Our Impact

Strategic Intentions

• Serve as a community voice on environmental issues

  • Develop an annual advocacy agenda to advance and support key advocacy issues

  • Participate in local, state and federal lobby days

  • Connect community partners and public officials, with a priority in Edgewater, but also across the city and at the state and federal levels

  • Reach out and engage with elected officials toward advocacy goals

  • Participate in large-scale efforts to promote action on climate

  • Educate the public and become a repository of green information resources

• Advance tangible solutions for environmental challenges in our community

  • Together, model and implement initiatives in green building and infrastructure, waste reduction, sustainable transportation and renewable energy

  • Enhance biodiversity and resiliency by cultivating and maintaining local natural ecosystems

  • Become a model for other Chicago communities

  • Explore pilot projects, including creating a verdant circular economy

  • Create a data baseline and consolidate, update and maintain environmental measures

• Align program activities with available resources

  • Consider formalizing a leadership structure to ensure continuity, management of workload and provide further opportunities for involvement

  • Ensure equity, inclusion, environmental justice and anti-racism are at the forefront

  • Develop an annual expense budget to reflect program priorities

  • Identify an annual fundraising goal to match expense budget

  • Seek opportunities to raise organizational profile, expand email list and increase social media engagement and web traffic

• Provide opportunities and resources for direct action by community members

  • Continue the garden grants and tree-planting program

  • Continue clean-and-green days and invite more participation

  • Maintain stewardship of Osterman Beach dunes area and identify new opportunities to restore green space

  • Welcome new opportunities for direct action

• Focus on intentional partnership development to advance the above green initiatives

  • Scan Edgewater for potential partnerships with schools, block clubs, faith-based organizations, other nonprofits and businesses

  • Share new strategy and brand with current partners via one-on-one stakeholder conversations

  • Continue to be a resource to any organization and remain open to input from any individual or organization looking to bring environmental issues to EEC’s attention