In celebration of the community-based organization’s third year of connecting “people with businesses, organizations and the resources they need to build a sustainable future” the group will be hosting a blow-out party at littlefield in Brooklyn.

Things you should know:

Tickets are $20 (and include raffle tickets! YESSSS! I am personally hoping to snag the Blades Natural Beauty item. )

The event runs from 7:00 pm-11:00 pm.

From 7:30-8:30 there will be representatives from Root for Trees, Tap It, Brooklyn Green Team, Rising Tide Initiative, and Solar 1 at the nonprofit booths. Now is your chance to meet other awesome environmentally-minded folks doing great things in NYC.

Hope to see you all there!

1. Openness is not the enemy of quality. Jimmy Wales said this during Nancy’s questioning the openness of Wikipedia. The idea is Wikipedia serves as an example that people want to be objective. The fact that Wikipedia is completely open for anyone to make additions/edits and that the vast majority of wikipedia is correct and objective shows that people by-and-large want to be objective. So extrapolating that, Jimmy feels that businesses should be as open as possible and allow feed-back from others. Doing so creates a “community” atmosphere where people want to be engaged with a company and its products.

2. Micro-finance is over. This came across in a lot of panel discussions. The space is over-crowded causing micro-finance institutions to lend to people for commercial means. I.e. people are receiving loans for T.V.’s rather than to start a business. Increasing access to credit is good but the new question is: Are we now keeping people perpetually in debt rather than actually lifting people from poverty?– which was the original goal of micro-finance.

I do love the Wikipedia model and think that the idea of “openness is not the enemy of quality” is really speaking the same language as the work being done to increase transparency and accountability in both the nonprofit (thinking of charity:water’sgeo-tagged project photos) and corporate (thinking of Zappos for example) sectors.

In terms of microfinance, hmm…sounds like a wave of potentially bad PR and brand management of the “microfinance” concept. I wonder how things will move forward in this area and how micro-finance thought leaders will continue to use this model as a way to catalyze change and development.

Elizabeth Scharpf, Chief Instigating Officer at Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE)
Katie Orenstein, Founder and Director at The Op-Ed Project
Amini Kajunju, CEO/COO at the and Executive Committee member at Angel Africa

They are the big-wigs at their respective organizations and have each made great strides in addressing social issues, but these three women were also honest, funny, and down-to-earth about life as a woman social entrepreneur. Elizabeth Scharpf spoke about her “tipping point” that guided her down a different path. She had been working at an INGO in Mozambique, and had spoken with some young children about what they wanted to be when the grew up. One child answered: “I want to work for a big international development organization, because I want to be rich.” Hmmm. That wasn’t exactly the motivation for involvement in the social sector that she (or really anyone else for that matter) wanted to hear. What resulted was Elizabeth’s pursuit of an alternative path that led her to start SHE.

Amini took an existing nonprofit organization (now in its 4th decade) and turned it around. When she arrived the organization had $30,000 in the bank and she had to fundraise her own salary. Now the organization has a $600,000 annual operating budget and is licensing its 16-week mini-MBA to organizations across the country. All three women pointed out what a large role volunteers played in not only keeping these organizations afloat, but more importantly in moving them forward. At Amini’s organization, WIBO, 35% of their volunteers have been with the organization for 10 years or more. She should definitely be writing a book on volunteer retention!!

Katie was the reluctant social entrepreneur. A professional journalist, Katie had no interest in running a nonprofit or social venture, but statistics about the representation of women writers on Op-Ed pages sent her down a different path. Currently about 15% of Op-Ed pieces are written by women–and apparently this statistic is “bizarrely consistent” throughout television, congress, and NYT Best Sellers. BUT…apparently while about 85% of Op-Ed pieces are by male writers, apparently about 90% of submissions are by men as well. Hmmm. It’s not that pieces by women aren’t being selected, it’s that they aren’t being submitted.

Katie’s mission, however, is not specifically about Op-Ed pages. It’s about “thought leadership” and making sure that women’s perspectives are being heard across the board. The Op-Ed Project was born since its a tangible concept with measurable outcomes (Please take notes budding social entrepreneurs.) She made a very deliberate choice regarding her branding, message, and mission.

I’d recommend setting aside a time to listen to these women speak, or take advantage of the programs they offer.

Say “Hi” to Amini this Friday and Saturday at the Angel Africa Enterprise Conference (Currently a buy 1 get 1 free on tickets!!)

Catch Elizabeth next week at The Feast.

or,  Sign Up for one of The Op-Ed Project’s Upcoming Seminars.

One week, two great events…(Part 2 of 2)

Event 2: NY 100 Party

We’re sick of the doom and gloom–the stories of revival coming out of this crisis need to be told too.–NEWYork 100

Last night I headed over to All Day Buffet’s NEWYork 100 Party at Brooklyn Bowl. All Day Buffet is the Scarlet Pimpernel of the growing social entrepreneurship scene…they are everywhere, doing good, somewhat disguised. When I got to the event last night, the first thing someone asked me was: “How did you hear about All Day Buffet?”  I told them that I had unknowingly come across them on  multiple occasions, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized that All Day Buffet was really behind it all.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

If you haven’t heard of it yet, the Feast Conference is All Day Buffet’s day-long conference in NYC on October 1st. The line-up is pretty impressive and includes: Cindy Gallop, founder of IfWeRanTheWorld; Annie Duke, professional poker player; and, Rod Arnold, COO of charity:water. And that’s just naming a few.

The Feast is self-described as:

A cross-disciplinary series of programs addressing social innovation and new ways to make the world a better place. Our secret sauce lies in a healthy combination of passion, creativity, and entrepreneurship to shift the way things are done – thereby changing individuals, industries, and ultimately the world.

When the All Day Buffet team is not organizing this massive event, they are busy orchestrating By/Association–their innovative network that involves hand-picking members and personally introducing them. Their tag line: “We know someone you should meet.”

And, as if that’s not all…in their free time All Day Buffet put together the comprehensive and super interesting NEWYork100–a list of “100 of the most innovative, rule- breaking, model-changing ideas to come out of the Big Apple.” The NY 100  is broken down into 8 categories: Art & Design, Business, Culture, Environment, Food, Non-Profit, Social Innovation, and Technology. These are definitely individuals, organizations, and businesses that you should meet.And, better yet, aspire to be among!

The fiesta at Brooklyn Bowl (a NY100 member) was free, open to the public, and had NY100 members floating around with self-drawn stars on their name tags. The most impressionable part of the evening was seeing first-hand how All Day Buffet is uniting and mobilizing a NYC movement. It was impossible to meet someone in the room-filled crowd who wasn’t doing great things in their respective fields.

Relatively new (it has only around for about a year and a half) and definitely tiny (it’s run by 2 people), All Day Buffet surely will give Business-As-Usual sleepless nights–if it isn’t already.  The City’s own 21st century superhero is unmasked!…if for a limited time only. Who knows what they are up to next!

Event 1: BRAC’s Friendraiser

Last Wednesday I headed over to BRAC’s Friendraiser at the Edwynn Houk Gallery. I was invited to the event by my friend Laina–who is always up to good. My hat goes off to the BRAC Host Committee, who organized the free event, as it was truly a great way to introduce new “friends” to the organization’s mission and activities. There were a bunch of things about the event’s structure itself that I really appreciated. Some Friendraising tips to consider for your organization’s next Friendraiser:

Price: The event was free. While fundraising and/or off-setting costs are definitely important and events can be a great opportunity for such a thing, free events are a great way to encourage new attendees. In NYC especially, everything seems to have a dollar sign attached to it.

Free for all: Rather than having a panel or guest speaker discuss the organization’s community development work around the world, guests were encourage to mingle and visit informational stations throughout the venue. There are obviously pros and cons to either a formal speaking event or an informal mingle event, but its a good idea to keep in mind the other types of engagements your audience is likely participating in…an over-indulgence in either type of event can be a little daunting.

Creative: BRAC’s Host Committee definitely gets kudos for being creative and fun. Guests were given a “passport”–a booklet with information about BRAC–and asked to visit “countries” (high tables with laptops displaying powerpoint presentations) scattered throughout the gallery space. At each “country” you were able to learn more about BRAC’s involvement in that region as well as receive a “passport stamp”–a sticker with more facts about BRAC’s work. Friendraisers are a great way to show people what awesome things your organization is up to, but it’s good to keep in mind that the way you present your information can impact people’s perceptions. Being innovative in your presentation shows people you are innovative!

Friends: The best part about a Friendraiser is the friends part. While I wasn’t particularly familiar with BRAC before receiving an invitation to the event, I respect and admire the people I know who are involved with or connected to BRAC (in addition to being very impressed with those Host Committee members and staff that I met at the event)–which, by default leads me to respect and admire an organization they believe in.  Friends of your organization are a great resource as they can advocate in meaningful ways on your behalf…remember to cultivate these relationships!

All in all, it was a creative and fun environment to learn more about a great organization that has a lot of  advocates within the NYC community.

Last Thursday the SOLD-OUT event, featured Sue Gilad: “an entrepreneur who has never had a job” (and, a fine public speaker, if I might add). Sue’s seminar, entitled “Financial Freedom is Sexy”:

[G]ets participants excited about creating profitable ventures from what they are already experts at. Sue’s forthcoming book, FINANCIAL FREEDOM IS SEXY, shares the inspired brainstorms and success stories of the entrepreneurs who took the proven principles of “info-preneuring” (information enterpreneuring) and ran with them.

In addition to being an inspiring, down-to-earth speaker, Sue had a slew of personal experiences to share as well as a number of concrete and useful tips for entrepreneurs. One thing she brought up was the concept of changing the way we think about money and seeing “saving as sexy” rather than a “drag” or something that makes us feel unempowered. It didn’t make that much sense to me at the moment, but this weekend when I only “window shopped” at Barnes and Noble (a difficult task, I’ll have you know) I left and thought, “Wow. It’s really nice to have money, and NOT spend it.”

OVERALL: The price was right ($10) for a fabulous and inspiring seminar and what I’ve written up here is just the tip of the iceberg. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND being on the lookout (here) for the second round of this seminar–Dana mentioned that due to high demand, Sue may be back!

• Early Earners – Online education destination for youth and families promoting positive financial habits

• Girl Guides USA – Outdoor program that develops girls’ environmentalism, leadership and teamwork

• Illume – Online mentoring and career resource for young women from illiterate families in India

• Out Against Abuse – Online resource to stop domestic violence in the South Asian community

• Public Stuff – Software to connect government and citizens to improve services and community life

• Start Your Engine – Exercise, nutrition, stress and time management program for low-income women

The event featured a keynote speech by Diana Ayton-Shenker, Founder & CEO of Fast Forward Fund (FFF), a youth-investing-in-youth social venture fund, who spoke the importance of investing in young social entrepreneurs who will become tomorrow’s leaders.

The venue was a-buzz with interesting conversations and was a great opportunity to meet other faces in the world of NYC social entrepreneurship. And, in addition to the great company, the Bowery Wine Company staff were fabulous!

I had the pleasure of helping organize the event and had the opportunity to work with some really fabulous women including Natalia Oberti Noguera (NYWSE Director) and Melissa Osborne (who is off to graduate school this fall! Congrats!).  If you are a woman interested in social entrepreneurship, I highly recommend checking out NYWSE–they have an ever growing community and lots of thoughtful resources for women social entrepreneurs.

If you are considering applying for next year’s Friendraiser, check the NYWSE website for the 2010 Program Applications.

Interested? Upcoming Urban Foraging with Leda Meredith events: Saturday August 15th and Saturday October 10th.

Linden
Day Lilies
June Berries

Before becoming a botanist, Leda was a professional ballet dancer.  In quick biography at the end of our tour, Leda mentioned that her career transition was made possible by a nonprofit organization called Career Transition For Dancers, which sounds like an amazing program! As we sat under a tree passing around her book, Botany, Ballet and Dinner from Scratch: A Memoir with Recipes, we got to sample some of Leda’s homemade Juneberry & Mullberry Preserves (both of which are found in the Park!). Delicious!

(photo via Leda Meredith)

More on the Green Edge Collaborative NYC:  The Green Edge Collaborative NYC is “a social network that connects people with businesses, organizations and the resources they need to build a sustainable future.” In addition to Urban Foraging tours, Green Edge hosts a number of supper clubs as well as a film series in addition to managing a community calendar.

Check back when I post some more photos from the forage!