Plan New Hampshire-The Foundation for Shaping the Built Environment

“Merit awards cost of goods sold 3,711 web communications cost of goods sold 12,849 community charettes cost of goods sold 1,717 meetings & events cost of goods sold 744 forums & workshops cost of goods sold 3,534 scholarships cost of goods sold 2,933 expenses supplies & miscellaneous 1,981 bank charges 1,172 telecommunications 1,264 other taxes 27 travel & mileage 4,209 development expenses 2,203 insurance 1,923 total 38,267”

“Funds held for scholarship -2,088”

“Beneficial interest in funds held 32,282 30,194 advance 500 0 total 32,782 30,194”

“Security deposit held 500 500”

“Plan nh, founded in 1989, has a mission to foster excellence in the planning, design and development of new hampshire's built environment. We raise awareness of the link between the built environment and the health and vitality of our communities. Our membership is comprises architects, engineers, landscape architects, planners, builders and real estate professionals, financial and insurance firms and others with an interest in how we build, what we build and where and its impact on our daily lives. Plan nh has a vision of an economically, socially, and vibrant new hampshire in which: our changing context (weather and climate changes, shifting demographics, new ways of thinking about food and energy sources, more) is taken into consideration during planning and related decisions. Towns and neighborhoods balance necessary growth with preserving their unique senses of place. Compact, mixed-use areas are encouraged. There are reasonable, affordable choices for where to live and how to get about. We are stewards of our natural resources and historic assets. There are educational and cultural opportunities of all kinds. All citizens are encouraged to be civically engaged. To achieve this vision, plan nh's mission is to foster and encourage sustainable planning, design and development of the built environment. We do so by championing smart growth and livability principles, social responsibility, and collaboration and cooperation through programs and projects that inform and inspire our professionals and citizens of the granite state. The overall purpose is to raise awareness of the link between the built environment and the health and vitality of our communities.”

“Plan nh conducted four community design charrettes in 2015: enfield in january, franklin in april (with funding from cird and in partnership with unh cooperative extension), laconia in august and marlow in october. 40 different members and others volunteered their time for these. With an average of 20 hours per charrette, this is a total of 800 hours, valued at an average of 100 per hour, or 80,000 in value. Add another 8000 for those who contributed to two or more charrettes. On top of this, each team's leader spent an additional 40 hours (average) to write and produce the final report - an additional 32,000 of value. That's a total value of 124,000 (minimum) that plan nh volunteers contributed, through this program, to our state in just these two programs. As of the end of 2015, we have conducted 60 charrettes in 56 communities (22% of the state), helping their citizens to identify the vision they have for their town center or other significant neighborhood, and developing recommendations as to how that vision might be achieved over time.”

“Networking for our members and related professionals and providing opportunities to inform and inspire are high on our list of priorities. We had our annual meeting in january, during which time we honored our first villager of the year, arthur t. Demoulas, for his work in strengthening his community. We had an after hours in february at vhb, then in may at hannah grimes in keene, and in august at creative office pavilion in manchester, each with a short program. In may, we hosted rick hauser of new york, who talked to us about his "put your money where your house is" program, which encourages local investors in local redevelopment projects. In august, we hosted steve whitman at a workshop in laconia during which he introduced audience members to the notion of permaculture. Plan nh was a sponsor of raising new hampshire, a conference held in peterborough in october, which featured chuck mahron of strong towns and other nationally-known people. We liked the event so much we offered to have it be part of our line-up for 2016.”

“One way that plan nh raises awareness of the link between the built environment and the health and vitality of the community is by recognizing outstanding examples of projects right here in the granite state that have had or can have a positive impact. The annual merit awards recognized outstanding examples of sustainable planning, design, and/or development that included social responsibility and collaboration. In partnership with the nh housing finance authority (nh housing), plan nh is developing a database of examples that show what density does and could look like right here in the granite state. This will be useful for planners, developers, and municipalities as they plan for the new future we are living into.”

“Plan nh maintains websites that promote and introduce programs and activities across the state that relate to new hampshire's built environment. New hampshire housing approached plan nh with a proposal to fund a municipal technical assistance grant program, which we would administer. The purpose of the program is to provide funding to municipalities who wish to create or revise their zoning ordinances to make them more "housing friendly." the board agreed and an advisory board, made up of representatives from key related organizations around the state, met for the first time in november. The program launched january 1, 2016. A critical part of fulfilling our mission is to recognize students from nh who are studying in a field related to the mission. Plan nh has its own scholarship program, the funds for which are managed by the nh charitable foundation. The scholarship program distributes funds to students from new hampshire who are studying architecture, engineering, landscape architecture and/or other fields related to our mission in accredited schools across the country. The annual golf event was held at the pease golf course in portsmouth. Approximately 100 players registered in support of plan nh and our scholarship program. Plan nh participated in its first givingtuesday, a national fundraising event for non-profits.”