Campaign for Sustainability, Health, Equity and Kindness

Welcome to our SHE Kindness Campaign! This is the focus of our new Alliance for Sustainability, what we will be integrating into all of our work moving forward. You can read more about our full vision for SHE Kindness in our Greenprint.

Our SHE Kindness Campaign will embed our co-created, comprehensive and integrative understanding of sustainability as a core operating principle in our way of thinking and culture. We will collaborate on efforts to support  personal transformation, policy shifts and fundamental systems change.

We will accomplish this through a combination of inspiring and impactful videos, social media, publications, speaking, trainings, campaigns and policy efforts. We will educate, engage and inspire one million people and groups to action on everything from lifestyle and consumption to campaigns and policy changes. In addition, we will expand our partnerships with leading nonprofits and aligned businesses to develop strategic, impactful campaigns and policies targeted at key tipping points for sustainability, health, equity and kindness.

See the bottom of this page for an overview of our upcoming Year 1 of the campaign.

GoFundMe Campaign

Help us achieve our ambitious SHE Kindness Campaign by donating to our GoFundMe!

SHE Kindness School Program

Students sitting in a classroom listening to an adult speak.

We created the SHE Kindness School Program (SP) as one key component of the SHE Kindness Campaign because of the significant role schools play on so many levels, especially in shaping students’ understandings, behaviors and actions at school, home and in the community. Furthermore, the attitudes and concerns of students can affect their parents, the sustainability of their home and, consequently, public policy priorities. In addition, as institutions, school operations have significant impacts on the environment, staff and the broader community.

The SP is designed to build on our nearly 40 years of experience successfully providing thousands of sustainability education presentations and developing and implementing action plans with numerous schools, colleges, businesses, cities, government agencies and congregations. It will inform, inspire and engage students, teachers, staff, administrators and parents in taking action to bring about sustainability, health, equity and kindness at school, home and in the community.

You can read our evaluations to see the impact of our past school presentations.

Goals

The goals of the School Program are to:

  1. Awaken awareness, excitement and engagement among students, teachers, staff and administrators about sustainability, health, equity and kindness;
  2. Support a shift in participant behavior and actions at school and home, as well as the community;
  3. Create strong, student-led Students for Sustainability (SfS) groups or clubs at each school;
  4. Train college interns (and possibly retired school teachers and other volunteers) in presenting and implementing the program so it can be rapidly expanded;
  5. Create School Sustainability Teams (SSTs) with teachers, staff, administrators, students and parents at each school to address operations, programs and policies and develop a vision, goals, action plan and metrics at each school;
  6. Develop a comprehensive SHE Kindness curriculum;
  7. Build a sense of community around SHE Kindness;
  8. Mobilize students to support shifts in school district and city policies, such as developing sustainability and climate goals and action plans;
  9. Bring together Students for Sustainability groups through social media and an Annual Conference to collaborate, share ideas and best practices to increase their impact and be acknowledged through Annual Awards;
  10. Build collaboration among School Sustainability Teams (SSTs) through online and regional networking, as well as an Annual Conference with Annual Awards;
  11. Document the SHE Kindness impact schools are having based on their metrics; and
  12. Create a scalable model for broad implementation based on strong evaluation.

A particular focus will be the impact that students’ individual actions can have to effect change, including in their own attitudes and behavior, the behaviors of their friends and family, their schools, and in the community. For the students to be effective, we also need to support them in addressing climate anxiety. It can be a very heavy feeling for students as they face the seemingly overwhelming impacts of climate change. We will help the students understand that there is hope and that they can make a significant difference, beginning with their own lifestyle choices and actions at home, school and the community.

Furthermore, by having their own Students for Sustainability (SfS) group, we seek to empower them to positively affect their school operations, as well as school district and city policies. The effectiveness of student-led efforts in doing this has been documented in the City of St. Louis Park, MN and cities across the country. We’ll also increase the impact by connecting the SfS groups through social media and bring them together to collaborate and further empower their actions.  

Another key element is the training and engagement of paid college student interns (and possibly retired schoolteachers and other volunteers) so that they can deliver the presentations and be articulate sustainability leaders. This is a key element in creating a model, scalable program that can be inexpensively offered around the country to have large-scale impact.

You can read more about the School Program in the full SHE Kindness School Program Plan document.

SHE Kindness Business Program

Download a copy of our SHE Kindness Business Program presentation slides from our talk at the MN State Fair in August 2022.

Year 1 SHE Kindness Campaign Elements

  • Expand and Further Diversify Alliance Board on ethnic, geographic, skill and other levels. Conduct bi-monthly meetings, Annual Planning Meeting and monthly team meetings with board, staff, interns, volunteers and professionals on Programs, Development and Advancement, Communications and Marketing and Administration to evaluate success with previous month’s goals and plan.
  • Complete the Dream Team and Conduct First Semi-Annual Meetings – The Team will be composed of diverse, extraordinary visionaries, practitioners, and sustainability leaders that will have dynamic, engaging quarterly hour and a half Zoom calls with several presentations and discussion. Its purpose will be to connect, build relationships, inform, inspire, delve into issues, co-create strategies for moving sustainability forward and explore collaboration. There are no required responsibilities or time commitments by members, just an invitation to participate as they are able. Dream Teamers will receive Alliance papers on various topics to give feedback as we co-create our future, with reading and responding optional.
  • Create the Vision Holders Circle and Hold First Semi-Annual Meetings – A Vision Holders Circle will be created for leaders willing to make a major investment in the future of the Alliance and sustainability. There are no required responsibilities or time commitments. In addition to being invited to be members of the Dream Team, there will be in-person and/or virtual meetings of the Vision Holders Circle twice a year to hear their perspectives on Alliance efforts and explore possible opportunities.
  • Full-Time Administrative and Communications Coordinator – The present part-time contract position will be expanded to a full-time employee with benefits.
  • Continue to Recruit Diverse Interns from colleges and universities across the country with meetings twice a week and divided into work teams for paid internships.
  • Make the Volunteer President Position into a Half-Time Position for Terry Gips who has been volunteering in a full-time capacity for a year.
  • Create a Part-time Contract Position for Director of Professional Services and Strategic Planning to be filled by Myron Lowe who has served on a voluntary basis on the Leadership Team and doing various presentations.
  • Hire an Interim Part-time Executive Director – We will seek an experienced, highly qualified part-time (perhaps 20% FTE) Executive Director (ideally, a woman of color) to work with the Board, President, Administrative and Communications Coordinator and interns to guide the organization until a full-time Executive Director can be hired.
  • Obtain more than 1,000 signatories for our Declaration of Co-Creation and Interdependence, the Alliance’s bold, holistic statement about its commitment to transformation and action, as well as a call for others to join with us in making a commitment to transforming the world. Also, consider possible modifications. Consider signing onto Charter for Compassion and Earth Charter to gain recognition and support efforts similar to our Declaration.
  • Present to 20 Schools on SHE Kindness (Sustainability, Health, Equity and Kindness), with 10 of the schools in under-served communities. Each participant will be given resources, asked to make an action commitment and complete an evaluation. Explore the feasibility of creating Students for Sustainability. Interns would be trained to present with staff and Board.
  • Begin Implementing a Plan for Presenting to 20 Businesses on SHE Kindness (Sustainability, Health, Equity and Kindness) – We will build off of our first virtual presentation to hundreds of Target employees and explore follow-up presentations with them. We’ll also follow-up with our initial discussions with Apple and other businesses. Interns would be trained to present with staff and Board.
  • Develop 10 Successful Campaigns and Policies with Partners in addition to, or in conjunction with, our weekly Take Actions that are promoted in our e-Newsletter, social media, website blog posts and sign-ons. Continue to grow partnerships with various nonprofits such as the American Sustainable Business Council and Be Strong Families and build on existing, long-term relationships at the national, state and local levels, including Green America, CERES, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and other environmental, social justice, health and advocacy groups, along with businesses and educational and religious institutions. We will seek strategic partners to have greater impact. Explore a potential partnership with Mississippi River Network that could be an opportunity for the Alliance to receive funding and collaborate with other member organizations on policy initiatives.
  • Additional Education and Outreach:
    • Present to Conferences and Diverse Institutions on SHE Kindness as opportunities are available. Interns, staff and Board will present to diverse conferences, nonprofits, congregations, cities and other groups.
    • Create a Public Webinar Series on Various Aspects of SHE Kindness with a Partner – This would be utilized to attract new people to the SHE Kindness Campaign and as Alliance members.
    • Participate in Various In-Person and Virtual Conferences and Expos, including American Sustainable Business Council/Social Venture Circle and Natural Products Expo. This will help increase awareness of the Alliance and the SHE Kindness Campaign, expand networking, develop original content for blogs and social media and build partnerships. We can also create video blogs (even 15-20 seconds) that can be informative but also fun and creative on TikTok and social media.
  •  Offer Revenue-Producing Professional Online and In-Person Services, Trainings and Coaching on Sustainability, Health, Equity and Kindness that will utilize our successful training on Sustainability and the Natural Step as a template and grow it out to fully incorporate health, well-being, equity and conscious leadership. These will give our interns experience making presentations and generate earned income revenue for the Alliance.
  • Promote New Book by Terry Gips, possibly titled, Stories from Another World: From Near Death and the White House to Creating an Alliance for Transformation and Sustainability. The book will share about the roots of the Alliance for Sustainability and the SHE Kindness Campaign. It will be quickly written and followed with a book tour and speaking. Net proceeds from the book sale will go to the Alliance.
  • Have a Global Vision Sustainability Interactive with outreach and development so everyone is contributing their vision to what sustainability means and do it through a huge media campaign asking, “What does a world of sustainability look like?” After global input, a survey can be taken for what is most meaningful for people to focus on. Contests and sweepstakes will engage the public and get an increase in the numbers of schools, businesses, and other groups. These contests can increase numbers and prizes will be sought and given for these contests.

Inclusivi-tee will provide the leadership for each of the following activities with the Alliance:

  • Support a Kickstarter Campaign to Raise Funds to Publish You Can Save the World…In Fact, You’re the Only One Who Can, the new e-book by our Board member and Inclusivi-tee Founder Lori Myren-Manbeck. It’s a simple guide to living a more sustainable life, with tips anyone can follow. The Alliance is highlighted in the book and receives 10% of the net proceeds.
  • January 2022 Sustainable Food Festival and Sustainability Challenge will share recipes, build community, and get people around the world talking about sustainable food and sustainable living in an inspiring, educational, engaging way to start conversations and change. The Festival will take place January 1-31, 2022 and will consist of a month-long sustainable recipe contest, as well as smaller challenges every weekend and twice weekly Sustainable Conversations with various experts on sustainable living. Other challenges will also be done, including some that will be tailored for a particular business, school or organization encouraging simple sustainable living habits, posts, challenges that take no more than five minutes, prizes, and diverse speakers. One or more college interns will conduct research on impact.
  • Continue Weekly Half-hour Podcasts with Inclusivi-tee, InclusivTALKS Sustainability: A podcast about Creativity, Health, Equity and Kindness. We talk with artists, musicians, and experts in sustainability fields.
  • Conduct Earth Month Events with Inclusivi-tee focused on the release of Lori Myren-Manbeck’s new book.  
  • Further Promote GoFundMe Online Crowd-funding SHE Kindness Campaign (Sustainability, Health, Equity and Kindness), including new professional short videos, social media and Alliance for Sustainability organic T-shirts, hats and/or reusable shopping bags using the designs we’ve recently developed.
  • Develop and Launch the Next Forty Campaign – Materials will be developed with Access Philanthropy for the launch of the Alliance’s Next Forty fundraising campaign to reach out to existing Alliance major donors and potential donors with the Social Venture Network, alumni of the Yale School of Management and others. This will include a one-page case statement, slide deck and other materials. We’ll also send grant proposals to foundations and explore the use of Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and other platforms to strategically and economically target philanthropy.
  • Recruit New Sustainability Partners to both build new earned revenue sources and make Alliance members and social media followers aware of businesses and organizations who are aligned with the Alliance’s mission. Grow to have at least 20 contributing Sustainability Partners.
  • Participate in GiveMN and Giving Tuesday
  • Grow our Contributing Memberships – We will make the “Donate” page on our website more attractive/noticeable/push users, maybe with a live updates feature, so we would have more control over the donations compared to using Kickstarter/GoFundMe/etc. Generally utilize email more for fundraising campaigns.
  • Apply for Various Giving Programs, including MN Environmental Fund and business donations based on percent of sales, such as Whole Foods and food co-ops donation programs.
  • Publish Several Types of Books for Sale and Rewards for Donors, including Sustainability Tips, Art of the Week and Q&A, which each would be edited from a compilation of a year’s worth of our weekly e-Newsletter sections on those topics.
  • Serve as the Fiscal Sponsor for Several Groups who are applying for tax-exempt status or don’t have it. We receive 5% to 10% fee for service.
  • Summer 2022 Intern Project: Sweet Sustainability would co-create a new line of delicious, totally healthy and nutritious desserts and other products that truly embody the core values of sustainability, health, equity and kindness while opening a new conversation about sustainability. It would be tested out in a small, pop-up way by being sold by well-known venues like French Meadow Bakery and Café, Chez Panisse and Greyston Bakery, along with farmers markets, corner stores and food trucks. Alliance President Terry Gips would recruit a team of talented business school students for a summer internship who would work virtually from around the country to research all aspects of the business and develop a business plan that would be presented to the Board at the Alliance’s Annual Planning Retreat. The Board would then decide if it wanted to go forward.
  • Continue Implementation of our Marketing and Communications Plan with the help of professionals and interns. Grow our numbers for website views and social media impressions on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Submit op-eds to major newspapers. Explore the possibility of utilizing TikTok to engage young people. Work with a sustainability marketing firm (either local or with NY-based BBMG) to develop powerful materials for the SHE Kindness Campaign and reach out to their clients who are aligned with sustainability.
  • Continue to Evolve our Weekly e-Newsletter with updates, original blogs, humor, Take Action, Sustainability tips, Art and Music of the Week, What to Watch, Calendar, Q&A, Food for Thought and Inspiration from interns and readers. Utilize a “lead magnet” to gain new email subscribers. Offer a coupon from one of our partners or a coupon for a discounted You Can Save the World e-book. Send out a survey for the Newsletter to know who likes what and better personalize the content for our audience. Explore the possibility of using alternative email and database systems (CRMs or Customer Relations Management) like Mail Chimp and Fast Action.
  • Daily Posts on All Social Media Platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. We will work to expand our posts beyond just newsletter content – infographics, polls, info on board members, etc. to diversify content and competition for most interactions on a post. Continue to do weekly analytics and dramatically increase viewership and followers.
  • Website – Continue to work on making our website more “sticky” by adding elements to keep people on the website, like a webcam, audience-specific hubs, more interactive elements, etc.
  • Partner with Other Organizations to get our message into other organizations by collaborating through blogs, newsletters, etc.
  • Maintain Database and Grow Contributing Membership and Subscribers from an effective outreach of 4,500 to more than 10,000, in addition to our social media followers.
  • Conduct Two Town Hall Forum to Get Feedback and Build Community with key stakeholders (including members, donors, supporters and partners) and those we’d like to reach (especially youth and people of color), to hear their vision for sustainability and the Alliance and get feedback on the directions we are taking and considering.
  • Fully Implement Cybersecurity Plan for website, social media, email and database.
  • Conduct e-Survey to Get Feedback from our Stakeholders