No Town Hall meeting today. But the work continues!

[Jon Schull]

There is no town hall meeting today as your fearless leader vacations.   Our next meeting is in 2 weeks at 9am.   Our new guests will include film-maker Aviv Haim Green, Filmmaker at Eco No-Mads who has just begun crowdfunding a Samburu Restoration Initiative.  

Lest you think your fearless leaders are merely goofing off, I'd welcome any comments you may have on our explorations of ERA strategic options.  

Our discussions of ERA strategy are organically propagating from meeting to meeting (Steering, Development, Communications...and Membership in absentia).    

So this is an update on ERA's strategy work, along with links  that I urge my fellow strategy strategists to pursue.

We are currently pursuing two complementary strategy-development strategies

• backcasting (in which our heroes envision a future we want to see and then work backward to determine what we need to have done for that to become true).  
  We began this process during the Aug 5 Steering Committee Meeting (fathom summary below) 
  
  
• non-profit Business Model Canvas (BMC) process  (in which you hypothesise and then validate the answers to 10 fundamental questions about how a sustainable venture will work.  When you have validated answers you are a sustainable venture; until then you are a startup in search of a business model).
  

Following vacations and pre-emptive business, the Backcasting process should resume at next week's Steering Committee meeting.  

Meanwhile, I'd welcome feedback on my initial steps toward a BMC process.  This was discussed during yesterday's Development Committee meeting (Ana can you please provide the fathom?).  

One hypothesis I put forward is that an ERAfund of as little as $40,000 would help motivate and recruit Contributing Members.   A  question that arose in our discussion was whether $40,000 would be adequate.  Here is an exemplary proposal from Jonathan Ngangura for $4,000 that is I think is worth serious consideration. I speculate that collective evaluation,  feedback, approval and support of a proposal like this by Contributing ERA members would motivate and model other modest and actionable proposals as well as motivate more members to become Contributors.

The BMC process proceeds by testing such hypothesese and speculations through interviews with potential stakeholders and perhaps micro-experiments.  I'm starting with you all!  Feedback and alternative formulations are welcome. 

Backcasting Summary 

ERA Steering Committee - August 05

VIEW RECORDING - 96 mins (No highlights)

Meeting Purpose

Discuss ERA's strategic objectives and vision for the next 5 years, using a backcasting approach.

Key Takeaways

• ERA aims to be a credible membership alliance, offering benefits and support to members while channeling funding to impactful projects
• The organization seeks to leverage its collective expertise to develop comprehensive, innovative restoration projects and educational resources
• There's a focus on demonstrating economic viability of restoration methods to attract larger-scale investments and drive systemic change

Topics

Vision for ERA in 2031

• Become a trusted advisor for large-scale funders on effective restoration projects
• Develop expert think tanks to create educational curricula and act as consultants
• Successfully channel funding to projects, building credibility and infrastructure
• Create tools for impact measurement and validation of restoration efforts
• Support smaller, grassroots organizations with structuring and grant acquisition
• Demonstrate principles of stewardship and restoration through concrete projects
• Achieve stable revenue to support multiple staff and longer-term planning cycles

Themes Identified

• Shared understanding of bio-climatic interaction and efficacy
• Aspiration to be a community that learns, acts, and thrives together
• Desire to be a genuine force for inspiring, organizing, and effectuating planetary change
• Interest in leveraging capital flows for maximum impact

Strategic Considerations

• Need to identify ERA's unique leverage points and capabilities
• Importance of clarifying value proposition and communicating it effectively
• Acknowledgment of working within (and potentially challenging) existing economic systems
• Recognition of the need to integrate more holistic, indigenous perspectives into the work

Next Steps

• Continue the backcasting exercise in the next meeting, working backward from the 5-year vision
• Research backcasting methodologies to prepare for the next session

--

jsc...@EcoRestorationAlliance.org cell: 585-738-6696  

Co-Founder EcoRestorationAlliance: Restore ecosystems to restore climate.

Co-founder,  e-NABLE: volunteers worldwide making free, 3D printed prosthetics

Innovation Fellow, JMK Innovation Fund

[Jon Schull]

Hi Dee

I don’t recognize this account.  Have we met?

On Wed, Aug 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM Dee <dee...@gmail.com> wrote:

Greetings. I would like to be part of the next meeting.

Dee

[Johan Myrberger]

On the Strategy Musings

I browsed through the "strategy musings Aug 25" doc (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d2vtRfP-HxotFq1SJOvf7pg40GpoCAj0MsmZ6jEfkQs/edit?tab=t.0), and want to put forward some observations and question.

I have worked with many "business model canvases" in the corporate world, but I cannot recall I have seen a version for a non-profit. The links in the doc does not seem to lead to the actual canvas/model, is there a reference? (I googled and found a few different)

(Side note, my main objection to most business model canvases are that they do not really embrace a two-sided, or multi-sided, business model approach. But that's another conversation)


 - Isn't one stakeholder "the planet" or "the society" or something similar for the type of activity? Perhaps "unspecific and hard to address", but still important.

 - What is the main short elevator pitch for the "organization"? That is needed both to explain to people what it is all about, and I think it needs to be in the DNA of the business model, one way or another.

 - The members/co-creators are key. I think there are two types of interest from the members… A) "What can ERA do for me" and B) "What can I do for ERA". This is not fully clear I'd say

 - I believe ERA is a "community" of some kind (there are many community types, with different dynamics). Is there a canvas for "community impact and engagement model"?

Curious to learn more from the "strategy musings and related work"!

(Not clear who the person behind the doc is? Jon?)

Best regards
/Johan Myrberger

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[Jon Schull]

Thanks for the responses Johan, 

I'd love to pursue this conversation with you and I'm back from vacation Monday.

See below...

On Thu, 21 Aug 2025 at 14:47, Johan Myrberger <jo...@myrberger.se> wrote:

On the Strategy Musings

I browsed through the "strategy musings Aug 25" doc (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d2vtRfP-HxotFq1SJOvf7pg40GpoCAj0MsmZ6jEfkQs/edit?tab=t.0), and want to put forward some observations and question.

I have worked with many "business model canvases" in the corporate world, but I cannot recall I have seen a version for a non-profit. The links in the doc does not seem to lead to the actual canvas/model, is there a reference? (I googled and found a few different)

 

Here is one such: the "Social Business Model Canvas".

(Side note, my main objection to most business model canvases are that they do not really embrace a two-sided, or multi-sided, business model approach. But that's another conversation)

 

Right.  But this highly recommended series of short videos address that objection.  "If you have a multi-sided market, develop a canvas for each customer segment, staring with the most important"

https://www.youtube.com/@Startupsos
Videos by Steve Morris	Duration and Link	Notes	Auxiliary Videos
Business Model Generation with the Business Model Canvas	04:50	The point is to clarify and test your hypotheses before you invest too heavily in them
Business Model Canvas: Customer Segments	06:41	Start here. If you have a multi-sided market, develop a canvas for each customer segment, staring with the most important	Customer job, pain, gain: the Milkshake Value Proposition - YouTube
Business Model Canvas: Value Proposition Explained	03:52
		Customer Our Solution
			You have a startup idea - now what? Start with a Value Proposition canvas! - YouTube
			A Value Proposition Canvas Example - YouTube
			A Value Proposition Template to Capture your Value Proposition Canvas results - YouTube
			5 mistakes to avoid when Testing your Value Proposition Canvas

And so I've begun that process...

 - Isn't one stakeholder "the planet" or "the society" or something similar for the type of activity? Perhaps "unspecific and hard to address", but still important.

Indeed!  In my first sketch, the key Beneficiaries were indeed identified as "Earth, Earthlings and ERA members".   
In my subsequent "multi-sided" Business Model Canvases,  "Ecosystem / Communities Restored" becomes one of six customer segments.  (This is very much a work in progress.)

 

 - What is the main short elevator pitch for the "organization"? That is needed both to explain to people what it is all about, and I think it needs to be in the DNA of the business model, one way or another.I

Here's today's version 

"Degrading ecosystems are losing the ability to support water cycles that regulate climate and sustain life.  Accelerated restoration of healthy ecosystems can restore climate stability, preserve biodiversity, and provide better lives and livelihoods for all of humanity.  We know how to do this.  We can't do it alone. But we can all do it together."

 

 - The members/co-creators are key. I think there are two types of interest from the members… A) "What can ERA do for me" and B) "What can I do for ERA". This is not fully clear I'd say

That is indeed the critical question.   My short answer (to date) is:

Skills, community, synergies, recognition and project support that accelerates restoration impact.

Interestingly I think this answer is approximately wright for A and B.  What do you think?

 - I believe ERA is a "community" of some kind (there are many community types, with different dynamics). 

I agree. I think ERA is (or aspires to be) an impact network composed of people who collaboratively advance and implement the insight that ecosystem restoration is the best climate therapy.   The big question is how do we organize ourselves to make it happen?

 

Is there a canvas for "community impact and engagement model"?  

Again, let me know what you think of  "Social Business Model Canvas".

 Curious to learn more from the "strategy musings and related work"!

So let's talk!  I've preached this in the past but haven't practiced it before.  Your (and other's) experience and insights would be most welcome.

(Not clear who the person behind the doc is? Jon?)

Yup!

 

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[Jon Schull]

Adding another piece to this thread (and inviting input)...

This is strategy.txt is a  initial chat with a Claude AI app, tuned to Seth Godin's "This is Strategy"

Strategy.md is a (less rich) distillation by generic Claude with some additional methodological suggestions.

The key question (and this is a good place to discuss it): 

What benefits would make a monthly contribution to the ERA feel worthwhile?

• First access to funded collaboration opportunities (24-48 hour head start)?
• Priority matching when posting "help wanted" requests?
• Enhanced profile visibility on the platform (beyond just a rainbow)?
• Direct input on fund allocation decisions (while non-donors provide advisory input)?
• EcoFlix subscriptions?
• Access to exclusive Town Hall content (like Pete Corke's presentation which we can not re-distribute)?
• Explorer.land site (for place-based projects)?
• Priority listing in the ERA Public Directory?
• A google workspace account and an x...@myERA.org / x...@ERAhelpsearth.cool / ERAcools.earth / natureCools.earth  ?
• voting rights 
• on the disposition of ERAfund 
• on new member candidates
• Having your publications and blog posts featured in our newsletter?
• Posting rights in this mailing list?
• the ability to tax-deduct personal restoration project expenses 
  
• <YOUR AD HERE>

 

[Michael Pilarski]

Hello ERA,

I just read Jon’s attachment on THIS IS STRATEGY.  Excellent piece of work and I will apply the thinking to the Global Earth Repair Foundation. 

My perception is that all ERA members are dedicated to a common cause - Ecosystem restoration.  We all operate in small or large spheres, especially when it comes down to doing hands-on restoration work.  Talk is good, but talk will not restore the world.  Physical action is needed. But funders, communicators, advocates, networkers, etc are also needed.  ERA should include all these types of people, and more.

My current perception:

ERA could be divided into various categories.

* Board of Directors.  Very active.

* Active members.  People who attend town hall meetings and contribute to email discussions.

* Regular donors. Contribute financially but may, or may not, be active members.

* Members who are not active, but read posts.  ERA has hundreds of members who have only attended one town hall and do not regularly contribute to online discussions, but do read posts at least occasionally.

* Members who do not read emails and do not participate.  Members in name only, but their name on our list does help add to our credibility. 

I think it would be good to reward active members or donating members with some perks.  Figuring how to get us into a more active ecosystem would be great!

ERA has great potential.  It is one of the only international groups I know who is actively promoting ecosystem restoration as a solution to global climate change. 

I salute all of you, Good tidings,

Michael "Skeeter" Pilarski

Global Earth Repair Foundation

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.