WARNING:The Wheelchair Recycler

"The Wheelchair Recycler's mission is "to provide any means necessary to mobilize those in need. This is accomplished through recycling, refurbishing, and reclaiming used electric power wheelchairs and scooters as well as other durable medical equipment."
Founded in 1998, by David Heim and based in Massachusetts, the organization has to date given away over 500 power chairs and repaired hundreds more. In many cases they've saved hundreds of individuals from being bed-ridden. Most who receive the chairs are on fixed income and lacking adequate insurance.
The organization's long term goal is to set up The Wheelchair Recycler nationwide. In order to do that, their short term goal is to obtain the necessary funding to help support daily operations- such as transportation, office equipment, utilities, and phones.
For more information on The Wheelchair Recycler, please visit their website."

This feature was published March 12, 2009. During NA's hiatus the feature received a comment from a (very helpful) tipster that all was not right with this organization. When the site resumed, I responded with the proper steps one would take if they suspected foul-play at a nonprofit organization:

• Go to the leadership. If the problem is the Executive Director, then speak to someone at the Board of Directors level. If that's an issue? Nonprofits ultimately answer to their state's Attorney General. 

But I didn't stop there. Revisiting The Wheelchair Recycler website, there is no list for Board of Directors,  nor any other information that would legitimize this organization as a not-for-profit. The site does claim The Wheelchair Recycler is a 501(c)3 with a faulty link to GuideStar in the donations section. Looking up the organization on GuideStar you'll see The Wheelchair Recycler's tax-exempt status has been revoked, for not filing the required 990 Form three years in a row.

So what does this mean? The Wheelchair Recycler is not a non-profit organizations. Your donations are not tax deductible, and no agency is endorsing it. If this business is operating as a for-profit, there is no way to prove it's operating legally. 

The 'In the News' section does feature articles from some top news and entertainment organizations; however, when I clicked on the top story from the Nightly News with Brian Williams, The Wheelchair Recycler story had been removed. And so it appears this is an example of an organization that at one time maybe have been operating on the up and up, it is no longer doing so.

I have reached out to The Wheelchair Recycler via email, inquiring about its non-profit status and some other documents nonprofit organizations must make available to the public. I will make available any response I receive.

I had debated simply removing the original post, but ultimately decided that it was important to address this. The Wheelchair Recycler is not the first non-profit organization to be misappropriating funds, or operating outside nonprofit laws, and it unfortunately probably won't be the last. Not to mention all the schemes designed to look like charities designed to take advantage of sympathetic individuals.

And so, I present this as a learning opportunity. Be sure to do your due diligence before donating to an organization.

• Look at their profile on GuideStar
• Look at CharityNavigator 
• Look at their documents

Nonprofits have to make public their annual 990s, board of directors and meeting minutes. Typically you would need to request meeting minutes, but they are open to public view. Some organizations produce annual reports or additional materials for transparency. 

Sunday begins Foundation Week at Nonprofit Awareness, I strongly encourage you to visit each foundation's website. There you'll find fantastic examples of accountability and transparency. These organizations really exemplify the type of information you should be looking for when  considering a donation.

Indosole

Indosole's mission is to salvage old motorbike tires and other trash from landfills and give them new life.  The company helps reduce the size of landfills and supports skilled Balinese artisans and their families.  All products are handmade by the Balinese artisans and materials are sourced from the islands of Indonesia. The company employs fair trade practices and has a production process that does not contain fuel powered machines. If that wasn't enough, Indosole also donates their shoes to children in need, living in orphanages.

To date over 11,000 tires have been repurposed, creating over 22,000 pairs of shoes. Indole's quest is to save one million tires from the landfill.

For more information, or to purchase a pair of their super stylish footwear, please visit the Indosole site.

You can also support Indosole by supporting their Kickstarter project. They are seeking $50,000 to help increase their production and impact.

Going, Going... Green!

Welcome Back Everyone!

Since this is sort of a re-birth for Nonprofits Now (formerly Nonprofit Awareness) I thought this article, generous contributed by Craig Baird last year, about going green was fitting.

I've listed some go green sites below that are worth checking out. 

Craig Baird and his wife Layla, inspired by Earth Day, dedicated one year to green living and blogged (Our Green Year) about it. I I urge everyone to visit Our Green Year and read about the Bairds' incredible journey.

Our Green Year by Craig Baird

"Going green seems to be a fad for a lot of people these days. Whether that is a good or bad thing, I can't really say, but for my wife and I, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle. 

It is hard to believe that we are almost one year from when we started Our Green Year, the initiative to go green with something every single day for an entire year. Over 300 days into, with one more month to go, we have had our lives changed by this quest to be green.

This all started for us on April 20, 2008 when we helped organize a large Earth Day celebration in Trail, British Columbia. After seeing the great response we got, my wife Layla and I decided to do something else to educate people about how they can go green in their lives. So, Our Green Year was born. With the idea of going green every single day for a year and blogging about it, we hoped we could show people all the green things that can be done to help the environment. We also wanted to show our readers that if we could do 365 green things, they could so 10, 20, or 100. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps, and anything we can do as a collective effort to help the environment matters.

Over the course of Our Green Year, we have completely altered our lifestyles. We now shop at the organic store and buy mostly organic items (even though the milk is about four times as expensive!). We don't eat beef anymore, choosing the environmentally friendly bison alternative, and we have cut our meat intake down from a few times a week to once a month, if that. In addition, we have given away half of what we owned through websites like FreeCycle.com, and we have greatly reduced our own consumption by not buying items we do not need and asking ourselves purchase questions to determine what we do need. We have joined several environmental organizations, and donated to even more. Each week we go to websites to 'Click To Help' various things like rainforests and seals. Our home is kept clean by vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice, with no toxic cleaners to be seen anywhere within our cupboards. We compost all of our biodegradable food and items, we grow our own vegetables and we recycle everything from tin cans and bottles to milk jugs and paper. Through our home office we stay energy efficient and we even implement costly penalties for anyone caught doing something 'un-green'.

It is amazing to think about it now, but a year ago we though going green could just include turning off lights and not wasting energy. It can, but we have learned there is so much more to it. There is a joy to making our own better, ice cream and soap scrubs. We enjoy the smell of fresh bread made in our home, and we take pride in mowing our lawn with just a manual lawnmower. Our minds have been altered by Our Green Year. We look around us now at the consumerism that has degraded our environment and realize that there is so much we can all do to help if we wanted to. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green, blog about it and educate others.

Through Our Green Year, we have had a lot of press as well. We have appeared on television three times, on the radio four times, several times in the newspaper and even more on the internet. However, 15-minutes of fame is not why we do this. We speak with the media because we want to spread our message about going green with small things.

One of the most common questions we get with Our Green Year is what are we going to do after it is all over. Well, with the end in sight and our daily blogs coming to an end, I only have one answer to that question, and it is we are just going to keep on trucking our green message and going green in our lives!"

Resources for Going Green:

Giving Living (green-living.com)

Green Living Tips (greenlivingtips.com)

G Living: Modern Green Lifestyle Blog (gliving.com) Making going green cool.

Green Living Magazine (www.greenlivingonline.com)

The Daily Green (thedailygreen.com)

RecycleBank

RecycleBank is a unique organization that rewards you for recycling- "motivating people to recycle and engage in environmentally virtuous activities." They believe recycling is the one thing we can all do. In order to inspire people to take action and recycle, the organization makes recycling understandable, easy, and rewarding. 

Recyclebank creates incentives for households to recycle by giving them a large portion of the value derived from helping create the cyclical life cycle of a product. The goal of the organization is to change societies' view of the product life cycle from linear to cyclical. The program helps divert trash from landfills.

The organization even makes recycling to rewards easy. It's a simple three step process after signing up:

1. Recycle- materials are picked up at your curbside.
2. Record- The carts (which you're supplied with) have id codes that the truck records to keep track of how much you've recycled.
3. Reward- the amount you've recycled is converted into RecycleBank Points, which you can use towards a variety of rewards.

RecycleBank rewards come from partner organizations in the form of free products, coupons, and discounts.

For a complete list of rewards, partner organizations, and more importantly how you can sign up with RecycleBank, please visit the RecycleBank website.

New Eyes for the Needy

New Eyes for the Needy (New Eyes) purchases new eyeglasses for poor children and adults in the United States and recycles donated glasses for distribution to indigent people in developing nations worldwide.

Founded in 1932, the organization's mission is simple: "to improve the vision of poor children and adults." To date the organization has brought improved vision to over 7 million people. For about $60, New Eyes can improve a person's life by providing them with a new pair of glasses.

The organization, located in New Jersey, is run primary by volunteers. They are a United Way organization, endorsed by:

• The National Society for the Prevention of Blindness
• Fight for Sight
• The American Academy of Ophthalmology 
• The Opticians Association of America

New Eyes is a reminder that little can do so much for those in need. The site, like this feature, is direct and to the point. The need for eyeglasses for those living in poverty can easily be overlooked, or may seem like the least of a child or adult's problems. However, the opportunity these glasses provide can have a profound effect. Reading, working, and many other tasks are performed better by having improved vision. These tools are vital to helping those living in poverty take the first steps out of poverty.

For more information please visit the New Eyes for the Needy website.

New Belgium Brewing Company

The New Belgium Brewing Company is a fine example of how social awareness can impact so many areas of your business. They also show that being a nonprofit isn't necessary to doing good.

Founded in 1991, the company boasts 18 beers, but it's how they operate that's the focus on today's feature. 

New Belgium's corporate culture is all about providing employees with a safe, happy, fun, and collectively beneficial working environment. This starts with the employee owner clause, which awards employees with ownership on their one year anniversary with the company. In addition, the company's core values include:

• Kindling social, environmental and cultural change as a business role model
• Environmental stewardship: Honoring nature at every turn of the business
• Cultivating potential through learning, high involvement culture, and the pursuit of opportunities

In 1998, New Belgium became the first wind powered brewery in the United States, as part of the company's commitment to being less wasteful, more efficient, recycling, and reusing. The company has strived to be green by:

1.  Increased efficiencies in the brewery process
2. Utilized green design throughout their building
3. Implemented a process for treating their wastewater 
4. On site energy production
5. Wind powered electricity
6. Employ a high involvement culture
7. Sustainable Eventing
8. Actionable Advocacy
9. Constant benchmarking
10. Partnering to support innovative technology

For more information of the future steps New Belgium is taking visit their website.

New Belgium, in an initiative similar to nonprofit practices, has open-book management, "a policy of fiscal transparency throughout the company that encourages a community of trust and mutual responsibility." The website provides a lot more information, including New Belgium's responsibilities as financial stewards, their sustainability report, and their philanthropic works. You can  join Team Wonderbike, a group- 15,000 strong- committed to carbon-free transportation by riding a bike instead of driving.

A brief note about the Philanthropy, or Brew-lanthropy... to date New Belgium has donated $2.9 million through its philanthropy program. For every barrel of beer sold the previous year, the company donates $1 to philanthropic causes within their distribution territory. In 2009, they will donate $490,000.

In 2007, New Belgium joined 1% For The Planet, an alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet. 

Visit New Belgium's site to view the company's list of causes, and to learn more about the sponsorships, product donations, and small grants to donated to benefit nonprofits.

Somos Children's Village

Today's organization is working towards a significant goal- building a village for abandoned and orphaned children in Guatemala.

The Somos Project is creating Children's Village, housing 49 children, in seven homes with seven foster mothers raising the household of children. These children will not be adopted out. The homes are meant to be long-term,  creating a permanent foster family. The Village will focus on education, leadership, and the arts, with the children attending the local community school.

Beyond the seven homes, the Village will also have buildings for activities, guest rooms, art and music workshops, a library, administrative space, a larger playground and soccer field. The Village will be eco-sustainable, with alternative power, rain water capture, grey water recycling, solar energy, and organic gardens and orchards.  

The Village is working with the local Guatemalan community. Children's Village will be managed by the Village Director, who is a local Guatemalan. More local Guatemalans will be employed in various areas of the Village.

I urge you to visit the site. It's filled with detailed information about every aspect of the project. There is a very clear mission, and very clear plan how to achieve that mission. This is a wonderful project to provide a loving home and happy life for children whose young lives have already experience a great deal of sadness. For more information about Project Somos' progress or how you can get involved please visit their site.

It's All in the Clothes

Today's organizations focus on the what clothing can do to change lives. These are organizations whose clothing collections focus on a specific need, whether it's to help secure employment, build confidence,  or make a teen girl's high school dreams come true.

Career Gear- a suit- a second chance. 

Founded in 1998 by Gary Field, the organization has one goal: to help men get jobs and keep jobs.  As the name implies, the organization began with the simple goal of providing appropriate business apparel for men seeking employment. Career Gear has seen grown to include: career counseling, interview coaching, and follow-up job support.

Career Gear, who began in New York City now has affiliates in Boston, Houston, Miami, New Haven, and Washington.

For more information of how you can get involved, please visit Career Gear's website.

Dress for Success- Suits to Self-Sufficiency. 

Corporate Relations Manager, Erin Moran was kind enough to provide us with the following information:

"Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more than 90 cities in the U.S., Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and the UK. To date, Dress for Success has helped more than 500,000 women work towards self-sufficiency. The professional retention programs and ongoing support symbolize Dress for Success's belief in every woman's ability to be self-sufficient and successful in her career."

For more information please visit the Dress for Success website.

Becca's Closet - The organization was created as a legacy to Rebecca Kirtman and the project she started. Becca's Closet provides formal attire to high schools girls who otherwise would not be able to attend their prom/homecoming. Their mission is to continue Rebecca's dream of helping others. In addition, the organization also awards scholarships to deserving high school students to advance their education.

Becca's Closet now has 82 chapters in 32 states. For more information on how you can donate a dress, start a chapter, or to learn more please visit their website.

Bikes for the World

Based in Arlington, VA, Bikes for the World's mission is to assist the poor in overseas countries become more productive citizens by providing bicycles to nonprofit organizations abroad. These bicycles provide much needed transportation to work, school, healthcare, and recreation.

It's secondary focus is on creating a community of volunteers in America, based on the common goal of providing vehicles to improve the quality of life for the poor, by donating, collecting, storing, and shipping bicycles and spare parts.

Founded in 2005, the organization has already provided 31,000 bicycles to 15 organizations in ten countries and the US. It is the largest bicycle reuse program in America and has supplied bicycles to nonprofit agencies in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In 2007 Bikes for the World introduced the Rockville Youth Bicycle Program, a subsidiary program aimed at serving local youth in Montgomery, MD.

Bikes for the World Director, Keith Oberg say, "One point we would like to emphasize... we wish to join with others to foster a continent-wide movement to collect and donate  usable bicycles in developing countries, moving beyond our modest geographic footprint."

Please visit the site for more information on how you can get involved. This is a great organization for anyone interested in providing necessary tools to developing countries.