By MC Milker •
June 21, 2008
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Need to finance your growing business? Throughout the year, the Skoll Foundation accepts applications from social entrepreneurs in business at least 3 years.
The Skoll Awards provide later-stage, or mezzanine, funding, which is generally structured as a $1 million award paid out over three years, subject to payment limitations described below under Budget Guidance. In most cases, the grant is provided for core support to help organizations expand their programs and capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable equilibrium change.
In these times of tight credit, worthy ideas have just as tough a time securing financing as those with, perhaps more mundane ideas. Fortunately the interest in sustainable and socially responsible businesses is growing. The Skoll Foundation is just one of several organizations offering this opportunity.
Starting a green business (or making an existing one greener) can often seem like a daunting task. As I start my own business, I am compiling a mental checklist of all small, simple things I can do in my day-to-day operations to lighten my footprint on the planet. By building environmentally conscious practices into my work flow from the start, I hope to start off on the right foot and keep taking steps toward sustainability.
There’s always more you can do, but the most important thing is to do something! Baby steps in the right direction are certainly better than going backwards or not moving at all. Thankfully, many green business practices are not only eco-friendly, but they’re friendly on the company budget as well. So even if the benefits to the planet are hard to see, benefits to your bottom line may be more visible.
Since I’m a habitual list-maker, here’s a handy list of ten simple things you can do to make your business a bit more sustainable every day.
By MC Milker •
April 10, 2008
When I met Priya Haji, co-founder of World of Good, at the recent Natural Products Expo in Southern California, her business was growing rapidly, helped in no small part by funding by social lenders.Bubbly and determined, she knows first hand the challenges socially responsible business face attracting capital.
“There’s a consumer-driven demand for this kind of ethical consumption, but the debt markets don’t understand that,” (She says).
Making the rounds of traditional venture capital firms can be excruciating for eco-entrepreneurs. Traditional firms excited by the opportunities inherent in pursuing green ventures are often less than thrilled when social responsibility is part of the plan.
A great way to end a meeting with a traditional investor or banker is to say, “Oh, by the way, I give away 10 percent of my profits to charity.”
