Great Lakes Green Pages

Outsiders welcome!

2010-07-28T16:16:53Z

I spent a few weeks in Seattle, and it only made me miss Cleveland more. Being a transplant from the Pacific Northwest, it was quite a culture shock moving to Cleveland, Ohio. America’s heartland, land of manufacturing, steel country. But after living here for a decade, it is clear that things in the region have changed. Out of necessity and a change in the general economy, Cleveland has burst forth with new ideas and is poised to be the cutting edge of sustainability with a new “green” economy.

Sure, there are a lot of things going on in the Seattle/Bellevue metropolitan region that make Cleveland pale by comparison. Jobs comes to mind. I heard on the local news that Bellevue, Washington has an unemployment rate of just over 5%. That is lower than the Puget Sound region in general by nearly a percentage point and almost half of the national average. But before you pack up the station wagon to head west, keep this in mind. The AVERAGE house price in Bellevue is nearly $500,000. The city is not populated with mansions, it is just a very expensive market. Also, keep in mind that much of the economy in and around Seattle is built on technology-Microsoft and the like.

What is Cleveland doing? We have lost much of our manufacturing base and the jobs that go with them. As we strive to reinvent ourselves, we are tapping into our roots to find new products to make use of our real estate and form alliances to bring new manufacturing and new technologies to the region. Let’s face it, California cannot keep up with the manufacture of solar panels, so Toledo is filling in the gaps. If we can do the same with things like wind turbine parts and smart grid pieces, then the future of Cleveland’s new economy is bright. Furthermore, as technology shrinks the world, major players in corporate America begin to see Cleveland as an attractive place to build a new hub. Centrally located to much of the country’s population, and with a low cost of living, it is an ideal place to set up shop. Where else could you put a brand new headquarters right on lake front property, within an 8 hour drive of 75% of America’s populace and do it for about what a nice house would cost in a Seattle neighborhood. And a CEO pulling down a million dollars a year can live like a Saudi prince in NE Ohio.

Seattle also beats out our region in traffic. Commutes can be two hours each way and people do it every day. Spending an hour in your car to get anywhere is not surprising. This has, however, led to the development of dense urban neighborhoods. If you want to be i the city, then they need to build a lot of stuff in a small area to make room for all those urbanites. Every little neighborhood sports shopping, groceries, restaurants, and services. Conversely, suburbs also have to provide more amenities, as the ability to “run into town” is nearly impossible. This is where Cleveland can learn a thing or two. Urban flight and suburban growth has led to sprawl and the loss of a vibrant downtown. Gone forever is the Cleveland “garment district” and the downtown shopping at such renowned locations as Halle’s, the May Company and Higbee’s. Replacing it are upscale suburban malls like Beachwood Place. Tower City has given way to lifestyle centers like Legacy Village and Crocker Park. Ease of access to the city center has made suburban living and downtown employment attractive and led to great buildings being replaced by surface parking lots. In Seattle, as traffic worsens, public transportation has finally begun to take on a more meaningful role in the region. Cleveland, however, continues to provide public transportation that is geared toward serving those who cannot private transportation. Further, it cuts services and routes to the areas that could most benefit from expansion.

In the ares of waste and recycling, Cleveland is on par with much of the services of the Puget Sound area. Just like Ohio, Washington has no bottle deposit, so cans and bottles are routinely tossed into garbage out of convenience. From my observations, curbside recycling is not uniform within all the various city designations around the Seattle area and public awareness does not seem to be a priority around the region. While this is similar to the current state of things around NE Ohio, things in Cleveland are improving. While I saw a few recycling receptacles on Seattle city sidewalks, next to the garbage cans, and some areas had broad based curbside programs, Cleveland has a long term goal of full city curbside recycling over the next few years. I spotted one compost bin on the sidewalk, whether that was a regular part of life, I do not know. Cleveland has a pretty active grassroots movement for composting and recycling and major players like the Q and Tower City are implementing big composting plans within their facilities. With the big companies on board, Cleveland could easily outpace Seattle’s current capacity in a very short time.And don’t forget that Cleveland is soon going to be turning its waste into energy, with its new electric facility that is scheduled for the near future.

The area where Cleveland and NE Ohio seems to be truly ahead is in local foods. I love to eat and I love food. While Seattle has the Pike Place Market and an abundance of fresh seafood, in an area with a huge population this is not enough. I was shocked to see local grocery chains sporting Gulf seafood, Atlantic fish, Australian beef and even South American apples. While this is not surprising in zones with short growing seasons and no access to the ocean, in a moderate climate with plenty of local farmland, it was shameful. Furthermore, that watermelon that was shipped from California or Mexico was selling for anywhere from $7-$10. And it was not that tasty. Perhaps my experience in trying to always buy local and seasonal when I can has led me to be a bit of a food snob, but I would rather buy a ripe red tomato from a local farmer that 3 tomatoes from a chain that shipped them green from Texas and had almost no flavor. I mentioned Fresh Fork to friends and family and the concept of a CSA seems completely foreign to all of them, while we have a long list of them here. I only saw a couple of ads for local farmers markets, while we have dozens around the metro area. Add to that the growing list of leaders in NE Ohio who are trying to tap into our farmers and their produce as an economic resource and you have something to be proud of.

So, Clevelanders can be proud to be here. We have a vibrant music, arts and cultural scene and are leading much of the country when it comes to sustainability and creating a new economy. When someone tells you they just moved here, don’t ask them, “Why CLeveland?” Instead simply say, “Welcome. You are gonna love it here!”

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Snohomish County saves you green by going green.

2010-07-15T19:37:44Z

While recuperating from hip replacement surgery, I am visiting my mother here in the Greater Seattle Area. While here, we have been arguing over plenty of issues-as many people do with their aging parents. Most of ours have been around issues of hoarding and waste. One big issue has centered around buying things that you do not need and that will end up in landfill. Our biggest debates have been around perishables. My mother is in her 80′s and still buys food in bulk from Costco. While in the hospital, my sister decided to do a little housecleaning, and removed all of her food that was well past its expiration. Then, as if on cue, her old refrigerator finally gave up the ghost. Now, buying a new appliance can be stressful enough, but doing it with a recuperating senior with control issues is a flat out ordeal.

Fortunately, though there are plenty of programs for Snohomish County, Washington. Right now, she was able to cash in on a $75 rebate from the state, as well as a $50 rebate from the PUD of the county. These rebates are tied to the purchase of a new refrigerator that are Energy Star rated. Similar rebates are available for other home appliances. After making her choice and arranging for delivery we returned home to find out that there is also a program for the recycling of the old refrigerator. With a 5 minute phone call an appointment was scheduled for pick up by Jaco Environmental. For upgrading to an energy efficient new appliance and having them pick this one up, she gets an additional $30rebate. This company will take your old fridge, drain all of the old refrigerant, and tear it apart. Usable parts are put back to work. Then the internal pieces are all separated and recycled-insulation and all. I have to give the guys who picked up this old fridge a big shout out. They were friendly, fast and polite.

They also came with a great environmental pack. In it was a water saving showerhead, a water saving faucet aerator, a water aerator with an off switch, two CFL bulbs and a handful of handy literature on how to save energy and water. It was an expected gift. When you add this to her $155 in rebates, and the 10% off Energy Star promotion she found at Home Depot, and the monthly savings in energy consumption, this new refrigerator will pay for itself in no time.

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A year of oil?

2010-07-12T19:00:12Z

Thanks to fellow blogger, Joe.My.God, I was turned on to this animation. It is a look at the oil spill over the course of a year. This animation is based on computer simulation models, created at the University of Hawaii. It shows where the oil spilled over the course 0f 5 months, and where it will all end up. According to BP we can be assured that the oil spill is nearly over and that by months end, it will be stopped. Keep in mind that this also doesn’t take into account the burning of oil or the use of dispersants. Whether this is better or worse for the environment remains to be seen. I look at how much of the country could be affected. Just a small spill in a big ocean…

Of course, no one expected the oil to affect New Orleans, but it reportedly has entered the lake. Everyone says that it can’t affect the rain, but oily rain is reported along the coast. We can never predict what is going to happen here.

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Cleveland RTA frustrations

2010-07-11T20:58:27Z

Cleveland’s Rapid Transit Authority has been voted the “Best in the Country”; obviously by someone who doesn’t ride public transportation in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Portland Oregon, San Francisco, etc.

Today was one of the most exasperating times I’ve had in Cleveland. Some friends invited me to see the “Tall Ships” which are moored at Cleveland’s Port. Being equally green-minded we all decided to take the Rapid Transit and save the gas and the $10.00 event parking. Not familiar with how our system works, but having extensively travelled all over the world and ridden subway and train systems, we purchased one-trip tickets and boarded the train at the first green station in the country, the 65th street station. The machine was confusing, listing all kinds of possible tickets that the little screen refused to explain. We finally settled on three adult one-trip tickets for $2.50 each. In most cities if you are riding around all day, switching to different trains, busses and stations it is a better deal to buy the all day pass, but we were only going to the waterfront and back so thought it would work out cheaper to just get the one-trip tickets. Of course, we were mistaken.

In nearly every city we’ve been in, once you have a ticket and are “underground” you can continue to take any train without leaving the station, re-entering and buying new tickets. Not so in Cleveland. After going just a couple of miles and a couple of stops, we got off at the underground Tower City station and headed for the Waterfront line. However, our tickets were now invalid. We had to puchase new tickets. Now we’d already spent the same amount as an all-day pass and still haven’t made the return trip home.

Once new tickets were purchased we placed them in the card-slider only to have the machine read “ticket misread”. The policewoman on duty informed us we’d have to insert the ticket in the separate reader instead of using the same slider we’d just used at the first station. No signs stated this, so obviously RTA is paying this police officer to do the work of a sign. We inserted our tickets into the reader and this time the machine read “Incorrect RTE”. The office ended up letting us through the handicap-gate, along with every single other person in the station since the reader apparently couldn’t read the tickets at all. Frustrating and expensive so far.

We boarded the Waterfront line and rockily jostled our way to the 3rd street station where we disboarded. Walking up the switchback ramps we were stopped at a booth by another policewoman. This one said we’d have to pay our tickets for riding the rapid. We explained that we’d already paid, but she continued to argue that we’d have to pay again. The man in the booth looked at our tickets and waved us on but this final insult was really aggravating us.

One friend thought he’d be clever and purchased our return home tickets now so we wouldn’t have to wait in line later once the event was over. However, when we did return to the station we discovered that RTA tickets are only good for 30 minutes and so were now invalid.

Really RTA? All total we spent $30 to ride the rapid when it would have cost us $10.00 to just drive there and park. Okay, maybe throw in an extra $1.00 for gas.

The ones I really feel sorry for are foreigners and visitors to the city. Having been confused by the metro of Paris, stymied by the trains of Frankfurt, and nauseated by the smells of the New York Subway, I would still not vote Cleveland’s RTA the “best” of anything unless it was “best of confusing, expensive, and broke-down transit systems”.

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Containment this month?

2010-07-10T20:02:11Z

BP promises that we should see containment of the oil well within the month. I remain dubious. You know the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice and pay with it with an ecological disaster and cancer causing carcinogens splashed across the country’s beaches.” I was listening to an interview of some of the divers who have been in the water near the event horizon. They are diving in Haz Mat suits. Why? They do not really know just how much damage can be caused to them by swimming in crude oil. The same company that has issued this dictum to those divers are the same folks who are saying that this oil spill is not really that big a deal and will not have that much of an affect. Remember that this spill is “relatively tiny” in a “very big ocean.”

It isn’t really surprising that I remain skeptical. BP first tried to pass the buck. Lots of fingers were pointed, but the bottom line is that BP didn’t maintain their safety equipment. Secondly, it was a small well and there wasn’t that much oil. That has proven to be a complete and utter lie. You can say that this was all underestimated, but if you listen to BP and its supporters, it continues to be underestimated. BP and our own government have failed to utilize the help of European countries that have offered aid. They refused to use the hair mats that would have absorbed a goodly portion of the oil that floated on the Gulf’s surface and could have prevent some of it from reaching shore. When it became apparent that BP was not capable of salvaging much of the oil for their own use, they began to burn it off. If you have ever burned any oil product, then you know this was not a great choice. Not only is it inefficient, it produces air pollutants and kills off wildlife. Now they are employing dispersants. While the crude is terrible, at least it is on organic element. Man made chemical dispersants will do some good in making the damage of the spill seem less of an issue, but in reality, they are likely to do more harm than good in the long run. It is not good sense to pour chemicals on top of chemicals to get rid of chemicals. Especially when mats of human and animal hair will do the trick naturally.

As for the stopping of the leak, BP seemed more keen on keeping free of paying for the damage than they did of stopping the damage. I can appreciate that the company has a fiduciary responsibility to its share holders to try and make money. But when does this responsibility to its shareholders trump its responsibility to its customers, the planet, or even the population of the region? First they promised us that they could just turn it off. Oops, they spoke too quick. They tried all kinds of other alternatives, and bandied about even more-all to no avail. Finally they tried a big dome to cover the whole damn thing off. This only led to frustration, but at each stage BP said that they had done it. Currently, they are removing the old dome and trying to replace it with a new one. Once again, this should do the trick. Yeah right….

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More Food Madness on Monday

2010-07-10T19:14:40Z

My buddies at Stove Monkeys are gearing up for their next Yumm event at Mercury Lounge. I have written about these guys and their friends before. Now every month they are showing Clevelanders just how adventuresome food can be. Getting this monthly project off the ground has been an adventure for Matthew Mytro and his team. The first month they tried this experiment, it was pretty unclear as to whether or not Cleveland was ready to embrace the concept of molecular gastronomy and food combinations. That first evening was one of the first beautiful nights in Cleveland. It also happened to coincide with an event for the Indians at Jacobs Field-and who could have predicted a solid playoff round for the Cavs? We were there early and the crowd was light, but things picked up as the evening wore on. But if last month was any indication, Cleveland has embraced this monthly foray into cooking concepts with open arms. Unexpected crowds crammed the patio and the introduction of cocktail concoctions had patrons lining up at the bar. This month, Matt tells me that they will making optimum use of the overall space at Mercury. This month looks to be the best month yet!

For a mere $10 ($7 in advance) you can get some nitrogen frozen tomato mozzarella salad, liquid raviolis, Bacon PB & J, Corn On Da Cob, and ice cream. There will be molecular cocktails, too like Mom’s Apple Pie and liquid Jack and Coke. Check out some of the highlight from last month’s event:

Stove Monkeys is mostly a clothing company. If you place an order of $25 or more, you can get a free ticket to this event. I love their latest designs, so check them out and tell me what you think! You can get one of their You can join these guys on Facebook and on Twitter to find out what other cool things they are doing!

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Should you boycott BP?

2010-07-02T17:26:34Z

My answer is still yes.

BP does not own any gas stations. That may be true. But that is not a viable reason to not boycott BP gas stations. I am loking around the web and I guess that BP and its mega conglomerate spin machine is doing its job. There are a lot of people saying that boycotting BP is not a good idea. They are saying that it will do no good and that you are only hurting the local economy. I think it is just more spin. As usual, I have my own opinions about the matter and have no problem sharing them with you in a long rant.

First off. Oil continues to spill out of the ground and we have no way of stopping it. You can watch it here. There was a cap in place and lots of people thought that was it. That cap failed and wreaked more damage. Crude oil continues to rush into our ocean at a rate of unheard of proportions. While we all sat back and trusted that our politicians to handle this disaster, BP ignored offers of help from other countries, from everyone in fact. The CEO of BP said, “it is really a small spill for such a big ocean.” Months have gone by and BP is responsible for the largest ecological and economical disaster in recent history (by my accounts-we have a long way to go before we see just how bad this will get). TO me there is NO question that we should all be boycotting BP gasoline and BP stations.

Okay let’s look at the arguments by those who oppose boycotts of BP:

BP doesn’t own any gas stations. True. BP supplies to gasoline to franchise operations who sell their gasoline products and pay hefty fees every month to support the corporation and use their logo. While I agree that it is really those franchisees who are hurt the most by a boycott, they can leave the group and buy their gasoline elsewhere. Yes, they will lose money. Yes, they are being hurt. Yes, they will have to spend a load of cash to change over to a new supplier, and get rid of the BP logo. Yes, it means new signs, new stationery, new supplier, new credit accounts, new everything. Sorry, but sometimes in life you you make what turns out to be a mistake. Just because you hitched your wagon to the wrong company, does not mean I should help support you as you support the mega corporation that has created this mess. You picked the wrong company and I will not be giving you any more of my money to pass along to them. At some point you have to say, “enough is enough,” and bow out gracefully. Take your lumps and move on. I feel for you here, as I have made plenty of decisions that turned out in hindsight to be the wrong ones for my future. Being an adult means picking yourself up and moving on. That is called business, get over it. It has even been said that to boycott your local franchisee is unfair-I say to remain a part of the BP group is unfair. Because they don’t want to lose money, we are all supposed to look away and ignore that there has been oil spilling into the Gulf for months because your supplier ignored its safety obligations and spent more money greasing palms than on stopping potential safety hazards. The longer they stay married to the BP brand the more money they will lose. That is bad business and we are supposed to support bad business? Would you buy crappy food just because the restaurant is near your house? How about if you found out they bought their meat from a supplier that ignored health and safety violations and may have dangerous beef?

You are only hurting the local economy. I don’t even get this argument. This is obviously corporate spin at its best. If you continue to drive, then you continue to buy gas. Nearly all gas stations are franchises owned by a local business person, so switching from one brand to another will not hurt the local economy. It only moves the money to the hands of another business owner. Yeah the BP owner may lose money and have to lay off staff and even close. But those dollars spent on gas are being spent somewhere, and if you choose another local franchise to shop at, then your money stays here. That owner may have to hire more help and then jobs are created. We do not have a local oil supply or a local refinery that is going to suffer. So this whole argument makes no sense to me at all. Switching from Coke to Pepsi will not hurt the local economy. Switching from Great Lakes Brewery to Heineken will. That is how supporting the local economy works.

You can’t stop using BP anyway. There is some truth here. BP sells its oil to all kinds of manufacturers. That is why they delayed so long to start burning or decided to refuse help in the clean up They planned on salvaging as much crude as possible. Even if it isn’t good enough for gasoline, it might make plastic bags, lipsticks, even your detergent bottle. So you can’t really boycott BP completely. I imagine that if even manufacturers stopped buying BP petroleum, then they would sell it to a middle man who would turn around and sell it again as their own. It might even be blended in with oil from multiple suppliers, so you never know where it is coming from. All of this is true. However, brands are built. BP has spent a long time and a lot of money to build the BP brand. They have also spent a ton of money trying to salvage their brand and their reputation. A chunk of this money is coming from those of you who are supporting the local BP station who passes along their share in franchise fees to BP, as well as taking their profits in gasoline. Big oil is big business. When you stop buying BP gas, you are telling them that their brand is tarnished, and you are asking the franchisees to switch suppliers. Some already have.

Unless you are planning on going to the Gulf and volunteering to wash wildlife, there is little that you can do right now to stem the results of this disaster. One is to contact British Parliament and tell them to rein in one of their corporations. Another is to contact your congress person and tell them how fed up you are-even write the president! But the biggest thing that you can do is to stop buying BP gasoline. You have to spend your money where it matters. By boycotting BP you are helping to stop further disasters. I would bet that right now, other oil companies are double checking their oil rigs to prevent this from happening to them. If we ignore it, why wouldn’t they?

Really, the only way to stop this kind of abuse is to stop using so much fossil fuels. But don’t get me going on that….

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Reprint: Terms you should know…

2010-07-01T17:01:32Z

As I continue to rebuild my data from yesterday’s horrible sputtering laptop death, I offer you a reprint of a classic post:

There are a lot of confusing terms out there these days. If you have ever tried to have a conversation with an architect, you probably have heard them use a lot of terms that mean nothing to you. I thought I would do a series of posts that define some of the terms in the industry today. Next time someone at a party brings one of them up, rather than give them a blank stare, you can engage them without feeling self conscious. Or sprinkle them into conversation yourself, and show everyone how interested you are in the green movement.

USGBC: United States Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation. They are working to help the environment by making buildings greener. They manage a membership of professionals, rate and certify projects, educate the public, and give credentials to professionals who have demonstrated a knowledge of green practices.
LEED: LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a standard used by the USGBC to rate buildings and certify them as being green. This is a multi-tiered rating system based on points that are obtained by meeting specific criteria. It is also variable based on the type and scope of the project. This rating system covers all building projects from new construction to rehab. The system sets the criteria for every level of certification. The levels are certification, silver, gold, and platinum and are achieved by a point system. LEED certification applies to buildings ONLY-not products or companies. If some one tells you their product (or company) is LEED certified, they are selling you a bottle of snake oil-and if you get that reference you know just how old I am.
LEED AP: This stands for LEED Accredited Professional. The USGBC maintains a standard by which professionals can prove their knowledge of the industry through testing and receive LEED AP status. LEED AP designation is tied to a particular individual and not the company they work for. While studying and testing for the LEED AP exam is done on a personal basis, employers may sponsor individuals to take the exam. Furthermore, companies can be members of the USGBC as well as individuals.
GREEN: This is a very ambiguous term. It can mean nearly anything, but I will try to demystify it for you. Green generally applies to products, energy and buildings that conform to certain standards and do as little harm to the environment as possible. Just like natural (and until fairly recently, organic) there is no exact definition for this term. Therefore it is used all the time, mostly as a marketing strategy. Green products are ones that minimize harm to the environment. Cars that are energy efficient are green, gas guzzlers are not. Things made from recycled materials are green, using virgin material is not. Bamboo is green, as it can be renewed quickly, while old growth American Oak is NOT green as it takes 100 years to replace. Energy is green when it comes from renewable resources like wind and the sun, not fossils fuels, which take millions of years to form. Buildings are generally considered green when they meet the LEED certification requirements. Of course, things are never that simple, and you have to watch out for greenwashing.
GREENWASHING: This is a term that is used to describe marketing techniques designed to latch onto current green trends. Because green has no legal definition, any company can use claims to make their product or company seem better than it is. Some people have tried to claim that because they use bamboo in their product it is green. However, if they use bamboo that is shipped from China, made into a veneer and applied to particle board made with toxic chemicals it is not very green. I have heard people call their company green because they recycle their office paper. Big deal-a green office is one that is energy efficient (preferable in a LEED certified building), manages its stormwater runoff, provides public transportation assistance or bike racks and showers, and turns off the lights at night.
Sustainability: The EPA defines says that sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The general idea of sustainability is that we need to put things in place so that we are not using up our natural resources faster than they are being replaced. It means that we use wood that is harvested in a way that it is reforested as it is used. It means that we use fuels other than fossil fuels which are finite in quantity. It means reusing items rather than throwing them away.

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Buying Local Week

2010-06-29T17:35:27Z

On the heels of my buying local post comes this post from Michelle V at Cleveland Foodie. This is a reprint of her blog post. She is a great blogger about the local food scene and worth the time every day to read. You will know more about Cleveland food and restaurants than anyone in town!

What buying local means and why you should: July 3-10

It means that $48 million would be kept right here in Ohio. Yes, $48 million. According to COSE, if everyone in NEO pledged to redirect $100 locally, that much would be kept right here. Additionally, for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 stays in the local economy, creating jobs and expanding the region’s tax base. Alternatively, for every $100 spent at a national chain store, only $14 remains in the community.

Buying locally means supporting your neighbors. It means buying your groceries from the local farmers’ market, West Side Market, Heinen’s or neighborhood CSA. It means dining out at Greenhouse Tavern, Sun Luck Garden, Ohio City Burrito or Fire. It means grabbing your morning coffee from Phoenix or Loop (or even Blackbird coupled with the ridiculously good chocolate-cherry loaf). Seeing a movie at Cedar Lee. Picking up some fun treats and cool threads at Banyan Tree, Stash Style, Room Service or Wrath Arcane. Having a beer after work at your neighborhood bar. Taking dry cleaning to that mom and pop place up the street, or buying flowers for your wife at that little shop right next door. It means doing business with those that are as committed to our area as we are – that are giving back to the community, to our economy and are making a choice to do business right here and in return providing us the best quality product possible.

If you read this blog regularly, chances are I’m preaching to the choir. So let’s take this opportunity and spread the message to our friends and families. Let’s get them to commit to buying local for one week and see the difference it can make.

For the second year in a row, COSE and I Buy NEO are putting together “Buy Local” week from July 3rd – 10th to encourage Northeast Ohioans to support the area’s small businesses by pledging to spend $100 locally. You can learn more about the cause here and even get a discount card to use at over 40 area businesses now through August.

I remember this campaign from last year and it was going on not just here, but all around the country. Local food is tastier & healthier and buying anything local helps to support the local economy. Do your best to keep your money close to home, though as I noted earlier, it doesn’t always work out.

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Givimo.com

2010-06-28T23:18:51Z

It is difficult times. Many non-profits managed their entire budgets from funding from big donors or from endowments and trusts. Enter 2008 and 2009, the housing crisis, the bank failure debacle, the loss of market share by American auto makers, etc and you end up with endowments that had huge losses of income. Further, even the most well invested around the globe suffered huge losses and could not give to charity the way they once did. So keeping good things going and starting new grassroots organizations is the key to supporting charities. Enter Givimo.com.

I got this email and decided to check them out:

About a month ago the team at Mindbox Studios launched Givimo.com. Givimo is a social-giving community that brings causes and activist together all over the web. We’re passionate about giving nonprofits tools to make fundraising easier, and empower generous givers to become activists for their favorite causes.

I need your help! You can help by simply signing up on Givimo.com (free), share the site with your friends, and tell nonprofits or causes you know about us. We’re meeting with the Fine Arts Fund- Cincinnati (they raise $15 million every year) and others next week and want to get 200 generous givers on the site by then to show them an already vibrant growing giving community. We have 55 givers right now and have raised just under $1k (with no marketing).

I’d also appreciate your feedback. Use the “feedback” tab on the left side of the site if you have ideas, questions, or experience any problems.

Here are just a few of the features built into Givimo.com:

Features for Givers

Facebook Connect (login or sign up using Facebook)

Recurring Giving

Save Multiple Giving Methods

Giving Reports (download CSV)

Save your favorite causes and campaigns

Become an activist for your favorite campaigns (fund raising using your social networks)

Features for Causes (personal or nonprofit)

Create and manage causes

Create and manage campaigns

Customize gift page

Goal setting

Local nonprofit directories (example: http://cincinnati.givimo.com)

Recurring giving

Giving reports

Share with Facebook and Twitter

Thank you for your help and joining the cause of making a more generous world using Givimo. We hope it make giving and fund raising easier for you.

I signed up myself, but haven’t really looked too hard. I like the idea that you can easily raise money for your favorite start up charity ideas, like my pals’ charity, Feed a Friend. They just got together and decided to feed the local homeless int heir neighborhood. They could easily benefit from small amounts like $5 and $10 dollars. What’s more, since it is all volunteers, everything will go directly to those in need. As large charities are becoming less mobile and have less resources, smaller more nimble charities are filling the void left behind as these charities cut services. A charitable group is trying to do the outreach that was cut by other groups in outreach to LGBT youth.

I think this is great. Sign up and help them out. Help them know that you care and help support a good idea.

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