RMAG Strategic Plan for the Period 2024-2029

FOR THE PERIOD 2024-2029

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE PERIOD 2024-2029

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The last ten years have brought dramatic changes to the Oil and Gas industry globally, and here in the Rockies. Faced with climate change, shifting demands and resources, the global, federal, and local governing bodies have worked to incentivize a shift to renewable resources. Accordingly, more restrictions and regulations continue to be placed on the oil and gas industry year after year. Combined with an aging work force and a shift in industry to be centrally located in Houston, the membership of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) has seen a decrease in membership of forty percent over the last ten years.

In April 2023, the RMAG Board of Directors approved a proposal that RMAG undertake the development of a long-term strategic plan to address the changing landscape of Geoscience careers and ensure the relevance and success of RMAG into the future. RMAG 2023 President, Ben Burke, RMAG 2024 President and Executive Director, Bridget Crowther, have sponsored and advanced the strategic planning process over a six-month period with the support of the RMAG 2023 Board of Directors. A Strategic Planning Committee, comprised of the 2023 RMAG Board of Directors, past presidents, and dedicated volunteers was convened to create a plan to provide a clear direction to the RMAG volunteer leadership and RMAG Staff to ensure a future for the organization.

This Strategic Plan is intended to be a living document, reviewed annually and subject to addition and change as necessary. Goals, strategies, and metrics have been outlined as a starting point for the organization’s work in 2024 following board approval. As implementation proceeds, the Association’s staff and volunteers are encouraged to suggest and take action on new ideas and strategies to achieve the overall goals and objectives outlined in this plan.

The Strategic Planning Committee concluded over the course of months of discussions that the overarching goal of this document is to provide a road map to stabilize membership numbers and gain modest growth through the expansion of geoscience professions

served by RMAG. This move will allow current members to gain value from the organization, provide opportunities to welcome additional subsurface professionals to the Association and connect with the larger Rockies Geoscience Community.

The Vision Statement and Mission Statement for RMAG were determined to remain the same and serve as the guideposts for this Strategic Plan and the Association going forward.

Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is:

• To promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application

• To foster scientific research

• To encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members

• To disseminate geologic information

Vision Statement:

The place for Rockies geoscience, supporting professional exchange and education since 1922 RMAG prides itself on dedication to these core values:

• Ethics, integrity, and professionalism

• Fellowship and sense of community

• Excellence in geoscience

• Volunteerism

• Education

PART ONE: SWOT ANALYSIS

The first step the Strategic Planning Group undertook in this process was evaluating the Association’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).

STRENGTHS

• Strong brand in both the local and national petroleum geology communities for networking, technical excellence, and outstanding publications.

• Passionate dedicated volunteers.

• Commitment to the geosciences through publications, talks, classes, and field trips.

• Commitment to geoscience education for all ages.

• Strong financial base and lean operations.

• The diversity of programming is not limited to only oil and gas and open to all geoscience professionals.

• Platform for the local Denver geoscience community.

WEAKNESSES

• No strong connection to other subsurface industries resulting in a lack of diversity in member professions – the majority of RMAG membership is in oil and gas

• An aging membership resulting in member demographics that is not representative of the geoscience field.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Broaden our membership base with geoscientists from other industries by integrating the various specialties and interests.

• Push to retain relevancy for geoscientists in the Rockies.

• Improve our fiscal position by:

o Increasing membership dues as allowed by the bylaws each year or approaching the voting body of the membership to increase the membership by a larger sum.

o Continue to right size operations costs and find news revenue streams to offset diminishing sponsorship support.

• Increase marketing efforts to expose RMAG and geosciences to a larger audience including the public.

• Continue to explore the need for larger industry conferences, such as the successful 2023 North American Helium Conference, focused on specific topics outside of the traditional petroleum basin conferences – such as Lithium, Hydrogen, and other critical minerals.

THREATS

• The public and professional perception of RMAG catering mostly to the maligned oil and gas industry.

• Declining membership numbers due to an aging membership demographics and to the decrease in students entering the geology field.

• Loss in relevance as shift away from oil and gas to renewables in Denver and the Rockies continues.

• Loss in revenue as sponsorship dollars become harder to come by as companies’ budgets are tighter, reallocated, or subjected to competing opportunities from one of the many other related associations

• Limited revenue sources resulting in a net-negative cash flow year after year.

PART TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS

The Strategic Planning Committee identified four key organizational goals for the next five years to address potential threads to the organization and pursue recognized opportunities

1. Getting to know our membership.

Since 2018, the geoscience industry at large, and more locally the Rockies and Denver area, has seen significant impacts from the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and a shift in the industry to renewables. With the last membership survey dating back to 2017, we no longer have accurate information on our membership.

We need to understand not only the demographics of our organization in terms of age, race, gender etc. but also what areas of the industry our members work in and what program content they would benefit from. With this added information, the planning committees will be enabled to develop programing tailored to all our members.

2. Expanding the diversity of the Geosciences represented within RMAG.

The long-term survival of RMAG rests in our ability to diversify the industries RMAG serves beyond the historical oil and gas industry.

3. Developing a sustainable marketing plan.

Sharing RMAG with the larger geoscience community and the public is vital to demonstrate what RMAG offers To attract people going into the geoscience career fields and grow our membership we need to develop an action plan for advertising that is manageable and successful for RMAG Staff and Volunteers to execute is essential.

4. Increasing our fiscal responsibility

Historically, RMAG has outspent our revenue streams. With the rare exception of extremely successful AAPG conferences hosted by RMAG, most RMAG events have not made significant revenue or lost money. We need to become more fiscally responsible by establishing better financial oversight and control of RMAG investments.

PART THREE: ACTION PLANS & ASSOCIATED METRICS

With the four organizational goals identified, the Strategic Planning Committee set out to define initiatives that will help RMAG reach those goals and outline what success for each of the four goals looks like.

GETTING TO KNOW OUR MEMBERSHIP

STRATEGIES

The first thing to be accomplished is a new member survey. The last member survey was completed more than 5 years ago (results can be found in the October 2017 Outcrop). While the 2017 survey provided invaluable data on member demographics, it is now out of date and a new survey is needed. A new survey will provide a good starting point to gather comparable data, allowing RMAG to understand how the membership has changed in the last 6 years. It will most likely lead to adjustments to meet the current needs of the Association and understand the state of the industry. For the best impact, we need to gather a significant number of respondents, which will require both incentivizing early respondents as well as sending reminders to complete the survey over the course of several months.

While the new membership survey will provide up-to-date info on our members, storing, accessing, and querying this data in our Customer Resource Management (CRM) software will be necessary. Currently, our CRM is challenging to use. We need to update, customize, or even replace our current software to better handle our member information. In any case, we would benefit from members providing additional profile information. This will be accomplished through a campaign to get all members’ profiles up to date.

This campaign should consist of an example profile with an explanation of how RMAG will use the information going forward, demonstrating the value of a complete profile to all parties. For our less computer savvy members, we will also provide an opportunity at

RMAG events to update their profile in person with support from RMAG Staff. Incentivizing survey participation and profile updates with rewards such as discount codes or drink tickets at upcoming events or the opportunity to join a field trip will garner participation.

In conjunction with the data collection through the member survey and profile update campaigns, other events designed to get to know our existing and prospective members better will include an increase in the number of networking events, such as happy hours, for members to get to know each other. This kind of networking will enable our volunteer planning committees to gauge the needs of members for high-impact programming - from field trips to the kinds of classes the Association puts together.

Finally, we need to provide opportunities for new and prospective members to attend events specifically dedicated to welcoming them to the Association where they have the chance to mingle with both new and established members. Information gathered through these kinds of events will assist the association to recognize trends in the geoscience community and the needs of our prospective members.

KEY METRICS FORSUCCESS

What does success look like for “getting to know our membership”? By the end of 2024, software to complete the membership survey has been identified and utilized generating the data needed to move forward. In one of the final issues of the 2024 Outcrop the membership survey data should be shared. Additionally, the methodology for updating profiles is in place and have begun communication with all members.

By 2027 the membership database should be cleaned up to 80% accuracy at any one time, with consistent reminders to members to update their profile with changes. This cleaned up database will also allow us to evaluate if our current software is meeting our needs or if it is possible to make the migration to another better suited software. Moreover, regularly established networking opportunities and a new member event should be part of the association culture and a driving force benefit to membership in RMAG.

By 2029 these ingrained behaviors, of updating profiles and attending events will have both allowed the association to appropriate tailor programming to existing members and demonstrated the unique value proposition that RMAG has for members of the Rocky Mountain Region geoscience community and beyond. Another membership survey should be conducted in this final year to assess the success of all the efforts outlined in the plan.

EXPANDING THE DIVERSITY OF THE GEOSCIENCES REPRESENTED WITHIN RMAG

STRATEGIES

The first step will be to broaden the scope of all programming beyond traditional oil and gas. A few different strategies will be necessary, starting with transitioning annual convenings to topics beyond the historical petroleum basin focused events. As the success of the 2023 North American Helium Conference proved there is unmet demand for the geology focused events in fields of emerging economic importance such as geothermal, critical minerals, hydrogen, etc. in addition to the petroleum basin symposiums.

For smaller scale events this expansion of topics will take shape in a few different ways: 1) Luncheon topics alternating between oil and gas and other important topics. 2) Broadening the scope of the papers accepted and published in the Mountain Geologist. 3) Developing programming reminiscent of the 2020 Members in Transition programming, giving members a place to go to learn, meet, and connect with others transitioning to new career paths as the industry shifts.

Across the Rocky Mountain Region there are roughly 40 geosciences related associations. Building connections with these other societies will be vital for our continued relevance and success. The goal is to start with joint social events i.e. happy hours, ski days, golf tournaments to give members the opportunity to get to know each other and develop natural relationships. These connections will create the technical opportunities that are relevant to multiple subdisciplines, with the goal of making RMAG the home base for all geoscience related activity.

Initial steps to make the most of inter-society networking will include: 1) Invitations to existing RMAG programming are extended across the vast network of societies. 2) Building a bridge with the Colorado Geological Survey. 3) Tapping into study groups to see what conversations are rising to the top of Geoscience conversation today. 4) As well as

gathering intel on other association programing and how we can adapt and improve upon it.

Supplementary strategies to increase the diversity of membership include in-person outreach at industry conferences, potentially in a more creative manner rather than the traditional booth that can be expensive and limiting. Consistently reaching out to Student AAPG Chapters and the geoscience departments of universities to make sure the next generation of professionals knows the value of RMAG and its potential benefit to them Finally, the Association will need to explore advertising outside of our traditional structure, from new platforms on the internet, to targeted advertising on social media, and in other society publications.

KEY METRICS FORSUCCESS

To achieve this goal there is considerable front-loaded work in 2024, starting with getting a better understanding of the landscape. Much like understanding our membership better, we need to evaluate the current programming and publications topical breakdown to establish the base level. 2024 will also entail the establishment of those initial connections with other associations and plan two to three social events over the course of the year that can be repeated annually and built upon.

By 2027 we would like to see that our programming is twenty percent more diverse in topic and have consistent events with related societies.

By 2029 half of our programing and publishing will be outside of oil and gas, short course opportunities will have made move towards fundamentals that can be used across subsurface disciplines, and we’ve seen a growth in society of twenty percent.

DEVELOP A SUSTAINABLE MARKETING PLAN

STRATEGIES

A sustainable marketing plan for the Association is a manageable approach for both RMAG Staff and Volunteers to communicate with our members and the public consistently and effectively.

Our most important communication first and foremost will always be with our RMAG members, using active and engaged volunteers to do the in-person outreach to share what RMAG initiatives with their connections who are not as plugged in to association business. This can be facilitated with established and growing networking events (coffee, lunch, happy hour) structured so that they are on separate weeks, different times, and various places around the metro area to give members a variety of opportunities to connect in a way that fits their schedule.

Additional “In-person” marketing would include developing an Employee Ambassador Program. Members employed by local companies can be tasked to advocate for RMAG to their coworkers, inviting them to networking events and sharing the work RMAG has done. Similarly, when members attend association conferences, empower them with information on the latest work and benefits of being a member of RMAG and encouraging people they meet to join. Finally working with AAPG student chapters and local university departments to distribute what RMAG is doing to engage and empower the next generation.

A thorough audit and updating of the RMAG website will be important as the first line of communication. LinkedIn presents our best social media opportunity to connect with our members and other geoscientists directly. Content on the platform will be tailored specifically for RMAG members and their networks, such as notifications about upcoming events, publications, and topics of interest. The reach can be furthered by encouraging members with active LinkedIn presence to share posts with their own networks to increase

the Association’s reach. Other targeted media would include getting information in related societies newsletters, and cross posted to their social media.

In keeping with the larger mission to disseminate geologic information, how we communicate with the public is equally important. This will be achieved by transitioning the Meta Social Media products to a public facing strategy. Aiming to become a “Geology Influencer” on those platforms with two key areas of engagement, entertainment and education, aimed at fostering interest and geological knowledge in the public

Lastly, utilizing the longer format YouTube allows for uploading existing content, like old luncheon recordings to the platform as well as new shorter content available to anyone interested in learning more. YouTube has the added benefit of consistent posting could lead to monetization generating an additional revenue stream for the Association.

KEY METRICS FORSUCCESS

In 2024 success for this work will look like increased engagement on social media. This will manifest with new followers and increased sharing and conversation with the content. Additionally, we should see the benefits of cross posting with driving our material to a larger audience. 2024 will also get the RMAG YouTube channel up and running with a process to continually publish new material and drive traffic towards it.

By 2027 we would like to see the growth and monetization of our YouTube channel, and the growth of our social media audience. We also should have identified what conferences and other association publications that RMAG would benefit from participating in.

If our work is successful in 2029 our marketing efforts will have resulted in measurable growth of our membership, growth of our social media following, and a strong understanding of our cross appeal with other associations in the geoscience space.

STRATEGIES

Increased focus on the Association fiduciary responsibilities will be vital not only to the success of this strategic plan but the longevity of the Association. The first and most overdue step to ensuring this long-term success is a new investment strategy. We currently rely on the sale of investments of anywhere between forty to eighty thousand dollars every year to cover shortfall and cash flow. A new strategy should be developed to look at diversifying the portfolio out of the index fund it currently resides in and into other investment options that generate the additional funding we need. The key is to develop a flexible investment strategy that will sustain the association for many years to come.

While strides in recent years have been made to right size the costs of events by the Association, increased focus on ensuring this remains true is crucial. While historically finite costs (space, speaker, food, materials) have been accounted for staff time and other overhead costs have not been considered. Overhead costs are a large driver of association costs they must be accounted for in all event planning. Communicating budgets and costs clearly with volunteer members and participants will be important for everyone to understand the value of programming and their work.

Diversification of sponsoring companies will be an important step to maintain and improve our fiscal position. While traditional oil and gas companies are becoming more difficult to obtain sponsorship dollars from, there are smaller operators both in oil and gas and related industries that would get value from becoming Summit Sponsors and the exposure it generates for them in the Rockies. Further focus on individual event sponsorship opportunities and quantifying and demonstrating what those sponsorships dollars buy will be important moving forward. Frequently this is where we see the most success generating sponsorship dollars.

As we build long-term relationships with other societies and related organizations cost sharing will be important. Further, it will have the added advantage of reducing the number of requests companies receive to sponsor, events such as golf tournaments, allowing them to sponsor singular events at a potentially higher dollar amount.

Individual support is multifaceted, the simplest step is raising membership dues either within in the by-laws allowed annual levels to match inflation or by amending the by-laws to allow for a single larger raise in subsequent years. Individual fundraising can be a large part of bringing in additional support for the organization. Multiple annual fundraising events like the golf tournament, Rockbusters, and other opportunities should be billed as fundraisers. Communicating which RMAG programs the profit from those events goes to support is key to their success. Suggested fundraisers include an annual live auction with a professional auctioneer and sought after prizes.

Capitalizing on the giving season each year is the final strategy. Focusing not only on “Giving Tuesday” or “Colorado Gives Day” campaign, but establishing a campaign that those funds are going toward so making direct asks of donors, and traditional fundraising tactics are possible. Lastly, making it simpler to set up annual giving and encouraging members to participate in it.

KEY METRICS FORSUCCESS

In 2024 we should see the formation of a new Investment Committee, and their recommendations for a new Investment Strategy approved by the end of the year. Allowing the RMAG Finance Committee to move forward with making the appropriate changes to our investment portfolio Increased transparency should be prepared on event costs and consistently communicated with members. Finally for 2024, we would see a 20% increase in the number of individual donors from 2023.

In 2025 the first organizational Annual Report should be completed based on 2024 tax returns and shared with the membership. The Annual Report should not only report on the state of the Association and our work on this plan but give members a full financial overview of the state of the Association finances.

By 2026 we should see consistent revenue from events and fundraising campaigns at the individual level. On the sponsorship side of revenue, an increase in the diversity of industry operators seeing value being an annual Summit Sponsor.

As we close 2029 the Association hopefully will have established stable financial income from the investment strategy as well as a diversity of sponsors lessening the impact of shifting industries. Furthermore we should have built a culture of individual giving outside of membership dues.

PART FOUR: BUDGET AND RESOURCES

It is imperative to first understand our financial history and financial goals as we move forward with this Strategic Plan A retrospective analysis will look at the long-term patterns that have shaped the Association’s trajectory and influenced our fiscal standing to date. This will help us shape the key goals of this plan and strategic moves in the next five years to ensure financial success.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Examining historical revenue for the last eleven years, that technical events drive the highest revenue for the Association. Summit Sponsorship and Membership being the next largest categories.

*Data represents 2023 through October

**Analysis and chart provided by Mayfly Resources

The years with the largest revenue are frequently driven by large technical conferences. 2014 was revenue sharing with the RMS-AAPG meeting in Denver, 2019 was the Permian Basin Symposium, and 2023 success was driven by the Helium Conference.

Conversely, when it comes to expenses, operating and personnel costs have historically dominated. Personnel typically include an Executive Director and between one and three part-time employees. Operating costs have included office space rental in Downtown Denver and associated costs to keep an office running, internet, phones etc., as well as credit card processing fees.

*Data represents 2023 through October

**Analysis and chart provided by Mayfly Resources

Further examination of the historical finance data net income presents an unsustainable pattern since 2016. While there are a number of factors that impacted Association finances,

from poor management to the Covid-19 Global Pandemic, the pattern is undeniable, RMAG has been outspending our income annually.

If you look at the next set of charts you will see the Net Income, which incorporates the investment account, and the RMAG Net operating Income, which does not incorporate the investment account, for the last 11 years.

*Data represents 2023 through October 2023

**Analysis and chart provided by Mayfly Resources

The key take ways from these graphs are two-fold. First looking at the net income, being subject to the swings of the investment market is a precarious position to be in and a new investment strategy will be vital for longer success. Second looking at the operating income we have vastly outspent revenue annually, this means we’ve been relying on the investment account to sustain operations for over a decade. While this pattern is changing it’s important it continues to change in an upward trajectory.

Looking at the shorter time frame in the graphs on the right, the last five years and the last year gives further context for the association’s financial patterns. These graphs demonstrate a consistent pattern over the course of a fiscal year. The year starts off strong, fueled by the bulk of membership and sponsorship dollars. By the final quarter of the year net-income has slowed to nonexistent. Historically, year end events

*Provided by May Fly Resources December 2023

have not brought enough funds to cover the operating costs. The good news from these graphs is that the pattern is dramatically flattening. In the last year, the losses in November were more than halved that of the previous year, and 2023 net-operating income is on track to be one of the better performing years since 2015.

FUTURE PLANS

RMAG’s financial historical pattern is why one of the Key Goals of this plan is Fiscal Responsibility. The goal is to continue to move the Association’s finances in the direction of a positive net income. 2024 will bring major steps in that direction as we continue to shed expensive financial decisions made by previous leadership. One of the single biggest impacts will be the May 2024 termination of the lease on the office space on 1999 Broadway. Subleasing the space for the last year and half has reduced the financial strain of the space but its termination will alleviate a nearly four thousand a month burden on the finances. Additionally, other associated expenses will fall off in the years to come, such as the internet contract and printer lease.

In recent years the proposed Association budget has come in with a short fall in the thirtyto-fifty-thousand-dollar range. By contrast the proposed 2024 budget comes with a small positive revenue.

NET INCOME: $ 4,803.52

This is a proposed budget, and the year ahead will inevitably bring about different revenue opportunities and expenses for the Association, but it is a move in the right direction. This coupled with a new investment strategy focused on generating the revenue to support efforts outside of our initial plans bode well for the financial future of RMAG.

PART 5: IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

YEAR 1:

1. Months 1-3: Final Review of The Strategic Plan

• Conduct a thorough review of the Strategic Plan.

• Engage key stakeholders for input and feedback.

• Approve and communicate the plan to the membership.

2. Months 4-6:

• Determine software, questions, and distribute the membership survey.

• Networking activities.

• Joint events with other associations.

• Investment Committee Launch.

3. Months 7-9:

• Social Media posting diversified and YouTube channel launch.

• Review membership survey details and distill data.

• Plan individual fundraising.

4. Months 10-12:

• Publish the results of the membership survey.

• Launch individual fundraising campaign.

• Initial review of progress and evaluate next steps.

YEAR 2:

1. Month 13-18:

• Collect feedback on progress to date and make necessary adjustments.

• Launch member database clean-up project.

• Implement investment strategy.

2. Month 18-24:

• Assess scalability of initiatives to date.

• Identify opportunities for expansion.

• Launch Annual Report, using it as an opportunity to communicate to membership the state of the Association, the Strategic Plan, and financial state.

YEAR 3-4:

1. Months 25-48:

• Implement continuous improvement strategies.

• Continuing monitoring performance

• Regularly updating stakeholders on progress with annual report.

• Implement strategies to enhance overall effectiveness.

• Identify areas for optimization and increased efficiency.

YEAR 5:

1. Months 49-60:

• Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the entire 5-year strategic plan.

• Assess the achievement of long-term goals and objectives.

• Document lessons learned and best practices.

• Create a repository of valuable insights for future planning.

• Initiate the development of a new strategic plan for the next cycle.

PART SIX: COMMUNICATION PLAN

The communication plan will be vital for ensuring that information about the strategic plan is effectively disseminated to all relevant stakeholders and make them active participants in achieving the goals outlined in this Plan.

Phase One of disseminating the plan after approval by the RMAG Board of Directors will be sharing it with the membership. Given its length, rather than placing it in the Outcrop it should receive separate publication online with a home on ISSUU and email blast to membership and a permanent home on RMAG.org under the “About” section

Phase Two in 2024 will be the results and analysis of the membership survey published in the Outcrop. Understanding and sharing this data will dictate how the Association peruses and accomplishes the goals outlined in this Strategic Plan.

Phase Three is annual reporting on the state of the Association. An annual report will be published for the membership to review the state of the Association, provide updates on where we are relative to the goals outlined here, and provide financial status.

PART SEVEN: REVIEW

The overarching goal of the 2024 – 2029 RMAG Strategic Plan is to provide a road map to stabilize membership and gain modest growth through the expansion of geoscience industries. Getting to know our membership better will allow us to cater to our existing membership and retain members as the industry changes. Expanding the diversity of geoscience topics we cover will create resources for current members to expand their horizons and attract new members. A sustainable marketing initiative will share our work with members and those from the broader community who have a passion for geoscience. Improving our fiscal responsibility will set the association up to operate efficiently and successfully for years to come while providing the resources necessary for accomplishing the goals set forth.

RMAG extends its gratitude to each of the members of the RMAG Strategic Planning Committee for your unwavering dedication, tireless efforts, and invaluable contributions in shaping our comprehensive 5-year strategic plan. Your commitment to excellence and the countless hours invested in this endeavor have not gone unnoticed and are the driving force behind this transformation.

To our membership as we embark on this five-year plan your collective enthusiasm and buy-in to this strategic vision will be the driving forces behind its success. Together, we form the bedrock upon which this plan will thrive, and it is your passion and commitment that will propel it into reality.