Creating Impact With Limited Resources

In the past month, I’ve transitioned from urban planning in the public sector to the peer-to-peer fundraising world at Plenty. Before this shift I worked on countless planning projects that involved the studying of urban vacant lots and the techniques that can be used to stabilize these hazardous parcels through greening and landscaping treatments. And while the connection between vacant lots and nonprofit fundraising may not seem intuitive at first, after reflecting on some of the best practices and lessons learned that came from my work, the parallels between both types of organizations became increasingly obvious.

Vacant lots can pose a variety of challenges to communities ranging from crime in abandoned buildings to the negative impact that continued disinvestment can yield on property values and neighborhood stability.