Expanding Our Reach (FY24)

In FY24, Starr King can build on the foundation we have set and take what we have learned in that year of adjustment and experimentation to strategically expand our reach. The focus here would be on exploring and seizing opportunities to connect with and equip more people to engage in sacred social change, in countering oppressions, and in creating just and sustainable communities.

The following questions can help guide Starr King in thinking about how to expand our reach:

Where is sacred social change happening? Where should it be happening?
Who is participating in sacred social change work? What are their aims? What are their challenges?
Who should be participating in the work of sacred social change? And what do those people need to take that first step towards engagement?
Who could most benefit from our transformative approach to counter-oppressive, sacred social change? How can we reach those people?
What does educating to counter oppressions look like in a global context? What do we need to consider and how might we need to adapt to approach countering oppressions in different global contexts?
How can we equip more people to engage in sacred social change?
What opportunities can we seize upon to foster connection and to expand our reach?
What do we need to invest in to enable and support that expanded reach?

Aligning Our Actions

With this focus and these guiding questions in mind, we can move forward along our four tracks of activity by thinking about ways to connect with more people and how to best equip those people to engage in counter-oppressive, sacred social change:

Our Programs and Offerings

We will finalize and launch new programs and offerings that enable more people to grow in their skills and knowledge around religious leadership and sacred social change. This will include, but is not limited to:

Developing and testing one new certification program to provide more opportunities for people from different backgrounds to engage in sacred social change work.
Discussing other possible programs to develop in the short- and long-term that enable students to explore or strengthen different forms of counter-oppressive religious leadership.

Our Outward Engagement

We will actively connect with new and more people educating to counter-oppressions and create just and sustainable communities and how to effectively engage in sacred social change work. This will include, but is not limited to:

Rolling out the second round of testing for the WEAV curriculum for UU congregations and communities across the country.
Developing and testing our dynamic online repository of scholarship and practice on religious leadership, theological education, multi-religiosity, educating to counter oppressions, and sacred social change.
Testing and cultivating new ways of collecting and sharing scholarship from our community beyond the online repository to begin positioning ourselves to widen the conversation in the year ahead.
Offering several public programs each semester, both through Starr King in general and the Center for Multi-Religious Studies, to engage with more and different people around important work and insights on sacred social change.
Experimenting with at least one multi-local hybrid convening to bring people together physically and virtually for shared learning and community building, and assessing learnings from that experimentation to plan more multi-local hybrid events in future.
Finding and pursuing opportunities for Starr King faculty, staff, and students to engage in varying forms of public thought leadership and study, across the country and around the world.
Strengthening and refining our outreach and marketing efforts to engage with more and different audiences.

Our Internal Structure and Support

We will strengthen internal structures and support to enable Starr King’s expanded reach. This will include, but is not limited to:

Widening and activating our donor base, particularly around Sowing Seeds: The Comprehensive Campaign for Starr King.
Increasing scholarship dollars to support more students and their ability to access a Starr King education.
Exploring more and different kinds of grant opportunities to support existing and new programs.
Continuing to explore and develop robust alternative revenue streams to support the school’s mission and work.
Beginning to develop a plan to find a new home for our rare books.
Preparing for the Association of Theological Education’s 10-year accreditation visit.
Investing in technologies and platforms that enable us to expand our reach and position the school to widen the conversation, including platforms that can house and publicize important scholarship and work by members of Starr King’s community and beyond.

Our Culture and Community

We will widen and deepen our Starr King community and create more opportunities for connection and gathering. This will include, but is not limited to:

Finding more opportunities, virtually and in-person, for the community to gather, learn, and build relationships.
Developing new opportunities for Starr King graduates and current students to connect with one another and learn from each other.