On Thursday, November 3, The Community Foundation in partnership with Southface convened nearly 50 nonprofit leaders to learn, share best practices and support one another's efforts to promote green operations in their organizations. Nearly 50 Grants to Green grantees attended the event, which was held to provide networking and support to "Green Champions" - those individuals responsible for shepherding the green projects at their organization from inception to completition.
Held at the headquarters of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta in Mableton, topics covered during the half-day session included sustainable facility management, lighting, green building certification, the Georgia Power Commercial Energy Efficiency Incentive Program and communicating green impact. Programming also included a peer-learning lunch entitled “Making Organizational Change”, which helped attendees learn how three Grants to Green grantee organizations have gone beyond green building and incorporated green efforts into their organizational culture. During the lunch, attendees were also able to attend a moderated panel of representatives from the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, 7 Stages and the Atlanta Day Shelter, and had the opportunity to discuss their own efforts and challenges in small groups.
We will post photos from the event to our Flickr photo account. Please check back soon.
Through Grants to Green, nonprofits can apply for Assessment awards to identify areas of improvement or Implementation grants, which allow the nonprofit to receive funding for specific recommendations. All nonprofits receiving an award or grant from Grants to Green are required to assign a “Green Champion” who can be a volunteer or staff member at the organization. These individuals may be the executive director, facilities manager, development director or even a board member. Now numbering more than 100, Green Champions’ responsibilities include entering and tracking utility information, attending meetings and learning sessions, posting the Grants to Green web seal on the organization’s website and linking it to the organization’s green practices, completing evaluation information, and using the organization’s sphere of influence to inspire others.
For the past three years, Grants to Green has helped organizations reduce their environmental impact and at the same time improve their bottom line. Released earlier this year, “Grants to Green: Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Nonprofits,” details the success the program has made since inception.
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