Search

Donald Trump’s promise that he would bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., come hell or high water, was amongst many reasons why he won last week’s presidential election in a stunner. Manufacturing output, however, has actually surged in the U.S. over the past generation; it’s just that as a country, we do not make cheap stuff anymore. In addition, sophisticated technology and increased automation, especially within the automotive sector, together have made a huge contribution to the decline of manufacturing employment here in the U.S. The end result has been the long stagnation of wages, which have frustrated many Americans.

Nevertheless, if Trump gets his way and he builds that wall, or even succeeds in only launching his other immigration ideas, wages across many sectors could rise in the short term. After all, if millions of undocumented immigrants leave, the result will be a far more difficult hiring market for employers – many of whom are already worried, according to a recent Bloomberg report. The flip side for many companies is that if revenues cannot keep pace with increasing wages, then many hiring managers could decide to keep head count low - hurting more families in the long run.

With the national unemployment rate dipping below 5 percent, many companies are now having a difficult time finding good help. There is one big caveat, however; the competition for workers is mostly within sectors requiring either low-skilled labor or highly skilled employees. For the vast majority of Americans who are searching for work somewhere in that vast middle range, competition for that coveted job is still fierce. Turnover is currently high in several sectors, including retail. Hence many chain stores have started hiring for the upcoming Christmas season as early as this summer, even with the offer of a free lunch during shifts, as highlighted by the Wall Street Journal.

What about the wall itself? Do not expect a green-lighted border wall separating the U.S. and Mexico to cause any economic stimulus. Construction companies are thriving, with the result that unemployment within this industry remains under 6 percent, compared to over 27 percent in early 2010. The need to pay high wages in order to plan and develop such infrastructure in remote areas, which already serve as an effective natural and geological wall, will dampen enthusiasm for a project that could cost as much as $12 billion to build.

As Americans await “Trumponomics” with fear, cautious optimism, or with an “I told you so,” the stubborn fact is that this country will still depend on the service industry as the foundation of its economy. A tight labor market may provide some temporary relief for workers in this sector discouraged by low wages. But in the end, more reforms are needed if employees working within this sector will feel as if they have a stake in the U.S. economy.

Image credit: Ken Lund

 

By Denise McGuigan

Think about the last time you went out to eat. Did you choose the restaurant based on your cravings, or based on how sustainable the place claimed to be? While we may stand in grocery store aisles agonizing over product claims, do we hold our eateries to the same level of scrutiny?

From years of experience working in bars associated with high-end restaurants, I can tell you first-hand how much preparation goes into setting up for each service: fruit must be cut, juices pressed, silverware cleaned and polished, liquor bottles combined. There is often a disconnect between product aesthetics and how much waste is generated. For example, limes are cut each shift and often thrown out by the end of the night. This cuts their shelf life from a minimum of three days to less than 18 hours. Lime and lemon juices are often tossed within a couple of days to “optimize freshness,” even though pasteurized juices actually have a shelf-life of more than a month.

Can Restaurants Be Sustainable?

But sustainability is about more than just waste. The Sustainable Restaurant Association categorizes sustainability into 14 key areas, ranging from the sourcing of food, to employee and societal impacts, to environmental considerations like waste, water stewardship, and energy efficiency.

Restaurants are the most energy intensive commercial buildings in the U.S., consuming ⅓ of all U.S. energy used by the retail sector.  Chains like McDonalds and Chipotle are making strides overseas in terms of using renewable energies, but American restaurants, in many ways, are still catching up. It is difficult for existing restaurants, especially within larger buildings, to access renewable energies, especially depending upon the state in which they operate. Even so, some American restaurants are paving the way. The San Francisco-based small chain eatery, The Plant Café, not only uses entirely organic foods and packaging, but also generates its power using clean energy sources.

The average food service facility uses 300,000 gallons of water per year, from food preparation, to heating and cooling, to sanitation. That’s not even including water service for guests. Many restaurants in California only serve water to guests on an as-requested basis. This one change can conserve thousands of gallons of water each year. However, some restaurants may equate this with a lack of customer service.

Think Before You Yelp

In this era of Yelp where optimal quality is key, and the word “yes” is overused to meet guests’ needs, how can bars and restaurants find a balance between maintaining ratings, limiting waste, and conserving resources? When a guest complains about a dish, it is usually replaced, and the original unsatisfactory food is discarded. And, the more egregious waste occurs before you have the chance to send it back: nearly 10 percent of purchased food is discarded as a result of spoilage, wasteful preparation techniques, or restaurant errors.

For many restaurants, this wasted food will end up in the local landfill. In fact, 15 percent of each local landfill is comprised of food discarded by restaurants, with a total of 33 million tons of food wasted each year in the U.S. To lower this percentage and redirect food sent to landfills, a rising number of restaurants take advantage of composting programs, a great foundation for closing the loop on wasted food. Although composting requires that food waste is collected and hauled to the proper facility, associated fees are often lower than the hauling fees for recycling or garbage pickups. And, about 60 percent of U.S. restaurants currently recycle. In most communities, landfilling carries the highest fees of the three disposal options, so programs that support the diversion of waste provide economic, as well as environmental, rewards.

What About People?

Tipped employees generally make $2.77 per hour. If no one tips adequately for their services or sits in their section that day, these employees cannot make ends meet. I have only worked in one restaurant that offered benefits and paid vacation (though that only came after working there more than a year full-time). Many restaurants do not offer such luxuries. However, one restaurant is making huge strides in employee benefits. Satchel’s Pizza, a Florida-based restaurant, focuses on the value its employees bring to the table (pun intended). Satchel’s employees receive an I.R.A., paid vacation time, profit share bonuses, massages, staff meals, and (drum roll please) a living wage of $15 per hour. Plus, the wait to get in can be up to an hour. Other restaurants may need to take a slice out of Satchel’s handbook.

While restaurants may still fall behind in terms of livable wages, many embrace “farm-to-table” mentalities, locally sourcing food from farmers and fishers committed to justice, sustainable methods, and environmental stewardship. Chez Panisse, Restaurant Nora, and Blue Hill, are great examples of restaurants valuing locally, sustainably sourced, organic ingredients, with conservation practices in place. Not only does the “farm-to-table” concept ensure sustainable sourcing of food, but it also helps farmers and fishers to thrive financially by cutting out the middle man and developing a more personalized relationship with the restaurant.

Your Vote Matters

This generation goes out to eat more than any other. While this may offer opportunities to share time with friends and loved ones, should we feel good about going out to eat where there is as much disposable packaging waste as food, where there are no recycling or composting collection bins, where unsustainably sourced dishes are on the menu, or where food is wasted to keep ratings up? In a time when every diner is an instant food critic with the tap of a key on a smartphone, it is more important than ever to vote with our dining decisions.

Restaurants like Plant Café, Satchel’s Pizza, and many more like them, have proven that restaurants can incorporate sustainable practices while maintaining excellent guest reviews and satisfied employees. With hundreds holding memberships to the Sustainable Restaurant Association, success stories are part of a growing trend. While these restaurants comprise a small percentage of establishments in a sea of competition, their customers are voting for the values that matter to them. The next time you Yelp, keep in mind the best and worst outcomes for the restaurant, its employees, and the environmental resources at stake.

Denise McGuigan is pursuing her Master's in Sustainability from Wake Forest University, planning to work in conservation to preserve biodiversity. Growing up on Long Island, NY, she has always been interested in coastal ecosystems and the outdoors.

Image credit: LA Foodie, Flickr

 

It's a common image this time of year: The horn of plenty overflowing with produce — a symbol of American prosperity and wealth that is most visible in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

Yet, even in this land of plenty, some 42 million people struggled to find enough nutritious food to eat last year. Meanwhile, an estimated five to six billion pounds of food was left in fields or tossed in landfills to rot.

"We have this crazy paradox of food going to waste yet people going hungry," Feeding America's Ross Fraser said. "Something we lose sight of in America is that food is a finite resource. There isn't just food forever, for all people, anywhere you want it."

Beyond the humanitarian implications of our wastefulness, there are also economic and environmental costs that are becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

Americans waste an estimated $165 billion worth of food each year, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. That comes out to between $1,350 and $2,275 for the average household of four.

Then, there's the environmental cost.

"The No. 1 item that goes into landfills is food," Fraser said, "and when food spoils and ferments, it turns into methane gas, which is a pollutant."

Methane has a warming potential 21 times that of carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Researchers in the U.K. have estimated that eliminating food waste could have the same impact on emissions as removing one out of every five cars from British streets.

Clearly, then, food waste is a problem. The question is what we are to do about it. Waste happens at every stage of the supply chain, from the field all the way to the landfill. However, the majority of waste happens at the very end of the supply chain, with consumers. With the holidays just around the corner, here are some simple, practical tips for reducing one's food footprint:

Plan ahead

It's often said that going to the grocery store on an empty stomach is a bad idea, but going without a plan is even worse. Though meal planning takes an extra investment of time, the benefits — both in terms of money saved and conscience spared – are more than worthwhile. Here are some helpful tips to get you started down the right path.

Eat ugly 

The so-called "ugly fruit and vegetable" movement — which aims to alleviate waste by convincing consumers to purchase less-than-perfect produce — gained a major victory in July, when Walmart announced it would begin selling blemished apples in 300 Florida stores. By supporting these and other efforts, consumers can drive demand and build larger change in the food system.

Think small 

Cooking dinner for two? Don't make a casserole that could feed nine. Being thoughtful about portion sizes and not cooking more than you need is another way to avoid waste. Have a recipe you need to scale, but not a mathematician? Check out this useful recipe calculator.

Mind the dates 

Nine out of 10 Americans have needlessly thrown away food because they didn't understand the dates on the packaging, according to the Food Marketing Institute. Educating oneself about America's Byzantine date labeling system — and not throwing away perfectly food before it's gone bad — is another step you can take to reduce waste.

Practice safe storage 

Much waste can be prevented by simply storing things properly. Placing ingredients in air-tight containers, separating different types of fruit to avoid spoilage or freezing leftovers and excess ingredients are simple, but often overlooked, ways to reduce one's food footprint. For more ideas, check out this useful guide.

Compost before you toss

If you have inedible food waste like eggshells and vegetable scraps, consider composting it instead of tossing it in the garbage bin. Doing so emits far fewer quantities of greenhouse gas. It will also make your garden very happy. If you need a primer on the topic, check out these great resources from the EPA.

Support Your Food Bank 

Cleaning out your pantry? Before you toss those canned beets, consider donating them. If you aren't sure where to go, you can find the food bank nearest you by consulting Feeding America's interactive directory.

For more practical tips on how to reduce food waste, visit www.savethefood.com.

Image credit: Circe Denyer. www.publicdomainpictures.net

The hydrogen economy just got another nudge forward last week, from a little known Energy Department program called BIRD Energy. That's short for Binational Industrial Research and Development, an initiative that has funded partnerships between U.S. and Israeli innovators since 2009. The latest round of BIRD Energy funding included five grants, one of which went to Parajito Powder, an Arizona company that makes low cost catalyst systems for hydrogen fuel cells.

Better and cheaper hydrogen fuel cells

Not too long ago, skepticism dominated the idea of an economy powered by fuel cells, running on zero-emission hydrogen fuel.

Part of the problem is that hydrogen is still sourced mainly from natural gas. That is beginning to change. Renewable sources are emerging, including biomass and water, which can be "split" by an electrochemical reaction. That energy can come from any renewable source, including solar power, wind power, or tidal power.

The other part of the problem is cost. Fuel cells don't burn fuel like an internal combustion engine. They generate electricity by a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. That reaction requires a catalyst.

This schematic shows the complexity of fuel cell systems, as incoming hydrogen (left side) reacts with incoming oxygen (right side). The only byproduct is water (right side):

Each component of the system provides an opportunity for improving efficiency and cutting costs, especially regarding the catalyst.

Platinum has long been the gold standard for fuel cell catalysts, which is where the whole thing runs into trouble. Platinum is expensive, and the supply chain is vulnerable to price swings on the global commodities market.

 

Arizona meets Israel

Research teams around the globe have been hammering away at the precious metals problem, and that's where Parajito Powder comes in (coincidentally, parajito is Spanish for "little bird"). The company has been developing a holistic, bottom-up approach to designing catalytic systems.

Its products, called Engineered Carbon Supports, are designed to provide for high efficiency hydrogen fuel cells with a lower platinum load.

Typically, lower levels of platinum undermine the durability of a catalyst. Parajito has apparently solved that problem. Here's the rundown from the company:

Pajarito Powder’s ECS products provide vastly improved carbon corrosion resistance, are inexpensive to produce and can be readily scaled for high-volume manufacturing, all conditions ultimately necessary for cost-effective, widespread fuel cell adoption.

In addition, Parajito foresees that its engineered approach forges a pathway for doing away with platinum altogether.

The BIRD Energy funding will pair Parajito with Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, with the goal of pushing down the cost of catalysts even further.

That partnership will avail Parajito of the expertise at the school's Grand Technion Energy Program, which hosts the Hydrogen Technologies Research Laboratory.

The global hydrogen economy collaboration

As for why not simply hook Parajito up with resources here in the U.S., the BIRD Energy funding stream is designed specifically to forge global energy alliances beyond the conventional petrodollar matrix.

BIRD Energy kicked into gear under the Obama Administration but it was authorized under the Bush Administration in 2009, as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Hydrogen has the potential to be the prime hub in the energy independence wheel, and not only for the U.S. economy. Renewable energy, biomass and water are resources available to almost every country, so hydrogen provides the potential for unchaining the global economy from reliance on a relatively small number of petroleum-exporting nations.

Since 2009, BIRD Energy has funded 32 projects with a total investment of $26 million.

Along with Parajito Powder, the other U.S. companies included in the new round of funding are Dynamis Solutions of Nevada, pairing with BrightSource Industries on a concentrating solar project; POET Research of South Dakota pairing with CelDezyner on next-generation biofuel, and Yarotek PR of Florida pairing with Solview Systems on a rooftop solar project.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University also received funding for an energy efficiency project with the Israeli company Waves Audio.

Trump or no Trump...

Clean tech observers have been on edge about the future of U.S. energy policy under the incoming President Trump. Based on his campaign pledges, the future of Energy Department funding for clean tech projects does look pretty gloomy.

However, the clean energy transition has achieved critical mass globally. Regardless of the direction the Trump Administration decides for the Energy Department -- including whether or not the agency will exist at all -- clean tech R&D will continue apace elsewhere.

More importantly, the BIRD program illustrates the risks a Trump Administration would run by making wholesale cuts to Energy Department programs.

The Energy Department funds major research facilities and public-private partnerships all across the country, regardless of whether a state is red or blue.

Local business stakeholders are not likely to sit quietly by if those programs are cut, regardless of their political affiliation. The same goes for their representatives in government.

In deep red Oklahoma, for example, Republican Governor Mary Fallin recently went out of her way to praise the planned Plains & Eastern wind transmission project. The new line will bring power from Oklahoma wind farms to points east, with an assist from the Energy Department. Take that federal support away, and the project faces years of delay if not outright extinction.

Another key factor to consider is the global nature of energy research. The Energy Department funds research collaborations in countries all over the world. Disentangling those commitments is not going to be easy, especially with important allies like Israel.

BIRD Energy is just part of a broader, "robust" U.S.-Israel collaboration called the U.S Israel Energy Dialogue. Last spring, that collaboration was further cemented by the signing of an amendment to the Energy Agreement between the two countries.

The amendment pledges an expansion of collaborative clean energy efforts between the U.S. and Israel.

It's also worth noting that BIRD Energy comes under the umbrella of the BIRD Foundation, an initiative that dates back to 1977 with the mission of fostering U.S.-Israel technology collaboration.

Among the powerhouse U.S. companies to benefit from the program since 1977 are GE, IBM and P&G.

Stay tuned.

Images: photo via Parajio Powder; schematic via Parajito Powder.

Save

Save

Save

Save

 

By Adam Siegel

If you’re still thinking about your employees in terms of carrots and sticks, you’re missing a trick about company culture — and you could risk losing some of your top talent if you’re not careful. As the economy improves and Millennials start comprising the majority of the workforce, employers need to recognize that culture is now the currency of the contemporary business world.

Employees are expecting more from companies, and make no mistake, they are willing to jump ship if they don’t get what they’re looking for.

Gigantic companies like Amazon are particularly vulnerable when it comes to culture. Amazon has been under scrutiny for the double-edged experience it offers its employees. People love the innovative side of the company — the creative freedom and the lack of hierarchical rigidity — but they also find themselves pitted against each other or in highly political environments. The competitive side of Amazon’s culture can be punishing.

Other culture problems that can arise at large companies are organizational issues such as fragmented communication channels, a lack of clear goals, and poor, ill-defined leadership. Research by Gallup has revealed that 87 percent of working people are not fully engaged, and this lack of engagement can be devastating for companies.

In response, company leaders need to start viewing company culture on the same level of importance as their bottom lines — because the two have a surprisingly symbiotic relationship.

For companies looking to boost culture, retain top employees, and stay out of the red, internal crowdsourcing might be a silver bullet.

How Internal Crowdsourcing Can Keep Employees Engaged and Creative

A recent Deloitte survey found that retention is one of the biggest challenges business leaders are facing right now, with more than half of those surveyed describing the situation as “urgent.”

Luckily, the road to the future of work is paved with strategies to make employees feel valuable and reflect their sense of purpose. Internal crowdsourcing can go beyond feedback forms, annual surveys, and town halls to offer employees a sense of genuine creativity and importance at work. It can be used as a way to solicit and prioritize new innovative ideas, leverage the wisdom of the crowd to make future predictions, or task certain projects.

Here are a few tips for how you can implement internal crowdsourcing to build a better workplace community and encourage open communication:

1. Secure buy-in from the top down. Almost half of organizational changes (often) fail for one simple reason: No one is effectively driving and navigating the change from the top. Before you introduce internal crowdsourcing in your company, set it up for success by involving your executives from square one. When executives are visible supporters of an initiative, employees will — subconsciously or not — begin to mirror those feelings themselves. Soon, this mentality will trickle down through the rungs of your organization.

2. Bring external projects into the fold. You’ve seen other companies such as Doritos experience success when they consult their external crowds, but consider moving these headliner projects to your internal team. It’s often your employees — the people who know your company from the inside out — who can come up with the most inventive and feasible ideas.

3. Encourage employee creativity. The key to successful internal crowdsourcing is to make it a legitimate and valuable way that your employees can contribute to the good of the company. Don’t make it extra credit; let people know that they can spend real time on these projects and that their ideas and feedback are vital parts of the company’s forward motion.

4. Sell your relevance. Innovation and trendsetting are powerful strategies for gaining competitive advantages in the marketplace. After conducting more than 1,200 interviews with CEOs across the globe, PwC found that nearly 80 percent of them believe their competitive advantage is fueled by innovation. Internal crowdsourcing can give you access to the creativity and diversity within your organization that you need to produce something truly new and send it out into the market.

5. Make every question actionable. The questions you ask employees should never draw confusion. Keep it actionable and effective. A well-done crowdsourcing initiative means the introduction of a new decision life cycle in which you ask for feedback and directly communicate to employees whether the feedback was implemented. It might feel uncomfortable to depart from a more traditional management style at first, but doing so is a fantastic way to keep employees involved and give them some skin in the game.

6. Go beyond monetary incentives. Many leaders make the mistake of thinking employees are driven by paychecks. Of course, money will make someone happy to a certain point, but it won’t necessarily keep your employees around for the long haul.

According to the 2015 Deloitte Millennial Survey, the biggest incentive that keeps people — especially Millennials — engaged is a sense of purpose. Employees want to know that the work they do positively affects the world and keeps the business’s wheels turning. They want to believe wholeheartedly in the mission of the company and feel that it reflects their own personal values.

Bring crowdsourcing inside and give your employees the power to effect change in your company. There’s no better way to create amazing company culture than by saying to your people, “We trust you. Show us what you can do.”

Adam Siegel is the co-founder and CEO of Cultivate Labs, an innovative tech company that has created a unique platform to help guide businesses’ strategies and inspire innovation through internal crowdsourcing. Follow Adam and his team on Twitter @cultivatelabs.

Image credit: Pixabay

 

By: Ben Bira

“What jobs can you get with a master’s degree in sustainability?” “Is sustainability a profession?” “Do you think sustainability might be a short-lived buzzword?”

I have been asked similar questions from friends, family, and professional colleagues during my time in graduate school.  I finished my MS in Sustainability and am currently pursuing a full time MBA; therefore, I am highly motivated to find answers to these questions.

My solution to answering these difficult questions for myself and others was to create a jobs board on sustainabilityleads.com and compile weekly sustainability jobs data from Indeed.com as a way to gauge how sustainability is trending professionally.  The "2016 State of Sustainability Careers Report" is my approach to make sense of the sustainability job market from November 2015 to November 2016.

Many jobs may fall under the broad umbrella of sustainability without carrying the word “sustainability” in their title or description.  For example, some would consider a “climate change policy analyst” position to be categorized as a sustainability job even though “sustainability” doesn't appear in the title or even the description.  Therefore, it is important to note that my conclusions are not reflective of jobs in the broad sustainability movement, but rather jobs in the niche sustainability profession that use the word 'sustainability.' Additionally, there are jobs that have nothing to do with sustainability at organizations that promote sustainability.  For example, an accountant for the Nature Conservancy might oversee payroll, but they play an important role in the overall mission of a sustainability-focused organization.

One aspect of my report was to focus on the location of these sustainability jobs.  Where should a job seeker look to find one of these niche positions?  Each week I looked at data from Indeed.com and recorded the top locations for jobs with 'sustainability' in the title.  After one year of data collection, I averaged the results to provide an idea of which cities were consistently at the top: New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta and Los Angeles respectively.

 

 

These are raw totals, not per capita, so it's no surprise my list includes bigger cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.  Perhaps a better way of demonstrating the sustainability job market is to consider the competition for available sustainability jobs in each city.  Dividing the total population of each city by the average number of available jobs shows that although New York City has the most average number of available sustainability jobs, it also has the second most people competing for those jobs at roughly 750,000 people per available job on any given week.

 

 

Washington D.C. leads the way with approximately 75,000 people per sustainability-titled job, indicating that there is less competition than in the other markets. While Seattle and San Francisco are known as sustainability hubs, try D.C. or Atlanta if you want your application to stand out.

Ben Bira created Sustainability Leads as a platform for sustainability research, careers, and resources.  He investigates current trends in Sustainability through the jobs board, resources page, personal interviews, and blog.  His research serves as a resource to new and existing professionals in the field.  Ben holds a Master of Science in Sustainability with experience as an EPA Environmental Scientist, LEED Consultant, and Sustainability Research Associate.  He is currently a MBA candidate with an expected graduation date of Spring 2017.  Connect with him on Linkedin or email him at sustainabilityleads@gmail.com. 

 

Image credit: Pixabay, Graphs courtesy Ben Bira 

Submitted by Kelly Eisenhardt

Getting a solid return on investment and helping communities grow through grant making and innovation is all possible with community foundations.

Annie Rhodes serves as the Director, Foundation Strategy in the MicroEdge division of Blackbaud. In this role, Annie helps philanthropic organizations leverage technology to optimize how they manage their giving and improve collaboration with funding partners and grant recipients. As part of this, Annie led the development of Blackbaud Outcomes™, a technology solution that helps funders and nonprofits track and measure the results of their giving programs. Prior to this role, Ms. Rhodes worked at the Ford Foundation where she managed grants in the Human Rights unit, including working with the Women’s Rights and International Human Rights portfolios.

What is the definition of a community foundation and what is MicroEdge + Blackbaud’s mission as it relates to community foundations?

Community foundations represent a specific location and receive funding from donors who want to pool funds to support their local community. The foundations are set up in a specific region, city, or town and are considered a central repository for information about the local community being served. The repository enables donors to hold their funds for intended allocations.

This ties very well with our mission to help get the funds into the hands of the community, to build supporting technology, and to help communities grow and flourish by getting the funds they need.

Are there resources available to help community foundations with obtaining grants and generating funds? 

The community foundation often plays the role of bringing together all the nonprofits in a region and identifies trends in a town or city, in addition to being a place for other community foundations to collaborate. They can also provide information about what is happening at a broader level in the nonprofit world. Across the United States there are nearly 800 community foundations and globally, that number is closer to 1800. Community foundations have existed for over 100 years and have gained popularity in the last 20-30 years. They are often the pulse and glue that holds a community together by understanding its needs and finding donors to help. 

When I joined MicroEdge six years ago, my experience was primarily in the area of private foundations. I quickly learned how community foundations focus on specific regions, cities, and towns. In doing so, I discovered that there is a community foundation focused on the county in New York where I grew up. Community foundations were closer to me than I thought. 

A resource we use quite often is The Foundation Center. They have great tools on their website and a wealth of knowledge to help advance philanthropy around the world.

What role does technology play in a foundation’s success? 

Technology enables community foundations to attract different types of donors and to share results with the world. It enables donors to track their dollars and grants. It connects nonprofits so that they may share their work and it empowers foundations to share their stories with communities and donors.

Many community foundations are leveraging the power of mobile technology. It assists them in staying connected to their work while out in the field. It also supports them in staying connected to the community. Donors can also view their contributions and get advice on specific causes in which to direct their funding all via mobile.

Technology provides the ability to shift dollars away from solely being viewed as charity to viewing donations as investments. Similar to how a retirement portfolio would be viewed, donations are aligned with performance, preferences, and results. Corporations, private foundations, community foundations, and individual donors can track donations as an investment that captures a solid Return on Investment (ROI), as far as their social impact.

Understanding the importance of aligning donations with ROI prompted us to release a tool this year that provides insight into giving. We do much of this work through our tool Blackbaud Outcomes.

This tool enables donors to review the risk profile of a donation opportunity, get status on goals and specific outcomes, and understand how performance is measured. This enables foundations to have a conversation much earlier in the grant cycle based on data and makes impact analysis a part of the review. It simplifies collaboration, and uses a sector-sourced outcomes taxonomy to get everyone speaking the same language and on the same page.

What is the Top 100 Community Foundations Assets List and how has your organization engaged with the foundations on the list?

The Foundation Center publishes a “Top 100 List of Community Foundations by Asset list” every year and of that list, 89 of the top 100 community foundations use our technology to manage their donor advised funds and fund accounting, such as the Rhode Island Foundation and the Austin Community Foundation.

By tracking the list, we are able to align with the trends on a year to year basis and determine what might need to be improved or highlighted based on the previous year. We’ve been able to determine that community foundations are growing significantly compared to other foundations. More and more local donors want to support and serve their communities and they are coming forward.

Following the list has helped us understand the market. The list highlighted a few key trends community foundations were experiencing.  It expressed the need for more marketing and communications, along with providing the capability for foundations to share their stories. This in turn demonstrated a need for us to help raise the profile of community foundations.

Can you highlight one of the foundations on the list and how they leverage best practices?

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)  is ranked the largest foundation in the United States. They’ve created a model that has enabled them to grow at a significant pace, along with becoming the largest grant maker in the U.S. In the last two years, they’ve replicated this model in a way that benefits areas outside of their community as well.

Part of their success is based on the ability to use key performance metrics and results to attract future funders. They’ve also embraced marketing and communication to create a message of innovation and technology.

SVCF educates the whole philanthropic community on how to iterate innovative grant making possibilities and new funding models based on iterations and improvements. In addition, they continue transforming their internal programs to determine the best and most efficient methods for running the foundation. 

What role does MicroEdge + Blackbaud perform?

We provide technology to community foundations to help reduce administrative burden of managing multiple funds, help foundations connect with donors, nonprofits, board members and other stakeholders and make the grant application process easier.

In addition to supporting community foundations, we also support the broader philanthropic space, or the “ecosystem of good” as we like to call it. Corporations and private foundations are also part of our (Blackbaud’s MicroEdge division) customer base. Blackbaud is the largest technology provider in the social good sector.

But technology is only one aspect of what we do, we also have focus groups and user meetings to discuss best practices. We hold a tech conference for the markets we serve. We work in partnership with communities, nonprofits, and private foundations, and 80%+ of our staff serve on some type of philanthropic board or volunteer with nonprofits in their spare time. We are heavily involved in educating the community and markets we serve. 

What two things would you recommend to community foundations looking for help and how can they learn more about your work?

One of the first steps we recommend is for organizations to evaluate their technology needs and understand how technology can play a role in reducing administrative burdens, gaining efficiencies, and streamlining processing times. It’s important for foundations to think about how technology can help them reach new markets and potential donors.

Next, leverage the data and reports that can be found at The Foundation Center. Review the Top 100 list and the interactive insights available. Review data submitted by other community foundations and if yours hasn’t submitted their data, do so. The Foundation Center provides great support for nonprofits looking for grants. It’s a free resource and available at public libraries.

Lastly, learn from other community foundations. Engage. Talk. Share best practices. Talk about what is working and what doesn’t work. Stay connected to other organizations and find out how to be of service.

Submitted by Kelly Eisenhardt

Corporations are often accused of emphasizing profits over people. Over the last decade, many have built programs in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to counteract those claims. Accusations continue to grow stating that the efforts are about protecting brands and not the people or communities in which corporations operate. The next evolution of CSR is on the way and its focus is on the global workforce and local communities.

Rachel Hutchisson is Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy at Blackbaud, a leading technology company that equips and connects the worldwide social good community, providing cloud-based and on premise financial, fundraising, grant-making and administrative software for individuals, nonprofits, foundations and corporations.  She is responsible for global corporate social responsibility (CSR), leading the company’s 3,300+ associates in efforts to serve and give both through professional and personal avenues. Ms. Hutchisson also serves on the Board of Directors of the Giving Institute, providers of the annual Giving USA study, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Learning to Give and the Coastal Community Foundation. 

What is Human Social Responsibility and how does it impact corporate social responsibility? 

Human Social Responsibility (HSR) is the shift in focus from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to a more people and community centric effort. By shifting from a corporate focus to a human focus, barriers are broken down with regard to who is at the heart of an organization and who gets a seat at the decision-making table.

How can companies that are further down in the supply chain apply these principles when their budgets and staff are limited?

I have a fundamental belief in my life and my work that good is for everyone.  Doing good can be wired into any organization, regardless of size. Looking specifically at companies, it’s important firms of all sizes are realistic about why they are building programs and what they want to accomplish, especially if resources are limited. 

There are many smaller scale projects organizations can take on. It might not be wiseto jump in and tackle a big carbon footprint project right away but, instead, start small with something like a recycling program. It could be as simple as implementing a bike rack program or maybe an energy usage project to find small ways to use less and be more efficient. 

Another thing to think about is not getting too caught up in acronyms and buzzwords. Companies that call these efforts CSR might create a problem in doing so. Language is an important signal and, sometimes, can create barriers. In this case, the acronym CSR puts the emphasis on the corporation and not on humans.

With more than 70% of the U.S. workforce employed by small and medium businesses, using terminology that denotes a faceless monolithic corporation isn’t relatable or even realistic. We need to take a step back and realize that people bring their whole selves to work every day. When employees have these passions and can actively engage them at work, they feel more connected. It doesn’t matter if it’s a business with 10 employees, 5,000 employees, or 50,000 employees. 

Why is it necessary to shift from “corporate” to “human” social responsibility?

There are two reasons that stand out – employee retention and engagement and branding. 

The shift I’m describing is necessary in order to celebrate the people who bring value to the company. It’s been demonstrated that shifting the focus from corporate to human is a clear boost to recruiting and retaining good talent. When polled, 86% of my colleagues stated that the fact we worked in the world of social good mattered to them when they joined the company. Having that focus enables them to feel good about where they work and take pride in being part of the effort. 

Brand awareness is another reason to shift from a corporate focus to one that is more human centric. Being aware of what is being said about your brand provides clear direction about what matters most to customers and clients. It demonstrates how social good is important to your base. Being better aligned enables customers to share positive stories that then become your company’s stories. When you align with your customers, they become brand ambassadors.

And it can’t go unsaid that the workforce of Millennials want to be engaged in the world and that means at work, too. Every company is thinking about how to attract Millennials to their workforce. 

All of this contributes to what I like to call Daily DNA. It is the rising up of many to collectively do more good together. It’s a call to leadership to embrace the human contracts we all sign with the world, empowering our people to engage in a job that allows them to contribute in meaningful ways.

How does shifting to a more community based mindset help a company’s brand and bottom line?

There is a stereotype that companies are only in the game to make money. This is true to some extent because they need to be profitable in order to stay in business. However, this stereotype is one-dimensional and does not add the important element of community engagement.

When we make decisions at Blackbaud, we always think about the power of the ecosystem “to do good.” This concept is something we want to share with the world.

With a focus on providing technology solutions and data that power social good, we jump in as active participants. Blackbaud does this by helping nonprofits raise money, helping granters give, and providing technology to make it all possible. For us, it’s about contributing in the best way our organization can and caring about where we live. It builds a sense of pride in our community. We truly believe that when you have happy employees, they work harder and that has tangible hard benefits like lower costs, higher retention, happier customers and both organizational and financial health for the company.

Always remember, there is a cost to not caring about the people you employ. When people feel you don’t care, they are more likely to disengage their passion and just show up for work. They aren’t unified in their efforts and can make costly mistakes. Rather than have those consequences reach your customers, it’s better to support a positive momentum that transfers to higher customer satisfaction. 

Can you share a few examples where you have witnessed this mindset and its positive impacts?

I can start by sharing an example from our own organization.

We have a sales leader who struggled as a teen after the loss of his father. During that tumultuous time, he turned to nonprofits for help, but he didn’t receive the assistance he needed. As he began to grow up, he thought about his experience and how he didn’t want other families and kids to go through what he did. This prompted him to get engaged with Big Brothers Big Sisters and further invest in a career through which he could do good work that was personally fulfilling.

This philosophy extends across the organization. We have another person in sales who believes in “selling with a noble purpose,” meaning his motivation to close a deal is not the money but an emphasis on making sure the client has everything it needs to accomplish its mission. When you think in these terms about your work, it changes the orientation of how people view themselves every day.

Change is constant including the composition of the global workforce. There is a huge phenomenon happening now with regard to people changing careers in search of something more meaningful. Many people are rethinking life as an employee and how they can intertwine their values and beliefs into the work they do. This doesn’t mean we all need to work for nonprofits, but many people are thinking about how they can work for organizations where they can do good things and add positive value to the world.

What were the key points in your TEDxWilmington presentation and did the audience have any thoughts to share?

The biggest takeaway from my TEDxWilmington speaking engagement http://livestream.com/TEDx/WilmingtonDE is that good is for everyone and it’s not exclusive to any one person or business. We can all find ways to add positive value.

Terminology is important as well. The focus on the word corporate can detract from the focus on people. People really do bring their whole selves to work. It’s understandable that a company cannot take on every endeavor that is suggested, but if the interests in social good are being ignored, it can negatively affect the workforce. 

We have to think about how to enable the shift to happen. The straight-forward answer is by empowering employees to be agents of good, by paying attention to what issues align with the values of the workforce and how it is relevant to the corporate strategy, and finally by understanding every employee and customer is a brand ambassador. 

How can readers learn more about switching to a human social responsibility platform and where can they learn more about your work? 

Readers can learn more about social responsibility by going to our website http://npengage.com/social-good/the-era-of-corporate-social-responsibility-is-ending-why-thats-a-good-thing/ and by visiting our home page  https://www.blackbaud.com/.

Submitted by Kelly Eisenhardt

Helping children move from foster care to permanent homes is a challenge in the United States. Many children age out of the system without ever having found a loving adoptive family. Aging out without the support of a loving family can have negative consequences on a person’s future. The Dave Thomas Foundation is working to connect more foster children with the families they deserve.

Rita Soronen is the President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. The Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness about the more than 100,000 children in the United States living in the foster care system. Ms. Soronen is focused on developing signature, grant-based programs that quickly move children from foster care to permanent, loving adoptive families. 

How does the Dave Thomas Foundation assist in finding permanent homes for children in foster care?

With 107,000 kids in foster care today, the need is greater and more urgent than ever. We realized years ago that when someone steps forward and says that they are interested in adopting a child, it’s important that they have help to get to the right place.  Our mission is to raise awareness about the needs of children in foster care requiring permanent homes and to serve in enabling as many organizations as possible in making adoption a reality. Our motto is “Making Unadoptable, Unacceptable.” 

We are a national nonprofit that helps other organizations find foster homes for children in need. We help build awareness around the issue and make grants available, while dispelling the myths around why a child might still be in the system. 

What is Wendy’s Wonderful Kids and which kids participate in the program? 

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids is a program we created to serve children who have been in the system the longest. In order to begin this program, we first had to do some research. We found that by the time a child is referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, he or she is likely to be older than 8 years old and had multiple placements. More than half have already been in foster care for more than 4 years. Other children age out of the program and by the age of 18 or 21 lack the love and support of a secure family.

How did Wendy’s Wonderful Kids begin? 

We started the program in 2004 with seven pilot sites. The program grew rapidly and we saw big results when we began to elevate awareness by leveraging our philanthropic partner, Wendy’s. Wendy’s helped us by elevating awareness through their restaurants. Their contributions help fund 215 recruiters in all 50 states and six provinces in Canada. This serves more than 4,000 children today with more than 6,000 adoptions already finalized. The exciting part is that the average age of the children adopted is 13.

We’ve put several videos together that show examples of  how children and families come together. Our newest is titled, “It’s Worth It” and demonstrates how a family and child connect. Foster care adoption is not easy, but it’s worth it.   https://youtu.be/PjWxFy1guF4

Unadoptable is Unacceptable is another video that gives a comprehensive breakdown of how our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program works.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLP3pAfCHgo

In your research, did you find answers as to why some kids stay in the system so long and then age out?

Yes, we did. We had to ask some tough questions. We knew there was more to the story than the children themselves.

We needed to know why workers weren’t getting children adopted. We needed to understand the challenges the case workers were having in placing children. Digging deeper, we found that there was no evidence of bad practices. The issue turned out to be something different.

The issue had to do with children who were in the system after a certain age. The data supported the fact that after a child turns nine, the likelihood of adoption decreases. This holds true even more so for sibling groups, children of color, and children with disabilities. 

Most adopters think about a younger demographic when considering adoption. Several studies have been completed that verify this fact. People can read Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: as well as Foster Care Indicators on Child and Youth http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/12_Foster_Care.pdf to get a better understanding of why children age out of the system.

We also learned that results varied based on different models of the system. We learned that the child-focused recruitment models used in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s defaulted more to making the child fit the family versus the best family fit for the child. This did not aid in getting children out of foster care and into permanent homes.

In that method, children who were in foster care tended to be on public display and making their story public made them feel even more traumatized and rejected. Better social care is a core value for us.

Can you explain your grant making model and the ways in which adoption agencies can be helped? 

The grants we issue serve several purposes. We help organizations get full-time adoption professionals and provide funds so that they can triage children in immediate risk, in addition to evaluating foster care, dealing with the court system, and promoting emotional wellbeing. We give grants to organizations that focus on the children’s needs first and help find families that are the best fit. It takes time to build a trusting relationship with the children. Most of them are separated from their families have been in the program 12-24 months. It takes time for all parties involved to assess what might be best for the child.

One of the benefits coming from the grants is the ability of case workers to keep the number of children they oversee to 18 and below. This gives them more time to learn everything about the child, meet with them monthly, and get to know what the child needs. With this deep dive, case workers can ascertain the best placement whether that be former foster families, extended family members, former teachers, neighbors, a best friend’s family or even a new person in the community. The money also helps in ensuring that the case worker has the time to prepare a child and their new family for adoption and their new journey together. 

What are the two myths about foster care adoption you with you could eradicate the most?

There are so many myths.

Research tells us that potential adoptive families are afraid that the birth families will come back to court and claim the children. People need to know that is not true. When children are freed for adoption, every legal action has already been taken by the parents and the courts. The biological parents no longer have rights. Families can step forward and adopt children who have been permanently freed for adoption. Adoptive families can choose whether or not to let the child see the biological family - if it is safe. Children who are older do remember their biological family and may on occasion want to see them. This is an agreement between all parties involved.

Another myth, is that adoption is expensive. The reality is that there are little to no costs to adopt a child from foster care because they are currently in the care of the state. Sometimes there is no cost at all. The main cost is to raise a child, as we all know. In addition, keep in mind that there may be supports, subsidies and adoption tax credits to consider. 

Lastly, the myth that children are too old or too damaged to adopt is one of the worst. Many children had a tough start in life. They are children who need the safety, comfort and the love of a family that can love them back. It is no fault of their own that they are in foster care. They are there because their family was unsafe and they had to be removed. There are in need of a safe environment to grow up. They’ve suffered great loss and it is our job to help them.

Can you share with us information about your top two signature programs, the Adoption Friendly Workplace and National Adoption Day?

Dave Thomas started the Adoption Friendly Workplace program. He thought about all the benefits offered to new families like medical and birth paid leave, time given to care for an infant, and then he wondered why a business didn’t have the same programs for adoption. He thought there should be an adoption benefits package and so he created one. He championed the program with corporations and started the “Top 100 Best Adoption Friendly Workplace” list. Because Dave understands value, he championed a common platform to bring adoption into the light. 

National Adoption Day was an obvious program from the very beginning. Immediatley we thought, why don’t we set aside a day to celebrate adoption? With the thought of family being around for holidays, we set the date for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. By making it a national day of celebration, we also normalize the concept of adoption making it less scary to people. In 2000, we had nine cities participate. By 2015, there were more than 400 events in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico. Last count, we had more than 4,500 adoptions finalized around that day and since the year 2000, more than 58,000 children have been adopted on a National Adoption Day event. If you’re interested in attending your city’s celebration, visit nationaladoptionday.org.. Adoption is meant to be woven into the fabric of our communities. 

How can people learn more about your organization?

People can learn more about our organization, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids and adoption by going to our website www.davethomasfoundation.org, our Facebook and Twitter pages or by calling  800-ASK-DTFA.

A full 30 percent of the world's electricity generation comes under the umbrella of just nine energy companies, and they have just joined forces to ramp up technology investments aimed at decarbonization. The global, collaborative effort was announced earlier this week by the companies' nonprofit organization, the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership.

To be clear, the decarbonization announcement leaves plenty of wiggle room for "clean" coal and natural gas, at least in the near future. However, a look at the group's sole U.S. member, American Electric Power, demonstrates that a Republican administration cannot stop the global transition to low and zero-carbon electricity.

The Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership

If you've never heard of the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership before, join the club. It has the potential to influence rapid change in the global energy sector, but so far it has sailed under the TriplePundit radar.

The exclusive organization (by invitation only) characterizes itself as "an entity with a unique operational knowledge of the electricity sector:"

...the Partnership’s diversity of experience and expertise grant the organisation an all-encompassing scope of the global electricity industry.

The GSEP members are American Electric Power (USA), Électricité de France (France), ENEL S.p.A (Italy), EuroSibEnergo (Russia), Hydro-Québec (Canada), Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc. (Japan), RusHydro (Russia), RWE AG (Germany), State Grid Corporation of China (China), Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc. (Japan).

The wiggle room for fossil fuels comes in when the group describes its main goal:

Our companies are ready to implement and deliver lower ‐ carbon electricity, which represents the most effective vector of all energy systems for addressing climate change while ensuring economic growth and improving the quality of life of millions of people.

That quality of life language is similar to the "energy poverty" pitch that ExxonMobil CEO Ralph Tillerson has deployed in support of the continued development of fossil fuels.

Fortunately, ExxonMobil is not part of the organization. The decarbonization announcement makes it clear that, while fossil fuels have a role in the near future, the goal is to help countries achieve their decarbonization goals and commitments under the COP21 Paris climate agreement:

...we call for joining forces with development finance institutions and other international organizations to help identify technology investments that will achieve the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement.

Among the group's four main recommendations is this one:

Make urgent progress with innovative research, development and demonstrations of advances economically viable technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the efficient generation, delivery and end ‐ use of electricity.

That goal dovetails neatly with U.S. Department of Energy initiatives under the Obama Administration. Many of these are already under way and are virtually irreversible. In some states they enjoy strong support from Republican policymakers. One good example is the 720-mile Plains & Eastern transmission line. It will deploy GE transformer stations for the economical delivery of 4,000 megawatts of wind power, sourced from wind farms located in the "red" state of Oklahoma.

The other three goals include establishing predictability and security in energy policy, developing electricity systems holistically in order to take advantage of the most advanced and efficient technology, and promoting public-private partnerships that foster the rapid commercial adoption of new technologies.

In addition to the decarbonization pledge, GSEP is committed to the United Nations SE4ALL  initiative aimed at fighting energy poverty with clean energy.

Once done, decarbonization cannot be undone

As a Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump made no secret of his distaste for clean energy. Those feelings will carry over into his administration, but their impact may be quite a bit softer than his supporters would like.

American Electric Power is a case in point. The company is one of the nation's largest electric utilities. It has 32,000 megawatts of generating capacity under its belt. Right now the breakdown is 60 percent coal-fired plants, 23 percent natural gas, 5 percent nuclear and only 12 percent renewables and other sources. However, the company has already taken significant steps to alter that mix significantly.

Earlier this month, AEP released a note underscoring that its commitment to decarbonization is already baked in ("regulated operations" refers to regulated utilities):

To support earnings growth, AEP plans to invest approximately $17.3 billion over the period 2017 to 2019 in its core regulated operations and contracted renewables.

In the note, AEP's CEO, Chairman and President Nicholas K. Akins emphasized the role of clean energy in its future:

"In our transmission business alone, we have at least a 10-year runway of low-risk investment opportunities that include projects to refurbish and replace existing, aging infrastructure, supplemented by new transmission investments that support resiliency, lower energy costs and facilitate renewable generation development."

As for the bottom line, AEP anticipates a $1 billion investment over the next two years alone for renewable energy projects in its portfolio.

That's on top of a slate of AEP renewable energy projects currently under way in nine states, under its recently formed subsidiaries AEP OnSite Partners and AEP Renewables.

In addition to decarbonized electricity generation, the two subsidiaries are also involved in energy storage and combined heat and power projects.

AEP's market for renewable energy projects is a strong one, aiming at government agencies and schools in addition to private sector companies.

With hundreds if not thousands of U.S. cities, schools and companies already committed to a low carbon future, the Trump administration will have to push long and hard to get the clean power train off the track.

Photo: via gsep-ppp.org.

Save

Save

Save

Save