Page 4 - Sustainable Life - February 13th, 2014

SustainableLife
C4 SuStainablelife
Pamplin Media Group Thursday, February 13, 2014

Funding eco-activism like the United Way

100 workplaces now
donating through
EarthShare Oregon

By JENNIFER ANDERSON
Pamplin Media Group
From a nondescript third- story ofice in the heart of
downtown Portland, Jan Wil-
son is trying to save the world — one workplace at a time.
Wilson is executive director
of EarthShare Oregon, a long- running nonproit that operates
much like a United Way for the environmental movement, fun-
neling donations to what Earth-
share deems the most worthy local and national conservation PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTOS: JONATHAN HOUSE Jan Wilson (above) is executive director of EarthShare
groups.
“People are really busy; we’re Oregon, and a board member of Oregon Wild. At a recent Oregon Wild meeting (right), Wilson chats with
kind of a clearinghouse for peo- participants about donating to EarthShare.
ple to get information,” says Wil- son, 52, a Michigan native who life conservation; and their new- cides)
yond the usual suspects like bike supplemented with cash raised across the state. A fourth staff
volunteered for EarthShare for 10 years before stepping into the est area, food justice.
n Vancouver, Wash.-based
Columbia Land Trust (conser- commuters, New Seasons shop- pers, or folks who volunteer for from bake sales, chili cookoffs and book sales during the No- member on its team directs those efforts.
Wilson says the team ap-
top post three years ago. “The vancy)
environmental groups.
vember kickoff week.
Wilson also has secured proach has been an effective way
impact our groups have is huge, because we pick the ones that n Portland-based Growing Gardens (organic gardens in “We get money from accoun- tants, corporate lawyers, busi- Stoel Rives has supported EarthShare Oregon for at least grants and corporate gifts. And she asks members to pay dues to tackle something as massive- ly complex as the environment.
Checkitout
are well run, and do a huge amount of work.”
backyards and schools)
Corvallis-based Institute for ness people,” she says, and peo- ple who might connect to the the past nine years, according to Phil Moran, the irm’s adminis- so that EarthShare’s operations are fully covered. Now the orga- “The environmental challeng-
es we have, we can’t address
In other words, they do your n Applied Ecology (conservation environment by hunting, ishing, trative services and sustainabil- nization can assure that 100 per- them without a lot of people and
charitable homework for you.
Twenty-five years in, their research)
n Eugene-based McKenzie camping or going to the beach with their families.
ity manager.
“Many, many years ago we cent of the workplace donations and matches go to the member a lot of money,” Wilson says. “So the more people we reach, it’s
reach has grown deep: 100 work- River Trust (wetlands protec- “You can’t stereotype what an just did the United Way cam- groups, and not for its adminis- really building the environmen-
places statewide participate, in a variety of ways.
tion)
n Portland- environmental- ist looks like,” paign,” he says. “Having Earth- Share gives us the opportunity trative costs.
Not just any charity can be a tal community.”
Local roots
Most of the participating em- ployers offer payroll deductions based Oregon League of Con- Wilson says. “It’s a way to reach to engage more people in those causes they really care about.”
member group. There’s a list of 125 groups that apply for funding EarthShare’s green army
to EarthShare Oregon, allowing servation Voters out ... and for New directions
in Oregon.
started here in 1989 as a collec-
employees to designate speciic groups they want to support, or Education Fund (environmental them to feel like their environ- Raised in the Midwest, Wilson EarthShare Oregon’s board of directors (a majority of whom tive of 13 homegrown groups, known as the Environmental http://earthshare-oregon. org/
leave it to EarthShare to split up. Many employers organize advocacy)
Each of them mental ethic is honored and
came to Oregon in the mid-1990s, drawn to the possibilities. “I represent member groups) con- sider an array of criteria, includ- Federation of Oregon. In 2000, when they had grown to include
their own fundraising events complemented and added value supported.”
came here to save the ancient ing being in business for at least 32 local conservation groups, the
and match employee donations or provide paid time off for them to the existing coalition, Wilson says.
Stoel Rives law firm’s 400
Portland employees have come forests,” she says. “You can’t do that in Michigan because it’s all two years to show they’re iscal- ly sound.
federation joined with the na- tional EarthShare network to
to support EarthShare.
Some employers manage the In the case of Growing Gar- dens, which donates produce to to expect fundraising drives ev- ery second week of November. pollution cleanup. Out here there’s something to save.”
On an annual basis, Earth- Share reviews each group to en- form EarthShare Oregon.
Today EarthShare has chap-
program through their human food banks, “no one (in Earth- Last year they held a “Give like She volunteered for Earth- sure they’re spending the money ters and afiliates with reach in
resources departments, while others rely on their corporate Share’s alliance) had really worked on food security before,” a rockstar” campaign, rafling off Bruce Springsteen tickets Share for a decade while living in Eugene practicing environ- effectively, are well run, and making an impact.
25 states.
EarthShare Oregon has
social responsibility or sustain- Wilson says.
and vacation days to raise mental law.
The leader of one of the new steadily added “member
ability departments.
In all, those 100 Oregon work- The fundraising has ebbed and lowed during the recession about $4,000 for five selected umbrella group charities, in- When EarthShare Oregon Ex- ecutive Director Trudy Toliver groups says he appreciates EarthShare’s dynamic.
groups,” as the recipients of funds are called, through a strin-
places raised more than $500,000 last year for EarthShare Ore- and anemic recovery, but even as donations have slowed, the cluding EarthShare Oregon.
This year it was “Give like a left to lead Portland Farmers Market, Wilson applied for the “Nonproit fundraising is of- ten competitive: ‘Give to us,’ ” gent process that occurs about every ive years.
gon’s 80 recipient groups. Half volunteer rate has climbed as superhero,” when the law irm job.
says David Greenberg, executive Last year, EarthShare Ore-
the environmental groups are in Oregon and half operate on a na- people look for ways to simplify their lives and stretch a dollar.
rafled off caricatures of employ- ees made to look like Thor, along Since taking over, Wilson has been trying to boost the group’s director of Growing Gardens. “EarthShare encourages collab- gon’s board admitted seven new nonproits:
tional or international scale.
The money goes directly to Broader outreach
with restaurant gift cards and more vacation days. That rafle social media efforts, since volun- teers rely on real-time informa- oration and supporting multiple missions within the environ- n Portland-based Bark (de- fending and restoring Mount
groups on the front lines of sus- One reason their model is so took in about $3,500.
tion. EarthShare keeps several mental movement. It’s a ‘Give to Hood)
tainability efforts in the areas of air, land and water quality; wild-
effective, Wilson says, is that at workplaces, they’re reaching be-
The funds are split between Stoel Rives’ ive charity groups,
calendars of volunteer opportu- nities hosted by member groups
us’ message that resonates with many donors.”
n Eugene-based Beyond Tox- ics (ighting chemicals and pesti-

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