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Executive Summary
Green Neighbors Restoration Project is a nonprofit that protects and restores the natural places in our county and the creek watershed that people depend on, and gets neighbors involved in taking care of them. We provide creek cleanups, native tree plantings and school field trips, with staff and volunteers working side by side.
Clean water, healthy trees, safe parks and clean air are not luxuries. They affect health, property values and quality of life, and neighborhoods with the least money often have the least green space and the most pollution. Real change happens when neighbors take part. Our program makes it simple for people to help, and gives them the training and tools to do it well.
In Year 1 we plan to serve about 600 volunteer visits and 400 children in education programs. Our Year 1 budget is about $123,000, growing to about $206,000 by Year 5 as we grow from one field and program staff member to three. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small amount set aside in savings.
We are asking the Meridian Community Fund for $40,000, as part of the $107,000 in grants and contracts we need for Year 1. The other $16,000 in Year 1 comes from donations, which we plan to grow to about $54,000 a year by Year 5. Grant money pays for field and program staff, equipment and materials, and the record-keeping funders require.
We will measure how many volunteers take part, how many hours they give, how many trees or plants we put in the ground and how many survive, how much trash or invasive plants we remove, and how many people take part in education programs. We will report results to our funders every six months.
Company Description
Green Neighbors Restoration Project is a nonprofit organization in Michigan. A 501(c)(3) public charity
Our mission. To restore and care for the natural places in our community, with the help of our neighbors.
How we started and what we have done. We began in 2022 when a group of neighbors started cleaning a creek that runs through our neighborhood. Since then we have held about 25 workdays with about 400 volunteers, planted 1,200 trees and removed 12 tons of trash.
What we do:
- Organize volunteer cleanups, tree plantings and habitat restoration, with training and supervision.
- Monitor water, plants or wildlife so we know what is working.
- Teach children and adults about the environment, with hands-on outdoor programs.
- Work with landowners, parks departments and neighbors to care for public land.
- Speak up for local environmental issues in ways that follow the rules for nonprofits.
Where we work. Saturday mornings at the creek park and weekday afternoons at partner schools
Our partners. The city parks department (land and permits), two schools, a scout troop and a local nursery that donates plants.
Our approach. Local people know their places best. We train volunteers, work with landowners and public agencies, and measure what we do, so we can show real results.
How we are run. A volunteer Board of Directors (a small group of community members who oversee the organization) meets regularly, approves the budget, reviews the finances and oversees the Executive Director.
Problem & Opportunity
Why this program is needed.
In our county and the creek watershed, many streams, parks and neighborhoods have trash, invasive plants, eroded banks or too few trees. These problems affect health, safety and enjoyment, and often fall hardest on neighborhoods with the least money. Public agencies do not have the resources to fix everything, and many residents want to help but do not know how.
Facts about our community. According to the city's tree canopy study, our neighborhood has far less tree cover than the city's wealthiest neighborhoods.
Gaps in the help that exists now:
1. Capacity. Parks and public land managers do not have enough staff to restore and care for every site.
2. Know-how. Volunteers need training, tools and supervision to do restoration properly and safely.
3. Access. Neighborhoods with the least green space often have the fewest programs.
4. Follow-up. Plantings fail if no one waters and checks them, so ongoing care matters.
5. Education. Many people do not know how their daily choices affect local water and nature.
What we have seen ourselves. Neighbors told us they stopped letting their children play near the creek because of trash and broken glass.
Who we serve first. Neighborhoods and natural areas with the greatest environmental need and the least access to nature, in the creek corridor and the two parks in our south side neighborhoods.
Products & Services
How the program works.
1. Volunteer workdays. Regular workdays for cleanups, tree and native plant plantings and invasive species removal, led by trained staff and volunteer leaders.
2. Training and safety. Volunteers receive a safety talk and the right tools for each project. Staff are trained in first aid and site safety.
3. Follow-up care. We water, check and report on plantings, so more of them survive. Equipment and materials cost about $14,000 in Year 1.
4. Monitoring. We take simple measurements, like tree survival, trash collected and water quality, so we can show results.
5. Education. School and community programs teach children and adults how local nature works and how to protect it.
How we will measure results. We record volunteers, hours, trash removed, plants and trees planted, how many survive after one year and the area restored. We share results with landowners, funders and the community. Our goals for Year 1: hold 30 workdays with 600 volunteer visits; plant 1,000 trees and native plants and have 80% survive; remove 10 tons of trash; and reach 400 children in education programs.
Market Analysis
Where we work and who we serve.
We work in our county and the creek watershed, especially the creek corridor and the two parks in our south side neighborhoods.
How we know people need this. More than 400 people volunteered last year, and the parks department asked us to take on two more sites.
How many we will reach. In Year 1, about 600 volunteer visits and 400 children in education programs. Tree canopy maps, water quality reports and the number of residents within a short walk of a park are common ways to size the need, and the guide for this plan shows where to find them. As we grow from one field and program staff member to three, we expect to restore more land and involve more people each year.
How volunteers reach us. Schools, scout troops, churches, employers and neighborhood groups.
Competitive Landscape
Other help, and how we work with it.
- Parks departments and public land managers care for public land. We partner with them as a volunteer and restoration arm. The parks department has given us written permission to work at three sites.
- Land trusts and conservation groups protect land. We work with them and focus on neighborhood-level restoration and engagement.
- Environmental education groups run school programs. We partner with them and bring volunteers and field sites.
- Local government environmental offices fund and regulate. We follow their rules and share data.
- Neighborhood groups and friends-of-the-park groups are great partners. We offer them training and equipment.
What makes us different: trained volunteer leaders, follow-up care for every planting and partnership with the neighbors who live beside the sites
Marketing & Sales Strategy
How we reach people and build support.
Reaching people:
- Referrals from parks departments, schools, scout groups, churches and neighborhood associations.
- Flyers, social media and signs at project sites.
- Corporate volunteer days, which bring in many people.
- Word of mouth from volunteers.
Permissions and safety. We never work on land without the owner's written permission. We follow local rules on tools, plants and permits, and we use waivers and insurance for volunteer events.
Volunteers. Scout troops, church groups, corporate volunteer days, college students and retired people.
Raising money beyond grants. Donations are planned at about $16,000 in Year 1, growing to about $54,000 by Year 5, through a yearly giving campaign, business and community partners, a community event and online giving. Raising more of our own money means we depend less on any one grant or contract.
Operations Plan
How the program runs.
How a project runs:
1. We choose a site with the landowner and agree on a plan and permission.
2. We prepare: tools, plants, safety plan and volunteer sign-ups.
3. Volunteer workdays, with a safety talk, training and supervision.
4. Follow-up care, checks and measurements.
5. A report to the landowner, funders and volunteers.
A typical workday. Volunteers sign in, hear a safety briefing, get tools and a short training and work in small groups for three hours. We finish with a snack and a count of what was done.
Safety. Volunteers sign a waiver, receive a safety briefing, wear the right gear and are never asked to handle hazards like needles, chemicals or unstable ground. We have a first aid kit and trained leader at every event, and a plan for weather and emergencies.
Privacy. Volunteer and participant information is kept private. We share it only with permission or when the law requires it, and funders get totals, never names.
Equipment. In Year 1 we buy about $8,000 in equipment (hand tools, a trailer or storage, safety gear, a water testing kit and a laptop), then about $2,000 to $3,000 a year to replace worn items.
Staff. One field and program staff member in Year 1, then two in Year 2, two in Year 3, three in Year 4 and three in Year 5. Staff do the planning, training and follow-up that make volunteer work safe and lasting.
Office work. Bookkeeping, insurance and reporting cost about $12,000 in Year 1.
Management & Organization
Who leads the organization.
Thomas Garcia, Executive Director.
The Executive Director leads the organization, raises money and manages grants and contracts, builds partnerships, oversees the finances and reports to the Board. Planned salary: $56,000 a year.
Field and program staff. Lead volunteer workdays, plan projects, maintain sites, train volunteers and keep records. One position in Year 1, growing to three by Year 5, at a planned salary of $38,000 each. Qualifications we look for: experience in conservation, parks or youth programs, strong group leadership skills and first aid certification.
Volunteers. Volunteers do the hands-on work, from planting and trail work to monitoring. Volunteer leaders are trained to lead small groups.
Board of Directors. A five-member board including Tanya Thompson, who brings nonprofit finance experience.
Money management. Grant and contract money is tracked separately so we can show each funder exactly how their money was spent. An outside accountant reviews our books every year.
Milestones Narrative
Our goals and how we will measure them.
Year 1:
- Sign agreements with our first landowners and partners.
- Hire our first field and program staff member and train volunteer leaders.
- Serve about 600 volunteer visits and 400 children in education programs.
- Reach our Year 1 goals for area restored, trees planted and survival.
- Stay within a balanced budget of about $123,000.
Year 2: two field and program staff; budget of about $163,000.
Year 3: two field and program staff; budget of about $164,000.
Year 4: three field and program staff; budget of about $204,000.
Year 5: three field and program staff; budget of about $206,000.
Over the five years: grow to three field and program staff, add sites and school programs and build a core group of volunteer leaders. Equipment and materials costs grow about 5% a year.
How we will check our results. We record volunteers, hours, projects, area restored and plant survival. We report to landowners and funders every year. Staff and the Board review results.
Funding Request
What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $40,000 from the Meridian Community Fund for our first field and program staff member's salary, plants and tools and the costs of reporting results, for January through December 2027. Year 1 budget: about $123,000, planned to balance. Year 1 money coming in: - Grants and government contracts: $107,000 (this request plus other grants we are applying for). - Donations: $16,000. Year 1 costs: - Executive Director: $56,000. - Field and program staff: $38,000. - Equipment and materials (tools, plants, safety gear, water testing kits, supplies): $14,000. - Office costs (bookkeeping, insurance, reporting): $12,000. - That is about $120,000 in costs. The remaining $3,000 or so goes into savings. Equipment we buy once at the start (about $8,000) is paid from startup money, not from the yearly budget. The next five years. Our budget grows from about $123,000 in Year 1 to about $206,000 in Year 5 as we grow to three field and program staff. Grants and contracts are planned at $107,000 in Year 1, $139,000 in Year 2, $131,000 in Year 3, $161,000 in Year 4 and $152,000 in Year 5. Donations grow from $16,000 to $54,000, so grants become a smaller part of our budget over time. Savings. We start with about $16,000 of our own plus $55,000 in startup support, and we add to savings each year. Important for grants. Many environmental grants pay in installments or after a report, and some require matching funds or volunteer hours. We plan for that and keep careful records. Help we receive that is not cash. Donated plants and tools, volunteer hours, partner land and corporate volunteer days are a real part of what we do and are not counted in the budget above. Many funders accept volunteer hours as a match, at a standard value per hour. Donated land access and storage (about $3,000 a year), about 2,500 volunteer hours a year and donated plants If we are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status. One way is a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that agrees to receive grants for you and pass them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Many funders accept this. Another way is to start smaller: partner with a parks department or friends-of-the-park group, hold a few workdays at one site and track results carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants and contracts easier to win.
Appendix Notes
Documents to attach with this proposal:
- Your IRS 501(c)(3) letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current budget.
- A list of your Board members and what they do.
- Letters of support or permission from landowners, parks departments and partners.
- Your site plan, volunteer waiver, safety plan and insurance.
- Photos and numbers from past projects, if you have them.
- Your volunteer numbers from the past year, if you have them.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff. If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.
The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Staff pay: Executive Director $56,000; each field and program staff member $38,000, growing from 1 to 3.
- Equipment and materials about $14,000 in Year 1, rising about 5% a year
- Office costs about $12,000 in Year 1, rising about 4% a year.
- Grants and contracts set so each year's budget balances with a small amount saved.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your organization's real budget.