Finding the Special Sauce: Tapping Community Wisdom to Guide Strategic Decisions
For 30 years, Joe’s Movement Emporium has been a creative anchor in Maryland’s Mount Rainier and Suitland communities—a place where arts, environmental stewardship, and civic engagement intersect. As the organization approached its milestone anniversary and prepared for strategic planning, leadership knew they needed to listen deeply to the voices that matter most: their community members and partners.
The Challenge
Joe’s wanted to understand the true impact of their work and identify evolving community needs during a time of significant change. They needed a process that would:
- Celebrate 30 years of impact while looking forward
- Gather authentic input from diverse stakeholders
- Surface themes that could inform mission, vision, and future programming
- Honor both the deeply grounded nature of their work and their willingness to take creative risks
The Approach
Collaboration Arts designed and facilitated three distinct engagement experiences in October 2025:
Community Conversation at Joe’s (Mount Rainier): A two-hour evening gathering brought together families, artists, and neighbors to reflect on Joe’s impact and envision future possibilities. Using paired discussions, interactive idea capture through MeetingPulse, and facilitated dialogue, participants explored what Joe’s has meant to them and how the organization can best support a thriving creative community.
Community Conversation at Creative Suitland: A parallel conversation engaged the Suitland community, exploring the intersection of creativity, economic empowerment, and community building. Participants shared powerful stories of transformation and identified opportunities for deeper impact.
Partner Dialogue: Arts organizations, schools, environmental groups, and civic partners gathered to discuss collaboration opportunities. Through small group discussions and whole-group dialogue, partners identified Joe’s unique value as an organization that is both “deeply grounded and willing to take creative risks.”
Each conversation was carefully structured to balance celebration with forward-thinking, using a mix of small group dialogue, real-time sensemaking, and skilled facilitation to ensure all voices were heard. The MeetingPulse platform enabled participants to contribute ideas anonymously and see themes emerge in real-time, creating an inclusive and dynamic experience.
Key Insights
The conversations revealed powerful themes that crossed all three audiences:
From community members:
- Joe’s serves as a “spiritual sanctuary” and “creative home” where “community greets you before you walk in the door”
- The organization keeps “the heart of the community on rhythm and on beat”
- Creativity is recognized as an essential life skill, not a luxury
- Impact words included: healing, connection, transformational, expansiveness
From partners:
- Joe’s unique ability to integrate what others silo: arts + environment + justice + education
- Strong appreciation for being both deeply rooted and courageously innovative
- Recognition that artist sustainability is economic justice work
- Emphasis on “going deeper not broader”—maintaining depth and focus rather than expanding too quickly
The Value of Thoughtful Facilitation
What made these conversations particularly powerful was the intentional design that created space for both celebration and honest dialogue. The facilitation approach:
Built trust quickly through warm welcomes, clear objectives, and genuine curiosity about participants’ experiences
Honored diverse voices by combining multiple formats—pairs, small groups, anonymous digital input, and whole-group discussion
Surfaced patterns that emerged from numerous responses to focused questions , using real-time thematic analysis
Translated community voice into strategic language that works for both grassroots audiences and institutional funders
Created momentum by capturing the energy and insights in detailed reports that became immediate strategic planning resources
The process didn’t just gather data—it created an experience that strengthened relationships between the organization and its community.
The Impact
The engagement process generated rich qualitative data through:
A “bonus” insights document identifying Joe’s competitive advantages and strategic positioning
Over 50 written responses across three conversations
Detailed thematic analysis organized into strategic recommendations
Word cloud visualizations capturing community sentiment
Specific language frameworks for communicating with different audiences
Most importantly, the process created a foundation for Joe’s strategic planning grounded in authentic community voice. The insights informed explorations of the organization’s mission, vision, tagline, and even potential name considerations as Joe’s and Creative Suitland continue to evolve.
“This is so exciting!! I love the bonus report and all the great content in it. I’m still on cloud 9 from the conversations. Thank you again for your facilitation and finding the special sauce in Joe’s.”
— Brooke Kidd, Executive Director, Joe’s Movement Emporium
As one partner participant noted: “The deeply grounded nature of everything Joe’s does… in this time where we are increasingly dominated by virtual reality, the reality reality of Joe’s is an essential antidote that helps us remember, and stay connected to, all that is uniquely human.”
The conversations affirmed that after 30 years, Joe’s Movement Emporium remains not just relevant, but necessary—a place where creativity builds community power and where everyone belongs. And the strategic planning process now moves forward with clarity, energy, and deep community wisdom to guide the way.