Non-profit groups come in quite a few stripes. Take, for example, environmental advocacy. It encompasses both safeguarding the public from environmental threats and securing our natural resources.
As with all advocacy groups, there is an increasing recognition that future success will be tied to improving use technology and best practices.
Managing a firm focused on environmental issues can be extremely challenging. Persistent lack of resource means that many organizations rely on part-time or volunteer team members. Yet, there are a number of best practices and tools that can help such organizations address these challenges.
1. Increase collaboration
California alone has hundreds if not thousands of environmental advocacy groups. And in the last several years, there has been increasing levels of collaboration between environmental advocacy groups across states.
One driver of this pattern may be lower cost airfares, a trend that is now intensifying as fuel costs continue to drop. Another driver is the expansion of communications resources.
This trend can clearly be seen in the growing adoption of conference calling services that provide teleconferencing solutions to such organizations. Many such conferencing services are now offer free conference calling which has further increased the feasibility of collaboration without expensive travel required.
2. Use networking tools
The most successfully managed advocacy groups generate networks of supporters. These networks can take years to build. Whereas the conference calling tools described above are facilitating teleconferencing and collaboration, the new networking tools are facilitating an ongoing sense of feeling connected. Web based resources for networking have now become ubiquitous.
The trick is realizing that online networking is about more than creating a profile. It is about using the whole range of tools including automated updates, blogs, bulletin boards, and photo sharing. These networking tools also help members share the emotional support which is so crucial to sustaining enthusiasm.
3. Remain focused
The best managed environmental groups are ones that stay clearly focused on their mission and do not allow themselves to become distracted. Many environmental advocacy groups are resource constrained. For that reason, committing to five goals with total effort will generally yield superior results compared to tackling ten goals, with one tenth the effort for each goal.
4. Use Desktop Sharing
Some advocacy groups have far flung leadership teams, and it is difficult to have face-to-face meetings. Conferencing can only achieve so much. People often say they want the visual connection. Video conferencing has still not yet seen wide adoption but video conferencing is not the only way to generate a visual connection. Another solution is to use a desktop sharing system
Whether it’s broadcasting a PowerPoint document showing the group’s development efforts or a spreadsheet showing volunteer recruitment stats, desktop sharing can effectively bridge the gap of time and space.
5. Leveraging academic resources
Some people believe that academia is too far removed from environmental politics to be useful. However, many campus programs now offer training in environmental stewardship, policy or advocacy. Such programs are building blocks in the preparation of future leaders and grassroots organizers.
Students who are enrolled in these courses are good candidates to volunteer or lead efforts for your organization. Another effective approach is involving faculty or staff members who can provide perspective and advice. Students come and go but faculty generally remain.
The ideas are not expensive to carry out. Whether its better use of networking tools, free conference calling systems or desktop sharing, the cost of these resources is generally minimal in comparison with the expected benefit.
By: Andy Denis
Posts Tagged ‘Environmental Issues’
5 Tips to Improve Your Environmental Non-profit Organization
September 5th, 2009The Environment and Management Principles
August 15th, 2009The surrounding influences which are now included in the meaning of ‘the environment’ are the air that we breathe, the water we drink or swim in, our homes, numbers of people, traffic, noise, streets, stores, parks, countryside, seashore, wildlife, factories, farming and mining. It has become the practice in geography to refer to the physical environment when referring to natural features, the human environment when referring to cultural and social conditions and the built environment when referring to urban and industrial issues.
Because it is now apparent that mankind its their own environment by the decisions it makes regarding land use and industrial growth, it is apparent that man has a choice in the type of environment he inhabits. There are areas where action can be taken, such as in planning and rural uses, in conservation, flood control and in resources, all these issues collectively referred to as environmental management.
Government agencies, which seek to control pollution, are seen as the most widespread type of environmental management bodies. All types of pollution can be seen as examples of environmental damage. Various levels of environmental damage can be identified from that which is seen as a local concern and that which is a global concern. Environmental contamination, highlighted by such things as plastic bottles left on beaches to the occasional high levels of noise such as that from aircraft, are seen as the least harmful form of damage to the environment.
An environmental hazard where the pollution level puts organic life at risk of permanent destruction is more serious. Environmental pollution where an organic life is destroyed temporarily in a certain area, such as an oil spill, is more serious again but occurs more frequently. Environmental disaster involving widespread and heavy loss of life is becoming a menacing threat. The recognition of these dynamic environmental issues has led to the creation of many government agencies. The first UN conference on the environment in 1972 issued a 26-principle Declaration which declared the protection and enhancement of the environment to have become an imperative goal for mankind.
As the world population continues to increase the, environmental management to control pollution is becoming increasingly necessary. Unless ecological principles, conservation, resource management and population checks are widely adopted, the environment may degrade to the point of collapse, perhaps in the near future. Because the environment is a well structured system, with varying pathways and alternatives with great flexibility, any approach to instability will be difficult to detect and failure will appear suddenly.
Environmental determination is the belief that all human activity can be explained by environmental laws and controls. It was developed during the 19th century. Environmental determinism is seen as deviation from the mainstream of geographical thought, which views geography as a scientific approach to the describing and mapping regions of the Earth.
By: Shawn Hickman
Key points of Synergy – Quality and Environmental Management
August 9th, 2009s period of decreased business expenditure there is a significant reduction in the willingness of organisations to embark on new ventures, such as the application of ISO management systems. What is in evidence is a rejuvenated drive to delve into policies and strategies that have customer appeal. For us, new business has appeared from the need for organisations to be worried about environmental issues, and ISO14001 has become a focus of attention.
From a study of both of these standards there is quite bit that is the same in the documented requirements, and integrated management systems have become the end result of this similarity. It would follow that an organisation can legitimately claim to be operating an environmentally friendly (and ISO14K compliant) business without having formally adopted the 14K standard through third party assessment and registration.
The ISO9001 document allows for the organisation to take cognisance of requirements not arising from the customer, or statutory legislation, but adopted through choice by the organisation. So apart from the registration, and the public recognition(?) that is expected to follow, the ISO14K standard has little to offer an organisation with a sensibly implemented ISO9001 management system and a determination to develop it sensibly. Herein lies the actual problem with the ISO standards as usually implemented and publicly recognised.
With ISO9001 having the potential to combine environmental with quality issues in its scope, the 14K standard is of little value – as a standard. But it isn’t being used as a standard for management purposes, but for registration and publicity. Arguably the only real beneficiaries of ISO14001 are the registrars. But is this situation peculiar to the environmental standard? I think not.
The ISO9001 standard has as its title – Quality management systems. Followers of the stated rules are told to believe the end result to be constantly improving quality. Quality of what? Certainly not the product, there is no claim for that to happen. Any improvement that happens is an improvement to the system. What constitutes an actual improvement seems not to have been seriously considered by either the ISO standards authority, the registrars, or those who pay for the assessment and registration process.
The real problem lies in the nomenclature and the consequential expectation of all stakeholders. Quality management isn’t just about following systems, but understanding and managing work objectives and procedures. ISO9001 is not about quality management, it may be quality control, even quality assurance, but it is not quality management.
By: Ed Bones
