Institute for Philanthropy

The Institute for Philanthropy helps donors achieve impact. Its mission is to increase effective philanthropy in the UK and internationally, with offices in the UK and US. They pursue this by:

• providing donor education
• building donor networks
• raising the awareness and understanding of philanthropy

The institute looks toward a world in which philanthropists from around the globe have the skills to make significant contributions to the pressing issues of their time, in their own giving and in networks and partnerships with others.

The organization's target audience and programs support: philanthropists, youth, partnerships, and advocacy.

• Philanthropists: Over the last ten years the institute has built a global network of donors; working with over 200 wealthy families and individuals from Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East

• Youth: Through the Youth and Philanthropy initiative, they have reached nearly 115 UK schools, educating more than 20,000 students each year, and granting over £600,000 to UK charities alone.

• Partnerships: The institute has worked with 30 of the 57 UK's community foundations as well as foundations from Central and Eastern Europe. They have worked with leading charitable organizations, such as:
• The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund
• The Oak Foundation
• The Omidyar Network
• The Rockefeller Foundation
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

          Additionally, they've worked with leading financial institutions, such as:

• Barclay Wealth
• Credit Suisse
• Deutsche Bank
• JP Morgan Chase

• Advocacy: Successfully advocated for the UK government to provide tax breaks on gifts of shares.

Programs:

• The Philanthropy Workshop: Established in 1995 by the Rockefeller Foundation and now a project of the Institute for Philanthropy, this workshop is geared towards entrepreneurs and inheritors who are increasingly dedicating their time and capital to philanthropy; for those looking to maximize the impact of their giving. Up to 14 participants attend three one-week sessions over the course of the year, one in Europe, one in the United States, and one in the developing world. (At $30,000 USD plus travel expenses this workshop is not for the casual donor).
• Think Philanthropy: The institute believes philanthropy must constantly evolve to meet the needs of the ever-changing world.  Think Philanthropy works to drive the innovation and evolution of philanthropy. It is an ongoing series of projects, papers, talks and days of learning, based on original research. which discusses the most pressing issues in the field and the latest thinking and strategic philanthropy trends.
• Next Generation Philanthropy: Guides the younger generation of wealthy families as they engage in their personal, business, or family philanthropy. This is achieved through a series of inspiring and challenging case studies, site visits, and audiences with leading civil society thinkers.
• Youth and Philanthropy Initiative: A unique schools program that empowers young people to tackle issues in their local community. It also raises awareness among young people of philanthropy's role in supporting local and global communities.
• Community Foundation Essentials: The aim of this program is to:
• introduce participants to the elements of strategic philanthropy and advanced thinking on working with donors
• demonstrate to participants how they can achieve a high level of engagement with donors; helping them to be strategic and effective
• take their donor communication and relationship skills to the next level

For more information, please visit the Institute for Philanthropy's website.

Roozt

About:

Roozt was founded in 2009 by Brent Freeman, Nick Reder, and Norma LaRosa. Their objective was to create a mainstream online shopping destination featuring the best socially conscious brands they could find. With hundreds of great brands, with fashions for him, her, and home, Roozt is definitely living up to their tagline: 'Bringin' Sexy Back to Giving Back.'

Roozt is committed to fostering positive social change within everyday actions; every purchase has a positive impact. The staff hand-select fashion forward companies that are also doing good, for their community, the environment, their employees or humanity as a whole. The staff are social entrepreneurs who believe they can make a difference in the world by harnessing the power of a business model. Their goal is to help the public learn about the thousands of brands that have incorporated inspiring causes into their business operations.

Site visitors are able to browse by product, impact region, or initiative... and... Just by signing up you're doing good:

One Member, One Meal:  Is a partnership with Feeding America*, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity. For every member that joins, Roozt will provide a meal to an American in need.

Brands:

Companies interested in having a Roozt store must submit an application explaining how their operations meet one or more of Roozt's areas of focus.

Ethical: Companies that maintain and promote extraordinary ethical corporate policies both externally and among their employees.

Community: Companies that are committed to supporting and advancing their surrounding communities to benefit members in a positive way.

ECO-Friendly: Companies that demonstrate extraordinary commitment to reducing their environmental foot print and impact.

Humanitarian: Companies that give back to humanity and are doing their part to provide resources to help solve critical issues across the globe.

All applications undergo a review process to ensure the brand meets Roozt Approved certification criteria.

Roozt allows you to be fashionable and socially conscious. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." I say even the smallest purchase can be a positive vehicle for change.



*Feeding America's mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. For more information visit their site.

Social Responsibility

Sometimes the smallest changes to your lifestyle can have the greatest impact. So to kick off the re-launch of Nonprofit Awareness, this week we'll be featuring some great companies that are doing their part to be positive instruments of change. By purchasing any of their products- products you're buying anyway- you are helping build a better local, regional, national and global community.




Know a great nonprofit, for-profit, group or individual whose work should be featured? Send us an email at nonprofitsnow@gmail.com.

Justmeans

Today's organization, while not a non-profit, focuses on spreading news of good works in all sectors. It also provides an excellent opportunity to get involved in a social network that's all about social responsibility. 

JustMeans: Where Good Work Lives

The mission of JustMeans is to provide best in class services that help companies communicate and implement their socially responsible efforts Online. They envision a world where companies integrate social and environmental initiatives into their core business strategies.

So what does that really mean? Well, think of JustMeans as a social GOOD network. Visitors to the site can sign up for a free account to create a profile, which allows you to post your resume for talent searches, list your work and education history, contact information and other social network ids. 

You also can post what good work your doing. The feature is very similar to Facebook's status updates or Twitter. Visitors also get to view other members' good work postings, with the option to follow their updates (Twitter).

JustMeans is the fastest growing Online community for executives interested in social responsibility. Their services include: online PR communications, Online CSR reports, Online event networking, and talent recruitment. Companies can post a job, promote a press release, or promote an event. JustMeans also offers an annual membership for unlimited PR and event promotions.

As a visitor to the site, you can view jobs, see what good works JustMeans members and companies are up to,  and  read about news and upcoming events from the socially conscious corporations that support JustMeans.

For more information please visit JustMeans.

iLEAP: The Center for Critical Service

iLEAP: The Center for Critical Service's (iLEAP) mission is to cultivate and inspire a new generation of global citizens who are motivated by a commitment to service and have the practical skills, rigorous critical thinking, and global community of support to create positive social and systematic change in the world. They seek to inspire a worldwide community of interlinked global citizens and innovative organizations who are connected through their commitment and courage to take risks and engage life with a humble passion and abiding sense of humor as they work with, and serve others.

The organization designs and delivers a variety of experiential based educational programs that serve as the catalyst for this new generation, and work to nurture meaningful collaborations between people, organizations, and community. These programs are developed with closer partnerships with colleges and universities, civil society groups, and for-profit businesses.  All the programs emphasize social enterprise, collaboration, conversation, and rigorous engagement with ideas and theory. They range from one day to nine months.

The programs are listed below:

• International Fellowship Program- brings leaders from civil society organizations working for positive social change in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, to Seattle, Washington for a three month intensive program in professional skill building, academic study, and global networking. The program is focused on the central themes of: social enterprise, reflective practice, collaborative leadership, and social and environmental sustainability.
• Taking the Leap- is a global three phased program that balances personal growth, critical thinking, and academic theory with pragmatic training in project design, development, and implementation. The first phase is spent in Seattle working with iLEAP staff and faculty in seminar coursework and working in social enterprise. The second phase sends each student overseas to live and work in a different rural community in Asia, Africa, or Latin America to work with international iLEAP faculty. In the third phase students return to Seattle for a time of reflection, sharing and preparations for the future.
• Social Innovation in Seattle- a unique internship for university students from Asia and Europe, based in Seattle. Through direct internships in American organizations and businesses, this program introduces students to the fundamentals of social enterprise and social innovation in business practice.

For more information on iLEAP, please visit their website.

Philly Car Share

PhillyCarShare is a unique organization dedicated to using car sharing as a way to improve the social, environmental,  and economic benefits. It's mission it to maximize these benefits by reducing automobile dependence in the Philadelphia region, through community based car sharing. Their vision is for "a Philadelphia region in which nonprofit car sharing exceeds the convenience, affordability, and flexibility of car ownership."

Founded in the fall of 2002, by five Philadelphia volunteers,  with the desire to place low emission vehicles on every block, available by the hour and round the clock, to replace people's need to own cars and overuse them.  The organization "demonstrates how a market-driven solution can ignite a environmental movement that benefits the economy."

The pay-as-you-go, free membership, and easy debit billing system provides even the lowest-income households access to a car. The organization has partnered with developers, property managers, and universities to provide approximately 400 cars through the city. Members have a variety of vehicles to choose from, to meet their needs.

For more information about PhillyCarShare and its economic benefits, please visit their website. This  is a great model to develop car shares in other areas of the country.

Global Visionaries

Global Visionaries' mission is "to educate and empower youth to become active leaders and global citizens who promote social and environmental justice through community service at home and abroad."

The organization's programs "educate young people on peace, justice, and environmental issues, foster cross-cultural understanding, and strengthen communities and families, uniting diverse local communities and building international ties, fostering the tangible hope of lasting peace." Educators, community leaders, parents, and high school students partner with local and international organizations to broaden and further their common goal for social and environmental justice.

Founded in 1997, and incorporated as a 501(c)3 in 2002, Global Visionaries serves Seattle, Washington high school students. The students participate in a year long leadership program which includes "various cultural and antiracism workshops, a cultural immersion trip to Guatemala,  and local and international development projects, where Global Visionaries Work Teams partner with various organizations to collectively address important issues such as poverty, immigrant's and civil rights, protecting ecological resources, and preserving Mayan indigenous culture."

For more information on Global Visionaries, please visit their website.

Whole Foods Market

Today marks the end of our week long focus on for-profit businesses who support the nonprofit sector. We've seen businesses who have implemented practices that are environmentally and socially responsible, businesses who have been inspired to help champion nonprofit causes, and businesses who work for nonprofit organizations. 

Today's feature, Whole Foods Market, is a chain of markets  specializing in natural and organic products and geared towards socially and environmentally conscious consumers. The company is being featured not only for its business practices, but also for the foundation it established to help the global community.

Whole Foods Market's commitment to community is evident. One of their core values is: 'Caring about our communities and our environment.' This means:

• Sustainable agriculture- by supporting organic farmers, growers, and the environment through their commitment to sustainable agriculture and by expanding the market for organic products
• Wise environmental practices- by respecting their environment- recycling, reusing, and reducing waste whenever possible.
• Community Citizenship- by recognizing their responsibility to be active participants in their local community. They give a minimum of 5% of their profits every year to a wide variety of community and nonprofit organizations.
• Integrity in all business dealings- by viewing their trade partners as allies in serving their stakeholders, treating them with respect, fairness, and integrity at all times.

Sustainability is a key focus of Whole Foods Market. Their vision of a sustainable future "means our children and grandchildren will be living in a world that values human creativity, diversity, and individual choice. Businesses will harness human and material resources without devaluing the integrity of the individual or the planet's ecosystems. Companies, governments, and institutions will be held accountable for their actions. People will better understand that all actions have repercussions and that planning and foresight coupled with hard work and flexibility can overcome almost any problem encountered. It will be a world that values education and a free exchange of ideas by an informed citizenry; where people are encouraged to discover, nurture, and share their life's passions."

The company has begun implementing this vision "by changing the way we think about the relationships between our food, supply, the environment, and our bodies." The realization of their vision can be divided into following:

• Holistic thinking in a conventional world
• Holistic actions for a sustainable world
• Healthy foods and healthy products begin at the source
• Sustainability beyond organic food
• Respect for all forms of life
• Education and Public Participation
• Regulation, enforcement, and accountability.

Beyond all this, Whole Foods Markets make a point of giving back to the communities they serve and the global community. At the local level, each store donates to area food banks and shelters. There are also several times a year when the stores host 5% Days,  5% of the day's net sales are donated to a local nonprofit or educational organization.

On the global level, the company has established the Whole Planet Foundation. The mission of the foundation is "to create economic partnerships with the poor in those developing-world communities that supply our stores with product. Through innovative assistance for entrepreneurship - including direct micro-credit loans and tangible support for other community partnership projects - [they] seek to unleash the energy and creativity of every human being [they] work with in order to create wealth and prosperity in emerging economies."

Whole Foods Market provides a large portion of the funding for the loans and underwrites the administrative costs so every dollar donated goes directly to those in need. The company also supports projects that directly relate to organics and environmentally-friendly production methods, animal welfare, sustainable seafood, and healthy families and nutrition.

Finally, should the need arise, Whole Foods Markets accepts donations at store cash registers for regional and national disasters.

Both the Whole Foods Market website and the Whole Planet Foundation website provide a wealth of information. For more information on Whole Foods Market's initiatives and how you can get involved please visit both sites.