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This Month's topic: Greening Your Nonprofit
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| This
Month's Topic: Greening Your Nonprofit |
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Sites of the Month
Each
month, this area provides with a number of my favorite and most helpful
sites regarding the topic of the month.
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Management Tip of the Month
Each issue, I start with a
discussion of my management perspective on the month's topic, and give
you a few hands-on ideas to consider.
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Recommended Publications
Here, I provide you with my
recommendations on the materials available that can help you
become more mission-capable in the area of Greening Your Nonprofit.
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Technology
I provide you with some good
ideas for uses of tech to better your organization in the area of Greening Your Nonprofit..
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Marketing Tip
So much to say, so little space to
say it.....
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Next Issue
In May, we'll turn to an area undergoing a lot of interest----again: New Ideas In Social Entrepreneurship
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Past Issues:
You can see the topics of past Mission-Based
Management Newsletters, and then view those that are of
interest to you, by scrolling to the bottom of the newsletter, or by clicking here. |
Websites of the Month
Here are my recommendations for websites
of interest on this month's topic: Greening Your Nonprofit:
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Management Tip of the Month
Greening Your Nonprofit
I would imagine that most readers recycle
their trash, don't litter, and try to conserve energy at home. At your
nonprofit, you may also have recycle bins, and certainly look for ways
to cut energy usage as a cost cutting method. But have you made an
organizational commitment to reducing your nonprofit's carbon
footprint? Have you talked about the many, many ways you can help in
the effort to stem global warming and use energy more responsibly.
You should.
It's the right thing to do. It's the smart thing to do. It's how responsible organizations are acting.
What got me started thinking about this was two things. First, late
last summer my wife and I moved to a new community and new house, with
different energy usage and costs. We have options here that we are
exploring to generate our own electricity (wind and solar), and are
really looking at the way we use energy. At the same time, Goodwill
Industries International began a long term process to "Green" Goodwill,
which includes a wide array of impacts in the hundreds of communities
where Goodwill works. I sit on Goodwill's board of directors and thus
have been able to see firsthand the large number of opportunities that
are there to be a good citizen, to help our environment, and to save
money as well.
With both of these events going on, I began to look at what other
nonprofits are doing---and it's a lot. You should think about this as a
community effort, and get your fellow nonprofits involved. Don't invent
the wheel here, there are lots of guides (see the links above) and
books (take a look below). And, there are certainly energy experts at
your local utility, mayor's office or state department of energy or
environment who can help you.
But what you don't want to do is just the same old energy audit and be
done....that's not enough. Look at all your processes, people, and
usage. How do buy, use, and recycle your paper, your electronics, your
energy?
And, once you develop your plan, multiply the effectiveness of your results: Urge your staff, their families, your board and their
families to begin doing the same things at home.What about your staff?
Can you offer training to them about how they can help and do the same
in their homes and neighborhoods?
Environmental awareness and care is everyone's issue, including your
nonprofits. Take a look at what others are doing, start talking about
this at the staff and board level and get going. And, if you already
have a program, remember to include regular reviews and updates: new
ideas, new technologies abound in this arena.
If
you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing,
and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at www.missionbased.com.
Check them out--they're free.
And, remember to take a look at the Mission-Based
Management Blog.
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Print Resources
My recommendations for texts and other
readings on Greening Your Nonprofit:
It's Easy Being Green: by Crissy Trask
Green Business: A Five-Part Model for Creating an Environmentally Responsible Company, by Amy Townsend
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Technology Tip
Greening Your Nonprofit...and Technology
When
we talk about green tech, some people cringe. We worry about green
waste (the metals and toxins inside your computer, and other issues.
These are things a green nonprofit should worry about, and there are
ways to help. Let's look at some simple ones to start with.
1. Discard of your computers, printers, and servers responsibly.
Nearly all communities have computer and tech recycling centers. Find
out where yours are and use them. More importantly, urge your board,
staff, and the people you serve to use them as well.
2. Recycle your printer cartridges.
Most inkjet cartridges can now be recycled at your local pharmacy or
office supply center. If yours can't be recycled, the next time you buy
printers, take this issue into consideration. Not only do you help save
the planet, you save money.
3. Set your computers to turn off their monitors sooner. Saves energy and the screens themselves.
4. Use both sides of any paper you use. I know a lot of my printing is not "final" and I can use the other side with a little effort.
5. Read more on your screen, less in your hand.
If you have multiple drafts of documents, mark them up on your screen.
This is hard for me: I like to have copy in my hands, but it really can
save a lot of paper, ink, electricity and money to adapt to review and
update in "soft" copy. NOTE: for some organizations, this may require a
bit of an upgrade to better screens. The good news here is that new
flat panel screens are really energy efficient---and easy on the eyes.
Don't stop here. Read the sites listed above for more ideas. If you use
your technology as responsibly for the environment as you do for your
mission, and everyone will be better off!
If
you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing,
and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at www.missionbased.com.
Check them out--they're free
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Training Schedule for Peter Brinckerhoff
Below you'll see the date, location, and
topics of public
training I'm
currently scheduled to do in the next few months. For more information
on a particular speaking engagement, get in touch with the contact
person listed in the right hand column, or email me.
For more information on my availability
throughout the next 12-18 months, available topics, sample agendas, and
fees go to www.missionbased.com/training.htm
| 4/1/08 |
Ft. Lauderdale |
Generation Change |
Community Foundation of Broward
Carrie Turner
cturner@cfbroward.org |
| 4/8/08 |
Akron |
Generation Change |
Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Susan Griffin
griffin@cfnpe.org |
| 4/10/08 |
Kohler, WI |
Generation Change |
Rehabilitation for Wisconsin
Rebecca Hildebrandt
Hildebrandt@RFW.ORG |
| 4/15/08 |
Los Angeles |
Generation Change; Recruitment and Retention |
NISH Annual Conference
Grant Harrison
gharrison@nish.org |
| 4/23/08 |
Ames, Iowa |
Generation Change |
Iowa Association of Community Providers
Hank Hanson
hhanson@iowaproviders.org
|
| 4/29/08 |
Kansas City, MO |
Generation Change |
Council on Philanthropy
Michelle Davis
executivedirector@kcphilnet.org |
| 5/08/08 |
Hartford |
Generation Change |
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Meher Shulman
mshulman@hfpg.org |
| 5/15-16/08 |
Savannah |
Business Development |
NISH
Grant Harrison
gharrison@nish.org |
| 5/20-21/08 |
Virginia Beach, VA |
Recruitment and Retention |
NISH
Therese Stein
Tstein@nish.org |
Marketing Tip
Greening Your Nonprofit and Marketing
So you go through the effort to make your organization greener, you
develop a plan, and work to implement it. What's the marketing benefit
of this? Two-fold. One: share the information you have developed with
other nonprofits and the community; Second: Take credit.
It's simple to do both: First, take your plan and turn it into a
nonprofit greening guide for your community. Send it out by email (not
paper!) to every nonprofit in your community, local foundations, the
United Way, etc. Let people know you are on to this issue, and a leader.
Second, for everyone in your organization, have their email signature
include some environmental idea. For example, the staff at Goodwill
Industries International have a tag on their email signatures that
says "Consider the environment before printing out this email."
Remember that there are consumers, funders, and volunteers that want to
associate with green organizations. If your nonprofit goes green (or
greener) let people know and they may well be more interested in
helping you in your mission efforts!
If you found this hint helpful, there are
lots more management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the
"Ideas" section at www.missionbased.com.
Check them out--they're free.
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Future Topics for
The
Mission-Based Management Newsletter....
| May |
New Approaches to Social Entrepreneurship |
| June |
Leadership Development |
| July |
Technology Planning |
| August |
Vision, Mission, Values |
| Send me your topic suggestions at: peter@missionbased.com |
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Top
You asked, so here they are:
Past Single-Topic Issues of the Mission-Based Management Newsletter...
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Copyright
2008, Corporate Alternatives, inc.
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