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Good.is infographic: Through the Gyre |
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Good.is infographic: Through the Gyre |
“We are engaging the Discover community in giving by offering a 2% match to donations to the national chapters of our charitable partners. We will also waive transaction fees to our charitable partners for donations made on #GivingTuesday. And finally, our cardmembers can donate their cashback bonus to our charitable partners and receive a 2% match”.
4) It embraces technology. Just like it’s cousin, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is a product of 2.0 parents. While there may be a number of live in-person events recognizing the day—the real action will be online—on your Twitter feed and your Facebook Timeline. Look for your friends calling out their favorite causes and for corporations matching donations or making donations for each action that you take (i.e. liking a charity, commenting on a news item, or posting in support).
5) It’s real, innovative, and is calling…you ! In case you don’t have a favorite charity to support—I am happy to intro you to one of my favorite. Second Harvest Food Bank has been one of my go-to volunteer locations for the past few years. Well-run, it is a place where bulk food is donated, sorted, packaged, and redistributed—daily! It runs with an amazing efficiency and whether you spend an hour or a whole day volunteering there—your time will feel well spent.
For every photo or post on the Second Harvest Food Bank Facebook page, @LiveOps is donating $5 (or 10 meals) to the non-profit.
So, flex your viral social media muscles—and make it a successful #GivingTuesday!
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image credit: Annies.com |
When we have talked about impact investing, it is often in the context of theory, of possibility, and of the past experience of emerging sustainable companies, start-ups, and organizations. But what about the financial viability?
Can your stock portfolio boom while championing corporations who are doing well by doing good?
If you don’t think so, don’t mention it to Annie’s, the natural and organic food company whose mission statement is ” to cultivate a healthier, happier world by spreading goodness through nourishing foods, honest words and conduct that is considerate and forever kind to the planet” offered its stock to the public on March 28, 2012 at $19 per share and closed at just under $36 per share. The surge continued, with Annie’s (stock abbreviation “BNNY,” an adage to the company’s signature bunny-shaped pasta) shares closed the week posting a gain of more than 80%.
To put it another way, not since LinkedIn’s IPO in May 2011 has a company experienced such a sharp gain on opening day.
Just like the progress of the new crowdfunding fund bill making headway at the federal level, IPO’s such as Annie’s give the average Sustainability-Minded Sue and Triple-Bottom-Line Tom the chance to be impact investors.
The ability of us as consumers to vote with our wallets as well as our voices reaches a new level when we can plant sustainable stocks into our portfolios right alongside our usual picks. Especially when they are on track to bear fruit.
Key features of the U.S. Senate’s CROWDFUND Act include:
It is hard to even begin to assess the potential impact of citizen investment in emerging companies. And, for social innovators, it is an exciting new juncture. We have talked in the past about citizens’ abilities to ‘decide with their wallets’ through buying from socially responsible companies and outlining new policy an legislation that supports social entrepreneurs. This new turn enabling tangible investment in new companies only underscores this concept. It can make each of us impact investors, seeking both financial and social return on our small investments.
Social entrepreneurs, it’s time to get in the know about the specifics of this legislation and become poised to act if it passes and is signed into law by President Obama.
As they say, shift happens. And sometimes, we shift + forward.
In November 2011, the House took on crowdfunding via the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act (H.R. 2930) which passed 407-17. You can read the full post about the House’s bill and its key features here.
One group voicing their hesitation is the North American Securities Administrators Association. It fears that legislated crowdfunding measures could lead to speculative investment that could be risky to new or small-fund investors.
As a special post today, we have an interview with the Director of Online Strategy of the Story of Stuff Project, Christina M. Samala. She is part of the team that has gone on to release a total of 7 movies. The most recent documentary addresses an issue on the minds of many these days, U.S. spending, jobs, and investment. The film, “The Story of Broke”, released on November 8, 2011.
Q | Innov8Social: Thanks Christina for joining us and answering a few questions about the film and project. It’s an eye-opening watch & timely considering Occupy Wall Street has been going on for over two months, with protests in over 60 cities worldwide. Did the Occupy movement inspire your team to make “the Story of Broke” or was it already in the works?A | Christina: The idea to make The Story of Broke got brought to the table almost a year and a half ago. The role that subsidies play in society in the US was on the forefront of all of our minds, but in Annie’s, in particular. Whenever ideas of innovation or problem solving spurred, she frequently heard, “that’s a nice idea, but there’s no money for that” as a response. She heard it so much that she started mentioning it in her talks and found that people really sympathized with that.So, while this movie has been in the works for a while, I think the sentiments and situations fueling the Occupy Movement are the very same ones that inspired us make The Story of Broke. If anyone’s interested, Annie wrote a great blog about The Story of Broke, Occupy and how while some have gotten bailed out, we the people keep getting sold out.
Q | Innov8Social: What were the primary sources of research used in making the film? Can you provide any links so we can continue our research?
A | Christina: We partnered with a lot great and knowledgeable organizations, an effort spearheaded by Allison Cook, one of my five amazing colleagues at the Project. A lot of these NGOs already have extensive and thorough research on subsidies in the US. For some, like the National Priorities Project, delivering data is core function of their mission.
The best way to dig deeper and learn more:
- Check out the annotated script for The Story of Broke. Allison and Annie put a ton of effort into making the document a rich and accurate source of information.
- Visit the Learn More page for The Story of Broke.
- Connect with one of our partners for the movie to find more information.
Q | Innov8Social: What was the most challenging thing about making the film? The most surprising?
A | Christina: Perhaps not the most challenging thing, but definitely one of the first things to come to mind: picking the title. A year and a half ago, when we first started talking about making this movie, we referred to it internally as “The Story of Subsidies”. That stayed the working title for the movie until about June of this year, when we decided that “The Story of Subsidies” didn’t make for a particularly awe inspiring title. I’m pretty sure we were right!
The biggest, and much welcomed, surprise is that our online community is more powerful than Stephen Colbert! At least according to Google Analytics it is. On launch day, November 8, 2011, we registered 71,814 visits to storyofstuff.org. Annie’s appearance on the Colbert Report on March 10, 2010 brought 64,504 visits to storyofstuff.org. We feel pretty darn lucky to have such a diverse and engaged network and are so grateful to every individual and organization sharing our stuff!
Q | Innov8Social: How long does it take to make a film like “The Story of Broke” or “The Story of Stuff”? Do you have any suggestions or tips for budding social entrepreneur filmmakers out there?A | Christina: The Story of Broke took over a year, from concept to launch. The Story of Stuff took decades if you include all the research and organizing Annie did in the field before bringing the movie to Free Range to start production. As far as suggestions go, if you’re heart’s in it, if your passion can sustain you through all types of hurdles, you just have to go for it. More practically, surround yourself with awesome, insanely intelligent and trusted colleagues!Q | Innov8Social: If there was one single takeaway you would want viewers to carry with them after watching “The Story of Broke”, what would it be?
A | Christina: We’re not broke and there’s no time like the present to drop the consumer hat and put on the citizen one! Civic participation in these times is a must.
Q | Innov8Social: While the film overviews the current spending issues, much of it focuses on what we can do, on our ability to re-frame the story and make our money work for us, our environment, our economy, and our communities….so, what can we do? :)
A | Christina: We’re encouraging folks to sign up for our Community of Action so we can all flex our citizen muscles together. That’s one way to engage with the issues we raise in The Story of Broke. Another thing that we can each do all day, every day, is just talk about these things. Make a point to have a conversation about it; start re-framing the story. Dialog with family, friends and colleagues about the parts of our spending priorities that you feel strongly about, the parts that affect your life and the lives of your loved ones. When it comes to getting involved, it doesn’t really matter how you start. What matters is that you do start.
One of the things that’s been so uplifting about the response to the movie so far and the Occupy movement is that now, more than ever, I’m witnessing people being vocal about political and social concerns in public forums. Folks, en masse, are finally participating in the conversation of which systems just aren’t working. Along with all that good talking though, we all need to remind one another, and our government, of the power of an engaged, active and united citizenry.
Lotus Foods is generously offering Innov8Social readers a one-time 10% discount on your entire online order, ending October 31, 2011. Just go to our Facebook page for the discount code.
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Innov8Social has been a unique project on so many levels—producing content that is relevant and useful, finding ways to reach out to you, using avenues of social media to connect, and recognizing this blog not only as a place to write about social innovation but as a platform for enabling it.
The Product: Biobag Certified Compostable Dog Waste Bags
Why we like them:
1. 100% Compostable and Biodegradable. There’s no reason that Fido’s output needs to be stored in a non-biodegradable plastic bag until the end of time, or end up in a plastic bag vortex. With a number of certifications to prove compostability and biodegradability, Biobag’s goal is “to help divert all naturally biodegradable waste from entering our landfills.”
More Info:
Official website: http://www.biobagusa.com/
Order information: http://www.biobagusa.com/order_now.html
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