The NHS is grateful to Connecticut Humanities for awarding us a $5,455 Capacity Building Grant for Strategic Planning. The purpose of this project is to develop a 3-year strategic plan for the Norwich Historical Society, which will cover 2025-2028. The Norwich Historical Society (NHS) hired a consultant to help update our strategic plan.
Our strategic planning process will focus on planning major projects, programming, and fundraising for our upcoming milestone anniversary celebrations in 2025 and 2026. These are significant dates for heritage tourism, marking the 350th anniversary of the original building of Norwichtown’s landmark Leffingwell Inn (now known as the Leffingwell House Museum) in 2025 and the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War in 2026. Further, the NHS will use our strategic planning to ensure that the Norwich Historical Society is a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. Additionally, an updated strategic plan will help us clarify our identity and the services we provide while laying out a strategy to ensure the sustainability of our organization.
Thank you to Connecticut Humanities for their support!
Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.
The Norwich Historical Society developed a five-year strategic plan (2016-2021) to ensure that NHS will be a dynamic, healthy organization that is recognized as an area leader for history and heritage tourism.
Our Peer Advisor Network consultant facilitated the process, and using stakeholder’s surveys the NHS was able to identify specific areas of growth such as programming, exhibits, collaborations, marketing, and branding, which will all increase NHS’s visibility. Residents will want to be part of this hip, inclusive and vibrant organization that creates a sense of place and fosters appreciation of Norwich’s complex heritage.
The vision for the Norwich Historical Society includes activities that will promote community engagement through greater historical and cultural understanding of Norwich’s diverse past. NHS will be a critical historical resource for adults and children alike. The continued success of the Norwich Heritage and Visitors’ Center, comprehensive public and youth programs, and expanded offerings of walking tours will help solidify NHS’ important role. Advocacy of historic preservation of Norwich’s past will be a core organizational priority and will ensure that the community’s fragile antiquity is saved for posterity.
NHS established a variety of key initiatives and strategies such as:
1. Education and Information through Community Engagement– NHS will help share and preserve Norwich’s rich history through education, information, and advocacy.
2. Visible Cultural Leader– NHS will be known and recognized throughout the city as a heritage and tourism leader whose efforts help to celebrate local history while bringing people and organizations together.
Walk Norwich
