Hi friends —

I’m Jen Baxter, and I’m so excited to officially introduce you to The Common Collective and our new weekly series: The Common Collective Field Guides.

I started The Common Collective because I care deeply about small communities — the kind that raised me, the kind that make up the heart of this country, the kind that don’t always have the same access to big-city resources or funding but have every ounce of heart, grit, and vision.

For over two decades, I’ve worked in public and nonprofit service — learning everything I could about leadership, planning, and strategy — not to climb ladders, but to bring those tools home.
Because small organizations deserve structure, clarity, and space for civic innovation, too.

The Common Collective was born out of that conviction.
We build simple, visual, and affordable tools that help civic and nonprofit leaders plan, act, and grow — without all the jargon, overwhelm, or hefty costs.

Each Field Guide we publish is one small step toward that mission.

These Field Guides are short, visual, human-centered resources designed to help you strengthen your organization’s foundation, one practical concept at a time.

They’re built for the people who wear every hat:
the executive director who also writes the press releases,
the city staffer who leads community engagement between budget meetings,
and the volunteer who stepped up because no one else would.

Each week, you’ll get:
✅ A simple framework for a core organizational concept.
✅ A visual one-pager you can download and use immediately.
✅ Optional worksheets or templates to guide your next step.

The first issue in this series starts with something foundational:
how to create a strategic plan that actually works.

Somewhere along the way, “strategic planning” became synonymous with a 50-page binder — something full of buzzwords and buried in a drawer.

But that’s not a plan.
That’s a paperweight.

A true strategic plan is a map.
It’s your organization’s elevator pitch for the future — a one-page story about who you are, where you’re going, and how you’ll get there.

If your staff can’t remember it, it’s too long.
If your community can’t understand it, it’s too complicated.

Your plan should fit on a rack card, be shared in one slide, and live in every staff member’s memory.
In this day and age, attention is short and visuals matter.
Your strategic plan should be something people can see, remember, and repeat.

This framework is the foundation for your one-page strategic plan — your organization’s map before the journey.

📥 Free Tools for This Field Guide:

Both are available at:
👉 www.thecommoncollective.org/resources

They’re free, customizable, and designed for small teams who want to make meaningful progress without expensive planning retreats or binders that gather dust.

(Don’t forget to add your logo and tagline when you use the printable!)

Your plan shouldn’t sit on a shelf — it should live in your meetings, your decisions, and your conversations.

That’s where the next Field Guide comes in.
If the strategic plan is your map, then your next tool is your scorecard — how you keep score and stay on course as you move.

Next week, we’ll release:

You’ll learn how to:

📬 Watch your inbox next week for the next Field Guide — and download your map today to get started.

Until next time,

✍️ Author Bio

Jen Baxter is the Founder of The Common Collective, an independent nonprofit civic organization dedicated to truth, connection, and courage. A veteran public-sector and nonprofit leader with 15+ years of experience, she brings a unique perspective to civic storytelling, organizational design, and leadership rooted in empathy and impact.

Guiding Principles 

People first | Transparency | Equity | Creativity | Accountability | Joy
www.thecollectivestories.org