Discovered your "eureka" green idea and want to make a business out it? Don't let your dreams die off just because you do not have the fund to start it. There are organisations out there looking for people like you.
Where can you start your search for them? If you remember that "Birds of a feather flock together" then you are on the right track. Get a little notepad and pen ready and start looking through your local newspaper.
These are what you should look out for:
1) Name of companies who have won "green" awards.
2) Name of the "green" awards.
3) Your government or local state green campaign.
4) Names of companies with green "Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR).
5) Name of companies who organise "green" contest or projects.
6) Names of organisation who are involved in looking into environmental issues.
7) Look out for key words associated with these organisations or related to them.
Following are some keywords I have picked up.
Green Projects and Campaigns in Malaysia:
charity recycling day
construct greener building
save the river project
tree planting mission
green leaf campaign
Shell Gourami Business Challenge
Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution
Taman Negara Eco Challenge
Malaysia Design Council
aqua culture
harvest rainwater
love our rivers
recycling padi straw for mushroom cultivation
Green Awards:
Responsible Care Awards
Hibiscus Award
Look out for words that are tagged with the word "eco" or "green". Here are some examples:
friendly
environment
living
trends
innovation
competition
nominations
recognition
rating
product design
buildings
conservation funds
government funded
waste grant
fact sheets
sustainable business
biodiesel
biomass
natural resources
fuel-economy
e-waste
tourism
Once you have all these noted on your notepad, you are ready to do your search on the internet. How do you work on it?
1) Key in the name of the company to find its website.
2) Read about their "Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR).
3) Are you able to start a green project based on what they have posted?
4) If you already have a green project do their "CSRs" relate to it.
5) Don't forget to take a look at their links for useful resources as they may provide links to agencies you are looking for.
If you do not have names of green conscious organization to check up on, you can locate them by doing a search using the key words I have provided above. If you are trying to locate a government agency, after each keyword, add the tag ".gov" or ".org" for organisation.
Can your green project be commercialized? Whatever way you want to run your green project you can try seeking funds or grants to make it more successful.
1) On the websites of companies you have located, look out for links like, "Applying for Grant or Fund".
2) If you cannot find it, look to see if they have a link to "sitemap" and check their list of postings to see if there is anything related to "grant" or "funds" or "scholarship".
3) If you are trying to locate the organisations who provide green funds in your own country, just add the name of the country against the name of the key words you are searching for.
Other search options you can try:
1) Search "corporate social responsibility grant" or "corporate social responsibility green".
2) Search name of green writers you discovered from newspaper or articles or newsletters. Their articles maybe posted on websites that will provide more leads.
3) Join forums where members support keeping the environment green. As a member of GreenYes Forum, I am able to read many useful articles posted by members.
Here is one I received from a fellow member:
$100,000 PRIZE FOR GOVERNMENTAL TRANSFORMATION
From IBM and the Ash Institute at Harvard's Kennedy School
For further information about the selection criteria, or to nominate a group,
visit http://www.transformationaward.org
Or Contact
Christina Marchand,
Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation,
Tel: (617) 495-0557
Email: christina_marchand@harvard.edu.
Good luck in your new venture. Share your success stories so that others can reuse your green ideas in their homeland.
Pop by this link again, as I will be including links to grants and funds providers. Following are some organisation discovered through the above processes:
In Australia:
EPA NSW Waste grant fact sheets
In Canada
Stewardship Ontario
In UK:
Arts & Business
In USA:
Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Environmental Education Grant Opportunities
Fulbrigh Full Grants
South Carolina Recycling Grants
Recycle Guys Awards Program
S.C. Business Recycling Assistance Program
Useful Articles:
Fortune Profiles The Greening of Corporate America By Mark Brandon
10 Tips For Grant Writers
Fundraising Articles
Wikipedia: About Angel Investor/Business Angel
Useful Resources:
In USA
Award Directory Search Resource by GreenBiz. A comprehensive directory of local and national award and recognition programs that honor companies for being environmental leaders. (If only it works).
SchoolGrants! Your one-stop site for PK-12 school grant opportunities
Locate Grantsmakers In Your Field
Green Zone Resource Guide: Scholarships, Grants and Research Fellowships
EPA: Funding Sources for Communities
Grants.gov is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards.
Technology Funding Sources
Find who are the donors and grant makers:
Charity Navigator, independent charity evaluato
GuideStarConnecting people with nonprofit information.
Campaigns
In USA:
Patagonia’s 2006–07 environmental campaign
Awards
In Malaysia
The CICM Responsible Care Awards
The Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award (PMHA)
Malaysia Design Council: Good Design Award
In UK:
The Conservation Foundation's Projects
In USA
2007 CAFR Recycling Awards Program
The Goldman Environmental Prize annually awards US$125,000 to environmental heroes from each of the world's six inhabited continental regions.
http://www.goldmanprize.org
No comments:
Post a Comment