Posted by: Jane Martha | January 9, 2010

Announcement: 2010 Board Fellows Opportunities

Net Impact Boston – Board Fellows 2010 Volunteer Opportunities

Are you interested in working on the board of a non-profit? Do you want to help an organization expand its impact? Then Board Fellows is for you!

We have a number of exciting opportunities to get involved. Below is a list of some of the volunteer opportunities available for Board Fellows.

To apply, please fill out the application downloadable here. Send you completed application and resume to boardfellows@netimpactboston.org. Applications are due by January 20.

* Not all experience listed is required for each project. Some organizations have several projects, each of which may require only some of the skills identified.  If you are interested in a project but have only some of the skills listed, please apply.

Openings

Organization 1: Small non-profit that uses music to educate and empower youth

· Mission: Start-up stage: To fortify urban youth by helping them gain musical proficiency, cultural literacy and personal resilience through African Diasporic music and mentoring.

· Project/Challenge:

o Strategic Planning – Performance & Outcome Measurement and Program Evaluation Create program evaluation guide/tools to help set benchmarks for and measure the performance of the organization and its programs.

· Preferred Experience:

o Performance and outcome measurement

o Experience with and/or strong interest in music and youth development

Organization 2: Mid-size non-profit that provides continuing education and training to equal justice attorneys

· Mission: Start-up stage; To provide equal justice advocates, through high quality, accessible continuing education and training, with the tools they need to obtain justice for their clients

· Project/Challenge:

o Create a business plan to help develop a diverse and reliable revenue stream.  Establish pricing models for course delivery and licensing and other resources to expand organizational reach; develop a marketing plan and outreach strategy; assist in developing a strategic plan for managing growth.

· Preferred Experience:

o Business planning and development

o Resource development

o Board development

Organization 3: Mid-size, growth stage non-profit that trains at-risk girls in verbal and physical safety skills and self-awareness

· Mission: To empower girls and young women to value and champion their own safety and well being

· Project/Challenge:

o Evaluate feasibility of program expansion.  Perform market analysis of costs, need, marketability, desirability and identification of similar programs.

· Preferred Experience:

o Business plan development

o Program growth/expansion

o Market research

Organization 4: Small start-up stage non-profit that is building one school at a time in developing countries to make the classroom more accessible to girls

· Mission: To equip girls with self-reliance, knowledge, and increased capacities to both enhance their own lives and to contribute productively to their societies

· Project/Challenges:

o Board development; business planning and strategic growth; marketing

o Develop rules and procedures for Board of Directors – establish board constitution, procedures and guidelines.

o Establish plan for organizational growth and sustainability; create funding plan; finance management.

o Develop online marketing strategy.

· Preferred Experience:

o Expertise in corporate structure

o Expertise in sustainability of organizations

o Online marketing

o Fundraising

Organization 5: Small Start-up Social Services non-profit serving youth and families

· Mission: To promote healthy social and emotional development among youth and families by providing (1) advocacy, (2) prevention and (3)intervention services to keep youth safe and enhance family functioning

· Project/Challenge:

o Fundraising strategy

· Preferred Experience:

o Business development

o Fundraising

o Marketing

Organization 6: Start-up phase non-profit that encourages individuals to support philanthropic causes

· Mission: To inspire and support people to give at their full lifetime potential

· Project/Challenge:

o Exploring different business models (in the aim to increase earned income) and Partnership models (which structures and other orgs yield most benefit to the non-profit)

o Leadership transition

o Helping org focus its programs: Identifying the most impactful, financially sustainable programs aligned with mission

· Preferred Experience:

o Familiarity with non-profits and for-profit organizations

o Start-up/entrepreneurial experience

o Well versed in philanthropy or excited to learn about it

Organization 7: Growth phase non-profit that provides affordable home ownership opportunities to needy families

· Mission: To strengthen families and communities through affordable home ownership opportunities.

· Project/Challenge:

o Develop new program for local community designed to engage youth in the mission of the organization.

o Program should include events, fundraising, and volunteer opportunities for participants.

· Preferred Experience:

o Strategic planning

o Experience geared towards exciting youth in compelling manners

o Marketing strategy

Organization 8: Growth phase non-profit that provides mental health consumers/survivors/ex patients with resources to lead rewarding and meaningful lives.

· Mission: To carry message of recovery, empowerment, hope and healing to people who have been labeled with mental illness.

· Project/Challenge:

o Explore the possibility of establishing a for-profit business that supports the non-profit. Explore grant/seed funding sources for start-up and viable directions for the business

o Develop strategic plan for spinning out an organization that is fiscally sponsored by the non-profit.

o Fundraising strategy to better-diversify income sources and better track and interact with donors.

· Preferred Experience:

o Strategic planning as it relates to business planning and/or fundraising

o Customer relationship management or Donor management

Posted by: asheen | December 4, 2009

Dec. 16: Net Impact Boston Holiday Party

Date: Wednesday, December 16th
Time:
6:00 – 9:00pm
Location:
R&D Pub (MIT’s Stata Center) – 32 Vassar St, Cambridge, MA
Cost:
FREE for members; $10 for non-members
RSVP:
devon@netimpactboston.org

Come celebrate the holidays with Net Impact Boston, the Net Impact 2009 Professional Chapter of the Year!   Light appetizers will be served and there will be a cash bar. Join us as we look back on a great year for Net Impact Boston, look ahead to 2010 and toast the holidays.

Posted by: Jane Martha | November 22, 2009

Dec. 9: Book Club

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Trident Books and Café, 338 Newbury St, Boston
[Green Line: Hynes Convention Center stop] map
RSVP: Alexis Vanderhye, avanderhye@earthsparkinternational.org

halftheskyOur book club choice for this November, Half the Sky, co-authored by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, presents women as economic catalysts. Half the Sky makes a powerful case for promoting gender equity as a means to fight global poverty. Visit the website to learn more about turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide: http://www.halftheskymovement.org.

We will order food and drinks at 6 pm and the discussion will begin at 6:30 pm. Please join us for a great discussion and spread the word!

Posted by: asheen | November 2, 2009

Nov. 30: Revisiting What it Means to be “Cleantech”

Part of the Cleantech Dinner Discussion Series
Date: Monday, November 30 (rescheduled from 11/16)
Time:
6:30-8:30pm
Featuring:
Asheen Phansey & Rudy Ruggles
Cost:
Free for Net Impact members, $5 for non-members
Location: Redline, Harvard Square (59 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA)
http://www.redlinecambridge.com/
RSVP: asheen@netimpactboston.org

It has been more than two years since Rudy and Asheen launched this Cleantech Dinner series for Net Impact Boston, discussing and debating the roles of cycled materials, clean energy, and appropriate technologies in a company striving for a positive “net impact”. Do the ideals with which we kicked off this dinner discussion series still hold?

Read More…

**Please note that the timing of this event has changed.**

Jeffrey Hollender, Chief Inspired Protagonist, Seventh Generation
“Creating a Game Plan for Business to Transition to a Sustainable Economy”

Jeffrey HollenderDate: Thursday, September 24th
Time: 4pm
Location: Shapiro Theater at Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham map
RSVP: egallagh@brandeis.edu

Followed by:

5:30 PM
Seventh Generation will provide transportation from Brandeis to:

6:30 PM
John Joseph Moakley Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Boston, MA

Join Seventh Generation, Rainforest Action Network and Whole Foods Market to learn more about what they’re doing and what you can do to end the destruction of vital ecosystems.

8:00 PM
A Net Impact Members Only Meet & Greet with Jeffrey Hollender will follow the panel event.

Please RSVP to Sara Kutchukian at Seventh Generation: snk@seventhgeneration.com or 800.456.1191 ext. 609

Jeffrey Hollender, Co-Founder and Chief Inspired Protagonist of Seventh Generation, is a well-respected leader in the socially and environmentally responsible communities. Jeffrey led the company from its humble beginnings to its current position as the leading and fastest-growing brand of household and personal care products for your living home. Jeffrey is also a leading authority on issues related to making a positive difference in the health of the planet and its inhabitants through our everyday choices.

Posted by: Jane Martha | September 7, 2009

Sept 15: New Member Social

New Member Social

Date: Tuesday, September 15th
Time: 6-8pm
Location: Tavern in the Square (Central Square) 720 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge map
RSVP: click here

Leadership Team, Weeks FootbridgeWE’RE GROWING!!! Come join us to welcome our newest Net Impact members during a social hour next Tuesday at Tavern in the Square (Central Sq). In just the past three months we’ve seen a 19% increase in our membership, and we’d like to celebrate our members old and new. For new members, this is your chance to learn more about the Net Impact organization, and find out what facets of Net Impact may interest you enough to start pitching in. For current members, consider this your chance to meet some fresh faces and talk about new ideas!

Posted by: Jane Martha | September 7, 2009

Board Fellows Program Accepting Fall Applications

Net Impact Boston Board Fellows Program
Now Accepting Fall Applications

Do you want to be on the board of a nonprofit organization?
Is your nonprofit organization interested in a fresh perspective?

The Net Impact Boston Board Fellows Program is now accepting applications for its fall placement. The deadline to apply is September 25th.

What is the Board Fellows Program?
Board Fellows is a program that places business professionals in one-year board fellowships with Boston-area nonprofit organizations. These individuals sit as non-voting board members and advise their sponsor organization as a regular board member.


Who/What are we looking for?

  1. Nonprofit organizations: We are looking for Net Impact members to nominate or recommend organizations for which they work or volunteer.
  2. Individuals: We’re also looking for Net Impact members who are interested in becoming involved in the program.

How to learn more
Visit the Board Fellows Program or send an email to boardfellows@netimpactboston.org.

How to apply
Send resume and completed application (see the Board Fellows Program link above) to boardfellows@netimpactboston.org.

Posted by: Jane Martha | September 7, 2009

Sept 29: Second Annual Sustainability Speed Networking

Second Annual Sustainability Speed Networking

Date: Tuesday, September 29th
Time: 6:30 – 9pm
Location: Microsoft, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $10 Members / $15 Non-members
RSVP: Click here

Interested in meeting socially responsible leaders in the Boston area, learning about a new industry, and making connections that could impact your business in a sustainable way?

Meet other Net Impact members and the movers and shakers of Boston’s corporate social responsibility, sustainability, community development and social entrepreneurship scene at this second annual speed networking event.

Last year, this was one of our most well-attended events. Mark your calendars so that one of the rave reviews can be your own.

Special thanks to our host and sponsor for this event, Microsoft’s New England Research & Development Center!

MCS_NERD_Logo_4c

Posted by: netimpactboston | September 1, 2009

President’s Corner: September 2009

Ready for Impact

It’s that time of year again; students – fresh-eyed, anxious, and idealistic arriving in a new place for their first year of college. The world is their oyster. Opportunity is everywhere. Where will they make their mark? What will be their lasting legacy, their impact on society?

Except for the college part, this is how I feel most days too. I think a lot of sustainability professionals do. I conducted an eco-efficiency site assessment this week and a colleague said to me after just an hour, “I’ve never seen so many things so differently before.” I look at the global commitments my company has made to sustainability and I wonder simultaneously whether we have stretched too far or not far enough. I wake up every morning and go to work, convinced there are better ways to do things and that the collective capacity of a creative class can achieve the craziest of ideas. For me, the universe is the oyster, our planet its pearl, and we have a shared opportunity to make the most of a very rare gem.

But college is more than casually tossing a Frisbee around on the quad. It comes with its share of investment, responsibility, and late nights. So too, does our job. The saving grace is all the other fresh-eyed, anxious idealists surrounding us and nowhere do I feel this more than in the presence of fellow Net Impacters.

This is why September isn’t just for students anymore; it’s for professionals. This month we are looking forward to welcoming many of you to Boston as new members and to seeing everyone at two of the largest, most anticipated events of the year – speed networking and Jeffrey Hollender at Brandeis. All of these activities promise you will meet someone new and learn something you never imagined – a little like college, right? So read on for inspiration and the details of the opportunities September holds for you.

Kind regards,
Holly

Posted by: netimpactboston | August 1, 2009

President’s Corner: August 2009

Nudge

In a rare window of free time, I recently found myself indulging in one of my favorite things – non-fiction. Anyone who has talked to me in the last couple of weeks is likely tired of hearing me cite Nudge (Thaler and Sunstein), so what better idea than to share it with my fellow Net Impacters.

Nudge examines the design of decision-making and suggests that there are better ways to structure choice architecture to give people an increased chance to choose more wisely. This could be as simple as setting a better default. Car industry anyone? Another and not so surprisingly way to nudge someone is to inform them about what others are doing. Yes indeed; it turns out peer pressure works rather effectively off the playground as well and in a very positive direction. Imagine being asked to trade in your SUV for a Prius. If 9 out of 10 people drove a Prius, might you wonder what you were missing? The human instinct is to conform, whether we fancy ourselves pioneers or not.

The book covers many different areas of life, including the global call to action to stem or to reverse human impact on the planet. The question asked is, why are so many people AND governments still not listening or acting? Where are there opportunities to improve individuals’ chances of making a better choice, either by making all choices “good” choices or by offering some insight or trend about what others are doing? Some progress is being made, but I bet each of us could identify several opportunities to manifest change in both our personal and professional lives by borrowing from the pool of nudges (nudges.org).

So, I am inviting you to consider what influences your decisions and how you influence others in the sustainability and CSR space. What do you keep saying you “should” do, but haven’t gotten around to it yet (eg. biking to work, joining a CSA, upgrading to energy star). Think about becoming a lifetime member of Net Impact, committing to attend the next event, getting to know another Net Impact member and telling someone new about Net Impact. If history and behavioral science hold true, you will see a positive difference in yourself and in others.

Be well and be sure to nudge someone this month (including yourself)!

Kind regards,
Holly

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