Green Events Initiative |
We're looking for a fiscal sponsor or simply an independent nonprofit
to provide a home, oversite & independence from SpaceShare & thus
501c3 status for these environmental projects. SpaceShare intends to provide
some resources for a nonprofit in this field, but does not want decision making
capacity at the nonprofit. At this point in time, SpaceShare is initiating
a few of these projects as a taxpaying entity, not IRS 501c3, hoping that
a more traditional nonprofit will be inspired and take these projects over. |
The Green Events Initiative has a broad mandate: to transform tens of thousands of events from 'brown' to 'green,' reducing their negative impact on the planet, while using those events as a forum for educating millions of people about effective, pragmatic environmental efforts. Right now the Initiative is still
mostly a collection of ideas waiting for the right people to make it happen.
Our previous effort to find a fiscal sponsor to take over the project has
been stalled, so unfortunately most of the discussion below involves IRS
nonprofit regulations rather than greening information.
Green Events is a loose project intending to become a nonprofit or
fiscally sponsored project doing the things that the IRS would classify as
nonprofit work around ridesharing and green events. It is being launched
by donations of time and web resources by SpaceShare, and maybe by you.
The IRS rules are
a bit difficult to wrap our projects around: they assume you are completely
profit oriented or completely not profit oriented and funded by asking
for donations, so we're trying
to separate the two, putting purely nonprofit functions here, and telling
the IRS that SpaceShare is just a businesss even if it's 90% nonprofit in
spirit. We're looking for a fiscal sponsor with the legal expertise
to provide the oversight that the IRS calls for.
The division
does make some logical sense, where the Green Events Initiative may
eventually be a membership organization while SpaceShare becomes a project
of a smaller number of green programmers working full time. While we want
to get to work, we may have to spend more money than we bring in to pay
lawyers for 501c3 status, so for now we don't have tax exempt status.
Both before and after 501c3, we look especially for donor-participants who
get involved and fund specific pieces, and look for volunteers as much
as we look for donations - we want to make this a people-project.
Our focus is connecting events and event planners to the wide array of environmental service providers and greening guidelines, encouraging them to provide carpooling, recycling, sharing, composting, organics, relocalization and other ways for an event to be green. We will help other environmental organizations join their efforts, thrive and accomplish their goals.
Our approach begins with solutions that allow an event to become much greener quickly and cheaply, such as carpooling tools (often these are new technologies.) By keeping costs and efforts very low while still producing results, these basic environmental efforts will help us crack open the door, getting the attention of event planners. Once the door is open, we will encourage events to become ever greener year by year, working on sometimes more difficult projects such as composting. We will mobilize thousands of people to encourage events that they attend to become green; we will mobilize hundreds of event planners to encourage venues that they rent to do the same.
Finally, we will help reconnect communities at many different types of large events, from festivals to conferences, helping people connect again with their neighbors. We will teach - mostly by example - effective environmental efforts at events that reach millions of people who would not normally make the effort to learn about these issues.
We need your help to make this happen.
Our volunteer and internship program overlaps SpaceShare's. You might want to read
their vision as well
as Green Events mision.
Green Events is currently
collecting a series of guidelines for both travelers and planners. We often focus on carpooling
and environmental networking:
the most green for the least effort for the planners, with the
most side-benefits, as a way to open the door for further environmental
efforts. We need your help to spread the word!
If you are looking for an organization where you can have a real impact
for your planet, where you can play a worthwhile, creative role with
real responsibilities, contact us.
We're looking for volunteers, whether you have a few minutes to tell the
events you attend about us or want to lead a project. We also have
some exciting internships.
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