To Sustain our Democracy, We Must Embrace Civic Engagement
Bringing Schools, Churches,
Nonprofits & Business Together
What do these four segments of every American community have in common?
They’re some of the nation’s largest landowners, yet they’ve been left out of the greater debate on public land use, conservation and preservation. Moreover, many community initiatives put forth by individuals, businesses and institutions are siloed, despite their shared vision for the future. Simply put, their efforts are fragmented and lack scalability – which means they might help a handful of Americas but not everyone.
At smallMatters Institute, we break down these barriers, facilitating connection and collaboration to achieve stronger, more sustainable communities. With our Unite for Nature program, we’re establishing an umbrella movement that provides capital, technical assistance and land use best practices to these four large landowner groups, fostering sustainable partnerships and promoting excellence in nature management. We focus on key areas:
- Embracing the ideas that unite us
- Participatory democracy
- Philanthropy and social impact investing
As we work toward a national plan, we’ve developed a few proof-of-concept programs to determine what works, areas for improvement and how Unite for Nature can affect long-term benefits in every neighborhood, city, state and region across America.
How do we define a proof-of-concept program?
Proof-of-concept programs determine the feasibility and practical potential of various initiatives, as well as if they can be measured, replicated and scaled on a national level.
Digging In
Explore our proof-of-concept programs already in progress.
- Give the Gift of Nature
We’re reimagining how America values public school land as both an educational tool and a national strategic asset. Creating a national conservancy model for K-12 school lands is an investment in our children and the natural world they will inherit.
Learn more…
- Genesis2Fifteen
Church-owned land, like school property, is frequently underused but offers a wealth of opportunity to improve community aesthetics, enhance the worship experience and contribute to neighborhood economic development.
Learn more…
Stay tuned! We always have a new project on the horizon.
We Want to Support Your Vision!
Are you an educator, spiritual leader or professional with big ideas for the future? We’d love to hear more — and see if we can connect you with the right people, talent and capital. Contact us for more information.
The Environment: The Intersection of
our Natural and Built Worlds
The word “environment” often is defined as the natural rather than man made world or how humans impact the planet. However, there are many other environmental forms that impact our public, private, workplace, educational, and community spaces. Understanding what these environments are, as well as how they intersect, can help us better understand how people react and why the natural world is often a lower priority than the virtual ones we create.
Human beings often construct their own realities and then try to change the natural world to conform to their wishes– a process that is normally void of scientific evidence but rather based on wishful thinking that lacks both resilience and sustainability.
smallMatters Institute is an advocate of systems thinking — a combination of soft and hard science that leverages the powers of observation, experimentation, analysis, and continuous improvement to maintain a balance between the emotional and physical needs of people. Remembering that humans are still members of the animal kingdom and impacted by much more than food, shelter and clothing, we spend a lot of time imagining the world we seek, compare those hopes and wishes with what is real right now, and then storyboard what it might take to achieve the sustainable changes we seek.