Strategic Plan
June 2026
This plan synthesizes the outcomes of a community survey (98 responses), a public workshop held March 24, 2026, and a private advisory workshop held April 25, 2026.
Facilitated by Abbey Harlow, Harlow Nonprofit Consulting
Authored by Nic Stark, Editor, The Poultney Journal
Supported by a Hills & Hollows grant from the Vermont Community Foundation
Mission
The Poultney Journal informs and engages citizens to strengthen the community by improving access to trustworthy local information and analysis.
Vision
The Poultney Journal envisions a Poultney that is vibrant, evolving, and civically engaged — a community where residents are informed, empowered to form their own views, and inspired to participate in shaping local life. We believe access to trustworthy, locally-rooted journalism creates the conditions for smarter decisions, bolder ideas, and a stronger town. The Journal's role is to be the steady, nonpartisan source that makes that possible.
Trust Principles
The following principles emerged from the advisory workshop's trust exercise and reflect the non-negotiables the community expects the Journal to uphold.
- Stay factual: no spin, no press-release-only coverage
- Admit corrections openly and promptly
- Maintain independence: declare conflicts of interest when they exist
- Be transparent about funding, ownership, and AI use
- Share editorial and operational policies that guide day-to-day activities
- Keep it local: variety of voices, openness to multiple viewpoints
- Embrace balanced coverage of controversy
- Prioritize editing and fact-checking as core practice
- Maintain consistency in publishing and quality
- Make the mission clear to readers
What the Community Told Us
This plan was shaped by direct input from readers and community leaders. Here's what we heard along the way, gathered with the help of facilitator Abbey Harlow.
Survey Results
In February and March 2026, we asked readers to help shape the Journal's future. Ninety-eight people responded.
98 — total survey responses
89% — read every issue or most issues
4.56 / 5 — average trust score, with no respondent scoring below 3
97% — gave a trust score of 4 or 5 out of 5
73% — want the Journal to grow or expand
21 — respondents left contact info and expressed interest in being involved
What readers said the Journal does for them
- Keeps me informed about local decisions (90 of 98)
- Highlights community events and organizations (89 of 98)
- Connects me to local voices and stories (56 of 98)
- Practical information I rely on (40 of 98)
- Provides accountability and transparency (24 of 98)
On direction
When asked which direction felt right, 58% said "Grow carefully if it strengthens the community," and 26% said "Stay small and local." 5% chose "Expand and serve as a model for other towns."
On improvement
The most common themes from 54 open-text responses:
- More frequent publication or mid-month updates (while acknowledging bandwidth constraints)
- Print and physical distribution — in shops, by mail, for those not online
- Better timeliness — covering events before they happen, not after
- Investigative and harder stories over time
- An editorial or guest opinion section
- Classifieds, job listings, and local business spotlights
In their own words
"One more strand of the thread that holds us together."
"Accurate updates. We read things on Facebook but you never know if the sources are correct."
"The Journal's voice is important. Don't merely publish press releases — that leads to a random, garbled voice."
"Community news in a single source — not Facebook."
"A coherent collection of information that crosses from local government to volunteer and civic groups to business groups. It is the most comprehensive source of useful information about Poultney that I have encountered since I moved here 28 years ago."
— Year-round resident
"I have lived here my entire life and did not realize the stuff that was going on. I wouldn't know where to get that info."
— Long-time resident
"We would lose yet another news source — the last one available, maybe."
— Year-round resident
"A reliable source of local news, which is also diminishing across the country."
— Year-round resident
"Just keep going — and if it still exists in three years, that's an accomplishment in this challenging time for journalism. Investigative reporting would be amazing, but I realize that is a very heavy lift."
— Year-round resident
"I recently got rid of all my social media. Without the unofficial town Facebook page it's hard to find one spot for updates. You summarize it all — so even though it's only once a month, I feel like I'm still in the loop."
— Year-round resident
"Connection. Community. Care."
— Resident, asked what the community would lose
"At this point I think the question is 'What has the community gained' — and the answer is a lot."
— Year-round resident
Public Workshop Synthesis
On March 24, 2026, six community members gathered at the Poultney Public Library for a public workshop covering four questions. Here is what emerged.
What brought people out that night
Attendees came out of a sense of duty, community love, and curiosity. Several spoke about wanting to give back and feeling responsible for the town's future. One attendee came after hearing about the Journal from a family member and wanted to learn more about its role in town.
What would Poultney lose without the Journal?
- A "one-stop shop" for local news, events, and Selectboard summaries
- Connection — described repeatedly as the thing that "holds the community together"
- A reliable alternative to Facebook rumors and social media noise
- A "town crier" — the shared narrative of what's happening in town
- Access for people who are not online
What must always remain true for the Journal to be trusted?
- Stay factual — "no spin," avoid press-release-only coverage
- Admit corrections openly and promptly
- Remain independent — no conflict of interest, declare when one exists
- Transparent about funding, ownership, and AI use
- Keep it local — variety of voices, open-mindedness
- Direct and honest even when the truth is uncomfortable ("Clear is kind")
- Establish ground rules for editorials and letters to the editor
Future headline exercise
Participants were asked to fill in: "How The Poultney Journal Became ______ by ______." Responses included:
- Became irreplaceable by being the town crier
- Became read by every single person in Poultney
- Became a source of integrity through accurate, honest, unbiased reporting
- Became a role model for other small-town publications
- Became a template for hyper-local news by providing small towns with the tools and roadmap
Direction vote
All six participants chose "Grow carefully," echoing the broader survey results, with a secondary preference for eventually becoming a model for other communities.
Other ideas captured
- Distribute printed copies at Perry's Restaurant
- A candidates issue before local elections
- A municipal working introduction issue
- Public AI policy statement
- Conflict of interest statements
- Add attributions to all submissions
Strategic Pillars & Goals
The Journal's strategic priorities were identified during the advisory workshop and are organized around four pillars. Goals within each pillar are directional statements for the next three years.
Organizational
GOAL: Establish a 501(c)(3) with a small, effective board in order to transfer responsibility and create organizational sustainability.
Pursuing a 501(c)(3) path unlocks grant funding, creates a governance structure that distributes responsibility beyond a single editor, and signals institutional legitimacy to funders, partners and the broader community. The board should be the smallest size that can do the work, while still being a functional governing body with diverse representation across age, background, role, and expertise.
Financial
GOAL: Explore financial models and revenue streams to determine the most beneficial structure for the Journal's sustainability and growth.
The 501(c)(3) structure enables grant funding and annual fundraising through tax-deductible donations. The Journal needs a diversified revenue model that does not depend on any single source. Advertising is viable but must be structured with clear parameters to protect editorial independence.
Product
GOAL: Maintain trust and highlight information on appropriate platforms, continually assess content and format alignment with mission goals.
Quality writing and fact-checking are the foundation that govern product decisions. Format must evolve to accommodate both print and digital audiences. Any advertising that appears in the Journal must be mutually beneficial and governed by clear rules that protect the editorial environment.
Community Engagement
GOAL: Build trust and inspire collaborative action through storytelling, transparency, and relationship building.
The Journal already has strong readership trust. The community engagement pillar is about converting that trust into participation: more residents involved in the Journal's work, more organizations coordinating with the Journal on coverage, and more pathways for people to contribute. Storytelling and transparency are the tools. Broadening the Journal's reach to a wider spectrum of groups is a core objective.
Action Items
The following action items are derived from workshop outputs across all four pillars. They are listed by pillar and are not yet prioritized; sequencing and ownership will be determined by the Editorial team.
Organizational
- File for 501(c)(3) status
- Identify and recruit advisory board members (smallest effective board)
- Define board roles and responsibilities
- Draft board governance documents — bylaws, conflict of interest policy
- Establish board diversity goals — age, background, skills, geography
- Create documentation for responsibility transfer and succession planning
- Develop shared editorial and operational policy document
- Draft and publish a public AI use policy
- Draft and publish a conflict of interest disclosure policy
Financial
- Apply for grant opportunities available to local journalism nonprofits
- Develop an annual fundraising plan
- Define advertising parameters, rules, and editorial guidelines
- Build a diversified revenue model: subscriptions + ads + grants + donations
Product
- Document editorial standards including fact-checking and corrections process
- Develop a quality writer pipeline and contributor program
- Explore print distribution: Perry's, Shaw's, downtown Poultney
- Assess current content alignment with mission goals — recurring editorial review
- Define ad placement guidelines that protect editorial environment
- Publish a candidates issue before local elections
- Publish an issue or ongoing series introducing or educating readers on the workings of the municipalities
- Continue to assess publication frequency and new means of serving the community as organizational capacity expands (classifieds, job listings, and business spotlights)
Community Engagement
- Develop outreach plan for audiences currently underrepresented in readership
- Create involvement pathways beyond subscribing
- Expand outreach with local organizations and businesses for news tips and coverage
- Establish transparency practices around the reporting process
- Reach out to the 21 survey respondents who expressed interest in involvement
- Follow up with advisory workshop participants on advisory board interest
- Develop recurring reader engagement strategies (annual survey, workshops, etc.)
Advisory Structure
The advisory workshop surfaced clear consensus around the need for a formal governance body. The following reflects what the group agreed on.
Recommended structure
- Pursue 501(c)(3) status as the organizational foundation
- Establish the smallest board that can effectively do the work
- Board diversity criteria: age, geography, professional background, technical expertise
- The editor retains full editorial independence — the board supports, it does not govern content
- Board roles include: strategic guidance, fundraising and financial oversight, community representation, and connective tissue with partner organizations
- Explore staff and contractor model to support editorial operations
Next step on governance
Few workshop participants expressed interest in serving in an advisory or board capacity at this stage. Follow-up outreach to those individuals will continue, alongside an expanded search. The 501(c)(3) filing is the prerequisite for formalizing any board structure.
What Happens Next
- Nic and Abbey incorporated workshop feedback and finalized this plan
- 501(c)(3) process is underway
Thank you to everyone who completed the survey, attended a workshop, or contributed thinking and time to this process. Your input shaped every part of this plan.
Questions or feedback? Interested in getting involved? Reach Nic at contact@poultneyjournal.com · 802-287-6723
