June 6, 2023
PLAN is excited to formally announce its transition to a Worker Self-Directed Non-Profit (WSDNP). The transition comes as we celebrate our 10 Year Anniversary and was approved by full consensus vote by staff on May 23rd and by Board vote on May 31st. Check out the Board Resolution below for more information.
The shift to a WSDNP marks a culminating moment for PLAN. Since the summer of 2022, PLAN staff and board have engaged in internal discussions relating to our organizational structure. We wanted to sustain our longstanding investment in collaborative decision-making and staff leadership, which was at the time realized through our Co-Director Model, committee decision-making structure, and voting systems. We also wanted to take it further. Challenging ourselves to not simply perpetuate the dominant non-profit model, we sought out to create something that fit where we are currently as an organization and where we are going. Our discussions touched on how our organizational structure could lend itself to greater participation, buy-in, and democratic decision-making; how it could support us in more effectively realizing our mission and vision. We made adjustments to our current structure, imagined complete shake ups, and everything in between. Ultimately, we arrived at a model we, the PLAN Staff and Board, are confident in. We believe that this model will support PLAN in moving forward as an organization committed to extending our mission to our organizational practices. Additionally, we understand this model to have room for growth and flexibility so we are excited to continue to learn and adapt.
We invite our students, staff, faculty, partners, and supporters to learn more about our new structure. In developing this structure we took inspiration from the Sustainable Economies Law Center, The New Economy Coalition, and Resist.org. Overall we found that we were already doing many of the recommended collaborative practices, so we saw this shift as an opportunity to make it official. As we explain a bit more detail we want to make it clear that our programs remain unchanged. We will still host the annual Students for Zero Waste Conference, offer membership to college and university campuses, run the Students Taking on Oil and Petrochemicals Fellowship and support campuses through Atlas Zero Waste Planning…among other things! As we celebrate 10 Years of PLAN, our organization remains well positioned to support students in their efforts to challenge the linear consumption economy on and off their campuses. We do so from a place of financial stability and in deep relation with our students, member campuses, and the broader zero waste movement. Furthermore, this shift challenges us, as an organization, to model the transformative practices our work seeks to instill in students and throughout student-led organizing spaces and academic institutions.
With this shift comes internal changes. PLAN’s WSDNP model will dissolve the Co-Executive Director roles. The Co-Executive responsibilities are now carried out by a core administrative body led by PLAN staff (the Admin Circle), newly created staff positions (such as Staff Support Specialist and Director of Development), and a staff-led committee structure. This shift to a WSDNP aligned with the current Co-EDs announcing their intentions to transition out of the organization. You can read Faye and Ciara’s reflections here. This is a moment of celebration and growth for PLAN! Coupling the upcoming leadership transition with larger structural shifts within the organization, we are so excited about this new chapter. We are grateful for all the support we have and will continue to receive and we look forward to you being a part of our journey.
We, the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN), hereby recognize PLAN as a Worker Self Directed Non Profit. PLAN has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to worker self-governance. Furthermore, PLAN’s commitment to worker self-governance has been made concrete through the thoughtful realization of a robust set of policies and procedures. We are confident that this new organizational structure serves the best interest of the organization in its efforts to most effectively and efficiently advance its mission and vision. Additionally, we affirm our confidence in the leadership of PLAN staff to make day-to-day decisions and set longer-term policies and strategy for the organization and will maintain our position as trusted advisors and advocates acting in the best interests of the organization. Hereby, the PLAN Board of Directors resolves that the bylaws will be amended to reflect worker self-direction and endorse PLAN’s newly formed Admin Circle as the centralized, representative body for the organization, tasked with its maintenance in accordance with legal standards and best practices.
