Making Things Happen for the Common Good

Huron River Group opens its doors on January 1, 2020. We are a consulting firm that takes project ideas for the common good from concept to reality. Our customers are government agencies, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and the architecture, landscape architecture and engineering firms that serve them.

Every leader has had the experience of seeing an exciting master plan disappear into a drawer after the planning process is complete. We are here to make sure that doesn’t happen for our clients. Our team has significant leadership experience in the sectors we serve. We are skilled project managers, financial and data analysts, grant writers, fundraisers and public sector management professionals with graduate degrees in public administration, accounting and philanthropy. We are motivated by the public good, and we have the skills to get things done.

We like to be part of the early project planning team, influencing the design and programming to ensure a straight path between the plan, its construction and long-term financial and operational sustainability. Right now, we are working with the City of Hamtramck and the Hamtramck Public Schools to create the Hamtramck Parks Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that will synthesize two underused greenspaces into a vital, widely-used, financially sustainable park at the heart of the City. Paid parking kiosks will garner earned revenue and serve as a significant membership-driver. The operating plan lays out a path for major gifts, capital grants, public sector support and earned revenue sources, a doable approach for a highly distressed, densely urban community.

For those entities that have no internal capacity to move a project forward, Huron River Group provides implementation services, including project management, negotiating operating agreements, establishing new entities, executive searches, grants management and grant writing. We offer operational analyses and planning to improve capacity, such as strategic planning, governance reviews, earned revenue studies, and benchmarking.

We believe that projects for the common good can and should be financially viable. A well-designed project, one that builds in operational and financial excellence along with excellent design and programming, stimulates public support, charitable donations, and economic development.

Contact:

Karen Sikkenga, Principal karen@huronrivergroup.com (734) 480-1250 huronrivergroup.com