Blog

  • Scenario Planning: The plan you hope you don’t have to use but you are glad to have when you do.

    Scenario planning is central to emergency management, insurance, and military operations. Should scenario planning be a part of your nonprofit planning cycle and minimize shocks to your nonprofit organizations? United States national elections often portend big shifts in multi-billion dollar spending priorities. The 2024 election means that Federal support for many community, urban, environmental, educational,…

  • Is your organization ready for fascism?

    By Kevin Essington, CEO, City Greener Strategies LLC Radical changes are coming. You were made for this. Now get organized for what is to come. The United States has narrowly elected a fascist and kleptocratic man and his supporters to be President until at least January 2029. The role of nongovernmental organizations under fascist regimes…

  • Building a network: you CAN do this at home (and in your community).

    Plastrik, Taylor, and Cleveland in their book “Connecting to Change the World” describe the value of networks and network-building in affecting social and environmental change. In it they suggest “Three Rules to Live By:” 1. Trust the network,2. Serve the network, but don’t wait for it, and3. Embrace vertigo. In 2024 I helped launch a…

  • “Impact Cycles:” The flywheel you can build for your organization.

    Last week I was excited, and a little nervous, to present at the Land Trust Alliance’s 2024 Rally, the national land conservation conference. I have attended six Rallies, and they are professional, inspiring, and fun! I have learned so much from experienced professionals at Rally over the years, could I rise to the challenge in…

  • Is Financial Sustainability Actually Good?

    I have worked with several nonprofit organizations to create a new strategic framework since I started my practice a year ago, and part of my work includes reviews of peer organizations’ financial information and strategic direction. I have reviewed the goals and impact of about 25 United States-based nonprofit organizations in this time, and I…