Opportunity:
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas is distinct in its approach, experience, and culture. When it came to strategic planning, doing things the Fossil Rim way was not only important to the team but essential to delivering an actionable outcome. For many members of the team, the strategic planning engagement with Canopy was the first time they’d been involved in high-level decision-making. This presented an exciting opportunity to build buy-in throughout the planning process. Six months of planning work in 2025 delivered a final strategy that is focused, aspirational, and uniquely Fossil Rim.
Image credit: fossilrim.org
Project Highlights:
An Inclusive Process
The project began with a Board Retreat to set a clear, high-level direction for Fossil Rim’s future. The staff on the strategic planning team then turned the board’s vision into a practical and actionable strategy. Throughout the process, there were 100+ touch points with staff, Board, partners, and national peers. This was the first time that a strategic plan at Fossil Rim was developed with this level of transparency and collaboration. Consistent communication that demonstrated this input was heard and acted upon helped to build buy-in for the plan throughout the process.
External Stakeholder Engagement
In addition to internal stakeholders, we interviewed external stakeholders to gather critical outside perspectives on Fossil Rim’s opportunities, challenges, and strengths. These interviews spanned from local tourism experts and partners to national peers with overlapping missions or methods. The diversity of stakeholder input provided necessary perspectives to allow the planning team to proceed with confidence.
Leaning Into Uniqueness
Fossil Rim’s large land mass, large herds, and rural location set them apart from many of their AZA peers. The team has developed an enviable can-do attitude and willingness to innovate in pursuit of their mission. It was critical that this distinctive character was represented in both the planning process and the strategy itself. We accomplished this in two key ways: First, while establishing a bold vision for Fossil Rim’s future, the tactics of this strategy scaffold off the established strengths and passions of Fossil Rim. This was critical for building team buy-in and ensuring that the strategy will be successful. Second, we ensured that the language we used in the strategy itself was direct and plainspoken, keeping it connected to the established culture of Fossil Rim.
Result:
Fossil Rim’s final plan identifies 5-year goals and supporting objectives that are actionable, aspirational, and, most importantly, achievable. The planning process itself reinforced team connections and created clarity about the shared priority of Fossil Rim as a whole. Those connections are critical as the team now moves to operationalize this strategy.
“This process gave Fossil Rim just what we needed in a strategic plan. Canopy did a good job of listening and gaining plenty of input from both the Board and the staff, building buy-in for the final plan throughout the process. The final deliverable is a succinct, actionable document that we will use as a tool to communicate our priorities and make decisions over the next five years.”
— Dan Simon, Executive Director
