BetterWorld Telecom 2010 Signpost

As is our annual BetterBlog tradition, we mark the passing of each January 1st with some reflection and highlights of the previous year.  As we make the turn into 2011, the BetterWorld team is excited as 2010, on almost every front, was our best to date – from new partnerships, to customers, expanding our mission and furthering our efforts to provide a concrete example and direction for how the telecoms industry can be a social and environmental leader, our pathway has never been more clear.

Early on, back in 2003-2004, we became ardent fans of the constant, steady improvement message of Jim Collins' Good to Great – which has been our mantra every week, month and year since – “what are you going to do today, this week, this month to spin the flywheel” – taking a page from the wisdom of Good to Great, we aim to constantly improve ourselves and our ability to serve our customers with excellence and a servant’s heart.  Above all else, this is and has to be our number one goal, with everything else coming in a close tie for second.

2010, the year in review:

Customers – We continue to focus on and bring into the BetterWorld family, leading local and national organizations around the country that are all about making it a better world for people and the planet.  2010 was our best sales year to date and we are awed by the impact that our new customers are having on the world today. Further to help simplify and streamline our value proposition to our customers – we launched our Five Promises this year, which gives clear and concise “rules of the road” to our customers, presenting simple expectations and performance metrics, all backed by our 100% guarantee.

…here’s just a short list of our new customers in 2010:

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  3Degrees, San Francisco, CA
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<a href="http://www.3degreesinc.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.3degreesinc.com</span></a>
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  Acumen Fund, New York, NY
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<a href="http://www.acumenfund.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.acumenfund.org</span></a>
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  Adduci, Mastriani and Schaumberg, Washington, D.C.
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<a href="http://www.adduci.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.adduci.com</span></a>
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  American Sustainable Business Council
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<a href="http://www.asbcouncil.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.asbcouncil.org</span></a>
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  Arabella Philanthropic Advisors, Chicago, IL
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<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.arabelladvisors.com</span>
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  Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
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<a href="http://www.aashe.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.aashe.org</span></a>
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  As You Sow, San Francisco, CA
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<a href="http://www.asyousow.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.asyousow.org</span></a>
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  Bainbridge Graduate Institute, Seattle, WA
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<a href="http://www.bgiedu.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.bgiedu.org</span></a>
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  Better World Club, Portland, OR
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<a href="http://www.betterworldclub.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.betterworldclub.com</span></a>
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  Beyond The Bottom Line
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<a href="http://www.beyondtbl.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.beyondtbl.com</span></a>
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  Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, Sacramento, CA
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<a href="http://www.sacbreathe.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.sacbreathe.org</span></a>
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  Carbon Concierge
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<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.carbonconcierge.com</span>
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  Cascade Land Conservancy, Seattle, WA
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<a href="http://www.cascadeland.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.cascadeland.org</span></a>
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  Clean Economy Network, Washington, D.C.
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<a href="http://www.cleaneconomy.net/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.cleaneconomy.net</span></a>
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  Coalition for Clean Air, Los Angeles, CA
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<a href="http://www.coalitionforcleanair.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.coalitionforcleanair.org</span></a>
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  Community Asset Development Re-defining Education
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<a href="http://www.cadre.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.cadre.org</span></a>
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  Datacon Dental Systems, Santa Rosa, CA
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<a href="http://www.datacondental.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.datacondental.com</span></a>
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  Don Beyer Automotive Group, Fairfax, VA
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<a href="http://www.donbeyervolvo.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.donbeyervolvo.com</span></a>
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  Faith Journeys, Tempe, AZ
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<a href="http://www.musiccelebrations.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.musiccelebrations.com</span></a>
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  FEED Project, New York, NY
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<a href="http://www.feedprojects.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.feedprojects.com</span></a>
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  Full Circle Fund, San Francisco/Bay Area
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<a href="http://www.fullcirclefund.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.fullcirclefund.org</span></a>
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  Goodwill Industries International, Inc.
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<a href="http://www.goodwill.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.goodwill.org</span></a>
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  Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc.
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<a href="http://www.goodwill-indy.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.goodwill-indy.org</span></a>
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  Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska Inc
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<a href="http://www.goodwillne.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.goodwillne.org</span></a>
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  Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
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<a href="http://www.goodwillsp.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.goodwillsp.org</span></a>
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  Hanson Bridgett LLP
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<a href="http://www.hansonbridgett.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.hansonbridgett.com</span></a>
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  Hub &#8211; Bay Area, San Francisco, CA
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<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.bayarea.the-hub.net</span>
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  International Forum on Globalization
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<a href="http://www.ifg.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.ifg.org</span></a>
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  Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation, Lafayette, CA
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<a href="http://www.lafayettelib.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.lafayettelib.com</span></a>
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  m/Oppenheim Associates, San Francisco, CA
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<a href="http://moppenheim.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">http://moppenheim.com</span></a>
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  Mansueto Ventures &#8211; Inc. Magazine and Fast Company, NY, NY
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<a href="http://www.inc.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.inc.com</span></a>
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  Mission Markets Inc., New York, NY
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<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.missionmarkets.com</span>
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  Nest Collective/Nest Naturals, Emeryville, CA
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<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.nestnaturals.com</span>
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  PACT Apparel, Berkeley, CA
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<a href="http://www.wearpact.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.wearpact.com</span></a>
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  Sacramento Housing Alliance / Coalition on Regional Equity
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<a href="http://www.sachousingalliance.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.sachousingalliance.org</span></a>
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  Seattle Mariners
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<a href="http://www.mariners.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.mariners.com</span></a>
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  SecureNet Payment Systems, Rockville, MD
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<a href="http://www.securenet.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.securenet.com</span></a>
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  Session Solar, Santa Cruz, CA
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<a href="http://www.sessionsolar.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.sessionsolar.com</span></a>
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  Solar Richmond, Richmond, VA
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<a href="http://www.solarrichmond.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.solarrichmond.org</span></a>
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  Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate, Washington, D.C./St. Louis
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<a href="http://www.cassidyturley.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.cassidyturley.com</span></a>
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  The Brand Consultancy, Wrightsville Beach, NC
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<a href="http://www.thebrandconsultancy.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.thebrandconsultancy.com</span></a>
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  The Energy Cooperative, Philadelphia, PA
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<a href="http://www.theenergy.coop/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.theenergy.coop</span></a>
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  The Wilderness Society – Los Angeles
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<a href="http://www.twc.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.twc.org</span></a>
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  Trillium Asset Management, Boston, MA
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<a href="http://www.trilliuminvest.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.trilliuminvest.com</span></a>
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  United Fresh Produce Association, Washington, D.C.
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<a href="http://www.unitedfresh.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.unitedfresh.org</span></a>
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  Wound Care Strategies, Harrisburg, PA
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<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.woundcarestrategies.com</span>
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  YPO International, Dallas, TX
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<a href="http://www.ypo.org/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.ypo.org</span></a>
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  ZilYen, McLean, VA
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<a href="http://www.zilyen.com/"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">www.zilyen.com</span></a>
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**
Partnerships:** We have many highlights on the partner front this year was the kickoff of our national non-profit donation program with TechSoup Global, the largest technology provider to non-profits in the U.S. today.  Our new donation program with TechSoup, the first of its kind, is off to a great start with non-profits all over the U.S. signing up every day. We look forward to expanding this amazing program in 2011 and beyond and owe a special thanks to our technology partner, Aptela, for making the program possible.

Other partner highlights for  2010 include our national affiliate/donation program with Goodwill International, where we donate a full 3% of revenues back to GII for all Goodwill stores and regions that sign up – – we’ve had a great start to this program as well, with Goodwill sites from coast to coast signing up for BetterWorld services.  Finally, we are expecting big things in 2011 from our latest affiliate partnership that was signed at the end of the year with the Social Enterprise Alliance. Please see the BetterBlog from the last few months for more information about all of these partnerships

BetterWork: We are now into our third year of promoting the benefits of using our vast telecommunications infrastructure to reduce America’s environmental impact, create more jobs and stimulate economic activity.  2010 marked our first major victory, as BetterWorld was named in a $2.5M stimulus grant from the Dept. of Commerce/NTIA to create jobs, through teaching and certifying at home teleworkers in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  We are in the beginning stages of deploying this plan and will be taking this model out to other localities starting in 2011.  Our BetterWork Bottom Line:  No other opportunity exists today for reducing environmental impact and stimulating jobs than BetterWork, read more at www.BetterWorkToday.com.

Environmental and Social Leadership, Mission: Steady as she goes would mark our 2010 Social and Environmental report:  BetterWork was re certified by B Corp and our new results are available at the B Corp site.  We are a founding B Corp company, and use it a single lens to focus our social and environmental mission.  In addition, we remain members of One Percent for the Planet, who certifies annually that 1% of our revenues are being donated to established & impactful environmental non-profits – as a whole, BetterWorld donates 3% of our top line to causes for children, education, the environment and fair trade, which we have accomplished every year since our founding in 2003. Finally, we continue on as one of the “top 40 most democratic companies in the world” as certified annually by WorldBlu.  In sum, our internal focal points are sharpened through our certification process with B Corp., WorldBlu and One Percent & our external focus on how we are going to change the world, is through our development and promotion of BetterWork – – this will remain our focus for months and years to come.

The BetterWorld Brand:  If you stop by our site or the BetterBlog from time to time, you will probably notice that we have redesigned and recast our brand, putting our commitment to excellence, service, products and unique position in the market out front, with more mainstream branding.  We now assume our work on the social and environmental is a given, the bedrock of our value proposition as we now take our brand into the mainstream and offer companies both in our core markets and anywhere in the U.S. to do well and do good through their choice of BetterWorld as their service provider for voice and data services.  As of Q1 2011, our model still remains unique in the $2 trillion global telecom carrier services market.

2011, Looking Ahead – Excitement, innovation and opportunity mark this New Year for the BetterWorld team – as we stand on the threshold of transition and growth, 2011 is set to be a pivotal year for BetterWorld.  We are raising growth capital and expanding the company, but only if we can find the right, patient and like-minded partner(s) & we are in discussions already with a number of possibilities.  During and after this process, our commitment is to not only keep our level of service and mission constant, but actually to increase and strengthen them.  The endgame we seek is not driven by wealth, fame or fortune, but rather, keeping our focus on profit+people+planet as a three-legged stool – with the goal of changing how the companies in our industry see themselves and their role in society, while helping to inspire the world towards a more sustainable future – – paraphrasing Good to Great, to have been part of something that made a difference.

We are humbled by all those that have helped us to achieve, grow and thrive – we will not disappoint you as we move BetterWorld into the future. Thank you for being part of our story, until 2012, onward and upward!

In thanks and service,

The BetterWorld Team