s ready to make a difference. Combined, the nearly 3,000 members that make up the Mazamas move our mission forward each day, building community at a time when many among us need it more than ever.
Responsivity: Leadership has immersed itself in research and analysis, as we aim to articulate our core competencies and identify a tangible and optimal business model. We’ve confirmed that our services have been wildly undervalued, leading to a new program pricing policy; this brings needed consistency internally and ties pricing directly to the cost of production, encouraging awareness of the impact programs have on resources. We’ve also identified that (like any non-profit) fees for service can only cover a portion of our costs and must be subsidized by charitable contributions; among other strategies, we’ve widened our donor base, have normalized applying for foundation support after a multi-year hiatus, and are implementing a formal planned giving program.
Transparency and accountability: Since I joined the staff in 2023, we’ve fully caught up on four years of independently reviewed financial statements, and we’re about to publish our first impact report since 2016. Importantly, we’re also working to address a significant omission in our financial statements by quantifying the astonishing in-kind value that volunteer leaders contribute each year—this alone is worth celebrating for many reasons, not the least of which is that it will help us more meaningfully recognize you, our members and volunteers, who carry out our mission.
Friends, on behalf of everyone at the Mazamas, thank you for your enduring partnership and support. The future is not a thing merely to be experienced; it’s a great and wonderful opportunity to be created together. Let’s lean into the lessons of spring.