Page 23 - UmRio Sustainability - Action Plan
P. 23

OPPORTUNITIES & RISK



                 2     Community  Pushback  and  Apathy  –  Favelados  may  need  to  prioritize
                       immediate needs such as food, housing, safety, and employment over long-term

                       sustainability goals or climate change resilience. Any efforts that do not address
                       favela  residents’  immediate  concerns  in  some  way  could  cause  resistance  or
                       apathy.


                 3     Detract  from  the  Core  Mission  of  UmRio  –  There  is  a  risk  that  an  effort  to
                       specifically address climate change resilience and integrate this into the existing
                       5 Pillars of UmRio may detract from their core work in promoting social justice
                       and reducing inequality. Additionally, the focus on climate change resilience and
                       sustainability could appear to create a broader mission for UmRio and make it

                       more difficult for them to maintain existing funding if donors think their efforts
                       are too ambitious, or they may have difficulties in attracting new donors if it is
                       not clear that this effort is wrapped into their overall mission and complements
                       that mission.


                 4     Implementation Challenges – Sustainability projects often require skilled and
                       trained  individuals  to  get  started  and  even  execute  long-term  planning  and
                       stable funding. Since non-profits usually don’t have much insight into their future
                       funding,  implementing  the  SAP  could  become  a  burden  and  risk  being

                       abandoned.


                 5     Partnership  Difficulties  –  Some  recommended  initiatives  require  building
                       alliances  and  partnerships  with  other  non-profits.  Successfully  building  these
                       relationships  could  create  difficulties  when  aligning  objectives  and  overall
                       expectations. Disagreements or misunderstandings could become struggles that
                       detract from UmRio’s mission and cost time, effort, and money.


                 6     Increased Metrics and Accountability – Integrating sustainability into UmRio’s
                       mission  adds  another  layer  of  metrics  and  outcomes  they  will  need  to  track,
                       analyze,  and  report  upon.  These  additional  metrics  and  measurements  could
                       require systems or skills that UmRio is not equipped with or will not have the
                       budget to provide to its employees and volunteers.


                 7     Dealing  with  Local  Gangs  –  There  is  a  risk  that  if  UmRio  begins  trying  to
                       improve infrastructure, increase access to power or internet, or build a physical
                       UmRio center, it could come into contact with the local gang that controls much
                       of Morro do Castro and controls explicitly the internet service provider.













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