Resilient Activist Inc

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
We will have organized, fiscally responsible governance within our administration with adequate resources to support our programs and products. Our governance supports a diverse atmosphere of growth and learning for our board members, staff, and audience.

AUDIENCE AND OUTREACH
We will provide relevant high-quality programming and communication for healthy, inclusive environmental activism, create a safe space for community connection, and produce measurable, relevant, and innovative research to inspire our audience in the United States and around the world.

FISCAL STABILITY
We will be fiscally sound and have diverse funding sources that will balance and grow our infrastructure and audience.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
- Board education and implementation of sociocracy governance
- Recruitment of Board members and or volunteers with marketing and accounting subject matter expertise
- Hire Development and Operations Director - Completed February 2023.
- Website Redesign
- Completion of a board-approved formal DEI plan for 2023-24 implementation

AUDIENCE AND OUTREACH
- Improve online community engagement with more personal and educational virtual content and grassroots partnerships in the community.
- Design, develop, and publish research within the field of ecopsychology related to the efficacy of our interventions for resilience
- Expand and enhance our Mindfulness Resilience Training curriculum
- Expand and enhance our Four Steps to a Resilient Life program
- Expand and enhance our Speakers Bureau Program
- We are committed to increasing diversity across all areas - from our Boards and partners to volunteers, presenters, bloggers, and content creators - as well as our audience.

FISCAL STABILITY
- Completion of a board-approved formal Development plan for 2023-24 implementation
- Increase diversified funds, specifically grants and philanthropy, to support anticipated program and service growth and operational management (Executive Director, Administrative Assistant, Development and Operations Director).
- Host one large fundraiser focused on nature in the local Kansas City area
- Increase communication with and retention of individual donors.
- Creation of a recurring paid membership level structure and benefits

The Resilient Activist was founded and has operated with a voluntary working board since 2018. We have a robust knowledgable, engaged and dedicated team including our Founder and Executive Director, Board and Advisory Board members and Volunteers who bring diverse work and experience. In 2022 we began paying a small stipend to our founder for 1.0 FTE full-time Executive Director duties and hired a 0.25 FTE part-time Administrative Assistant for administrative support. In February of 2023, we hired a 0.75 FTE full-time Development and Operations Director. Additionally, we subcontract for marketing and media needs and have brought on a new board member with DEI subject matter expertise.

To date, we rely heavily on our dedicated and long-term volunteer working Board of Directors and Advisory Boards for in-kind hours donations for program and content development, and the remaining day-to-day operational functions not covered above.

Our board is actively adopting a sociocracy model of governance that seeks to create psychologically safe environments and productive organizations.

TRA also has a significant online presence through our website, social media accounts, YouTube channel, and our Mighty Networks Community with increasing visitors, members, and subscribers annually as well as sustainable and increasing program events and the number of attendees for our signature programming. We also have partaken in research partnerships with local universities to better understand the impact of our programming on psychological well-being for various audiences impacted directly and indirectly by climate change.

Since 2018 The Resilient Activist has served over 4,500 clients at our programs, events, and activities, with 1,200 in 2022 alone. Our programs are built around the Five Essentials for a Resilient World. We explore these concepts through Five Essentials for Earth-Care and Self-Care, as well as for Business. Our programs include:

Resilience Support: The Resilient Activist offers events and programs to address ecological grief. TRA provides access to a directory of Climate-Aware Therapists and mental health resources through our programs and research studies.

Speakers’ Bureau: Speakers’ Bureau online and in-person presentations provide uplifting and informational programs for groups and organizations. Presentations are offered in person and virtually and offer a wide range of topics from mindfulness to nature to environmental action.

Climate Café Gatherings: Based on training from the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America, our Climate Café events guide inclusive conversations about climate grief and anxiety in supportive and nurturing ways.

Visionary Activist: Through nature connection, guided meditations, and journaling this program offers insight into visionary activism imbued with tools for personal well-being.

Four Steps for a Resilient Life: Through journaling and small group conversations, these workshops guide participants to create a personalized activism plan that emphasizes self-care.

Five Essentials for a Resilient World: Workshops for a healthy mindset and way of being in the world: Reconnect to Nature, Respect all Life, Regreen our Planet, Revamp our Spending, and Replenish our Resources

JEDI Book Club: The Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Book Club offers a safe space for participants to develop an understanding of these concepts with a group of like-minded and open-hearted people.

Mindfulness and Resilience Training (MRT): This 10-week intensive is designed for activists to help them cope with the stresses of their work, build resilience in the face of adversity, and foster compassion for themselves and others over the long term.

Partnerships: We offer joint programming with a variety of organizations whose missions complement ours. Mindfulness groups, wilderness and nature organizations, environmental activist groups, mental health organizations, and educational communities.

Additionally, in 2022, TRA partnered with a doctoral candidate at Kansas City University to develop studies evaluating the impact of our MRT and Four Steps curricula. Study results indicate these curricula support the development of psychological resilience and adaptive coping skills.