CDA 2030: A beautiful (and valuable) organization

A recent My Turn opinion column in the Press asked “Who and What is CDA 2030?” Answers to those questions and much more information about CDA 2030 can easily be found online at the following locations:

http://www.cda2030.org/

https://www.facebook.com/CDA2030

https://twitter.com/CDA2030

These sites give the history of the CDA 2030 project and the activities undertaken on behalf of the greater Coeur d’Alene community, with the goal of achieving, “A Bright Future. Together.” The website and Facebook page also provide information and links to the community Vision and Implementation Plan, the list of donors, how to volunteer/get involved, and how to receive CDA 2030’s newsletter.

For readers who don’t have access to the internet, the answers are that CDA 2030 is a community-based organization created to develop a vision for a bright future for greater Coeur d’Alene — and a plan to get there. The project follows a process that many successful cities have used. CDA 2030 was created as an update of the Vision 2020 that was done in the early 2000s. CDA 2030 was initiated at a time when there was division in the community in an attempt to find common ground for the future. Since 2013, CDA 2030 has received input from thousands of community members in order to develop a shared vision for Coeur d’Alene and a plan to make that vision a reality.

Over 3,000 community members were involved in developing the Vision and Implementation Plan, which includes six key themes: Community & Identity; Education & Learning; Environmental & Recreation; Growth & Development; Health & Safety; and Jobs & Economy.

The CDA 2030 project embodies an alliance of citizen volunteers representing key public, private, civic, and community-based organizations, working in partnership to facilitate a visioning process for our community. CDA 2030 also acts as a neutral convener and finds lead partners to implement priority action items. The website and Facebook page highlight the organization’s successes and their growing value to our community. (CDA 2030 released a video on social media today highlighting the organization’s mission and purpose, and how it is serving the greater Coeur d’Alene community.)

CDA 2030 is an IRS 501(c)(3) Idaho private, nonprofit corporation, like the United Way, St. Vincent de Paul, CDA-EDC (formerly Jobs Plus), the Fraternal Order of Eagles and many other private, nonprofit corporations in North Idaho. It is an independent, non-partisan, non-aligned effort. CDA 2030 is led by a board of directors made up of local citizens that follow the nonprofit rules and regulations.

The city of Coeur d’Alene and ignite cda contribute tax dollars to CDA 2030. There are numerous other financial sponsors/donors and countless in-kind volunteer hours dedicated to CDA 2030’s mission of engaging the community and creating a bright future for greater Coeur d’Alene. In return, the city gets input, opinions and ideas about what citizens want for the future, as well as assistance implementing priority projects.

Why do we need CDA 2030 when the city is required by state law to do a Comprehensive Plan? The answer is that CDA 2030 community visioning project is much larger and broader than the state mandated Comprehensive Plan, which is basically a land use planning tool. CDA 2030 staff and volunteers enhance the public engagement portion of the Comprehensive Plan Update — “Envision Coeur d’Alene” — by ensuring extensive public engagement, and providing valuable time and resources to make sure the vision, goals, objectives, and action items reflect the priorities of our community for 2020-2040.

The city is proud to be one of the many community sponsors of the successful CDA 2030 nonprofit organization. For more information regarding CDA 2030 or the city’s role in the project, please contact Community Planning Director Hilary Anderson: handerson@cdaid.org or CDA2030 Executive Director Nicole Kahler: info@cda2030.org