Our team is abuzz this week with the news of our new partnership with the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA). SEA represents the largest network of social enterprises in North America and the leading membership organization in North America for social enterprises, service providers, nonprofit organizations, corporations, and venture capitalists that is actively building the field of social enterprise through networking opportunities, educational forums, strategic partnerships, and impact legislation....

This past week, the excitement ran high at BetterWorld as we launched our national national donation program alongside partners TechSoup Global and Aptela. The TechSoup+BetterWorld+Aptela partnership creates a unique bundle of telecommunications services that are now available to nonprofit organizations and public libraries as a combination of donated equipment and discounted rates....

Wow – we are always amazed at the energy and power of the annual NetImpact Conference and this year was no exception. There are so many forums, conferences and get togethers throughout the year now but NetImpact always is able to rise above most anything else out in the fray. This year over 2,500 people descended on the Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, MI, and hundreds of top notch speakers and experts in social and environmental sustainability engaged packed rooms (mostly students from around the country and world) on issues of the day and most importantly, pathways to a new and better world....

We were fortunate to be present and help sponsor last week the 15th Anniversary of Groundwire’s founding, originally started as ONE/Northwest. Groundwire is a truly innovative organization with a storied history of impact and innovation for environmental non-profits in the Northwest and across the U.S. A who’s who of environmental leaders from Seattle were on hand to hear co-founders and enviro rockstars Dennis Hayes (President and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, founder of Earth Day) and Paul Brainerd (President of the Brainerd Foundation, co-founder of Islandwood, Social Venture Partners) lead off the festivities at the beautiful Colman Estate in West Seattle with some historical perspectives and their pioneering efforts in the environmental movement....

Last week we had the pleasure of attending the World Affairs Council’s discussion with Larry Cox, the Executive Director of Amnesty International. It was a truly enlightening and informative discussion as Larry covered both the history and future of Amnesty, tracing its roots from being the international voice for the “forgotten prisoners”, those silent voices that stood out for decades against oppression and dictatorships worldwide to now where Amnesty also fighting for elimination of poverty as a top issue on its agenda....

We try not to toot our own horn much in the BetterBlog and keep the focus on our customers and partners, but hard to resist here as we got a great affirmation in last week on the BetterWork front. As part of the National Telecommunications Information Administration’s (NTIA) stimulus program, BetterWorld was awarded a $2....

Over the past week, the BetterWorld team has been so fortunate to attend a number of events around the 2010 Sustainable Industries Economic Forums featuring Architecture for Humanity founder and CEO, Cameron Sinclair. Kudos to our partner and customer Sustainable Industries for continuing to lead the way in Sustainable media, with their newly redesigned website, magazine and pace-setting Economic Forum series, they are proving without a doubt that SI is a voice rising above the rest....

As part of our participation in strategy meetings for the new American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) this week in Washington, D.C., we were fortunate to sound our voice loud and clear for small business credit and investment as the Senate passed key legislation yesterday which will come to the rescue for small businesses and main street nationwide....

The BetterWorld team is so excited to be on the ground floor of Ashoka’s U.S. Youth Venture pilot in the SF Bay Area. The program, led by ED Amy Wilson, has already invested in a number of East Bay entrepreneurs and is now shifting into high gear, having just added an amazing and diverse group of changemakers to its steering committee and setting firm goals of becoming the example for other Ashoka Youth Ventures to launch in the U....

Last week we had the fortune of presenting the BetterWork framework to most of the staff at NetImpact in San Francisco. We had a great discussion about the nature of work and changing how we work can cut the carbon output of America by 50% in the coming decades. With NetImpact really serving as the training ground for our next generation of sustainable leaders and hopefully helping to produce the first generation that elevates environmental and social responsibility to the top of our list of priorities, we were so encouraged by the amazing questions and dialogue that ensued during our time with the NetImpact staff....

BetterWorld Telecom is fortunate to now be an approved carrier for the California Teleconnect Fund. This amazing program offers qualifying non-profits essentially a 50% discount on many commercial telecommunications service such as DSL, T1s, PRIs, VoIP, Unified Communications, IP Trunking and many more. The California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) Program was established by Decision 96-10-066 on October 25, 1996....

…so the headline goes as two BetterWorld customers, Inc. Magazine/FastCompany and The Hub Bay Area come together in a recent online article on FastCompany.com. Starting in the spring of this year, we began planing a voice and data solution for the new Hub SoMa in the Chronicle Building at 5th and Mission....

Greenwise Sacramento is the initiative for the entire Sacramento region (6 counties, 22 cities) to create the most sustainable region in California and in the country. An ambitious goal, and we support it FULLY! Sacramento Sustainability Forum, the largest grassroots non-profit focused on cross sector sustainability discussions, which we founded last August has been coordinated with Greenwise Sacramento to increase knowledge, enthusiasm, and participation in the initiative....

A big shout out to our customer the Center for Environmental Health on winning the 2010 San Francisco Business Times Green Business Champion award. CEH, based in Oakland, is a nonprofit environmental group that works directly with business leaders to promote safe products and business practices. Executive Director, Michael Green, and I met through shared activities with Full Circle Fund and recently reconnected at an AB32 Symposium put on by Bay Area Council and Business Council on Climate Change that was held at Wendel Rosen....

This week we had the pleasure of presenting our case study with Oregon 211_info_ – how 211_info_ and the Oregon Department of Health quickly and efficiently created a call center in response to the H1N1 influenza epidemic, creating a model for other quick-response, temporary hotlines. In the fall of 2009, 211info and the Oregon Department of Human Services, working with BetterWorld Telecom, created a comprehensive hotline with a supervisor, a staff of 20 temporary information and referral agents, continually updated information, partners in nurse triage and clinic support offices, and administrative help from 211info....

We are excited to be one of the organizations signed on to Seattle’s Mayoral Walk Bike Ride Challenge – right in tune with BetterWorld’s BetterWork framework: less car commuting, air travel, building space – the WBR Challenge puts alternatives to commuting as a top priority for the Seattle Metro Area – click here for more background on the program....

Last week, we a very fortunate to attend a small reception held by Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist CEO, and Susan MacTavish in downtown San Francisco. Amory Lovins (Co Founder, Chief Scientist), Michael Potts (CEO), and Marty Pickett (Executive Director) of Rocky Mountain Institute were in attendance and Amory Lovins spoke at length about RMI’s current and past endeavors – everyone there was literally hanging on all his words, it is truly amazing what they have accomplished and the level of impact they are having…from the built environment to industry, oil and gas, and transportation, simply put, it seems as if we just left the engineering of how things tick to RMI, we’d probably have solved many of the critical problems facing our species, long ago....

We are proud to announce an expansion of our work with Goodwill®, with the launch this week of the Goodwill BetterWorld Telecom National Partnership. BetterWorld will be featured within the Goodwill ecosystem and offer to all Goodwill members in the U.S. our discounted services, as well as a donation from all bills directed back at Goodwill International....

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We were fortunate and privileged to attend and participate in the NISH Annual Conference this past week in Anaheim. Over 2,000 folk from all over the country were on hand for what was a truly inspirational and uplifting program, all dedicated to helping people with disabilities to find more meaningful lives through meaningful work....

If you have been following the BetterBlog over time, you know of our total commitment to helping build local living economies, especially through the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). As a number of the BetterWorld contingent were in attendance at the BALLE national conference last week in Charleston, SC, and our unified opinion is that BALLE is truly a force to be reckoned with in North America and the world – the conference was truly amazing and all the local and national staff, volunteers and ....

The summer season is almost upon us, and for one family in Manning, SC, the new season will be like Christmas in June. Lavader Blackwell and her 11 year old son, CJ, are anxiously awaiting moving day when they finally get to move into their brand new home. For months, Lavader has been working right along side area volunteers, friends and family to achieve her dream....

One of the best decisions we have made since starting BetterWorld has been to join the Full Circle Fund in San Francisco – Matt and I were at the annual FCF retreat this past weekend in Monterrey, seeing lots of old friends and making many new ones. The one standout for us is how this organization, which is approaching 10 years own has grown its impact and reach every year....

Soren Gordhamer (Wisdom 2.0), Kaitlin Quistgaard (YogaJournal), Tami Simon (SoundsTrue), Gopi Kallayil (Google), Leah Perlman (Facebook) Gmail and mindfulness? Twitter and meditation? Are these really viable bedfellows? Can technology not only enhance our ability to connect and communicate with one another, but improve the quality and consciousness of our everyday lives?...

On April 20, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Federal Communications Commission Chair Julius Genachowski and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse were on hand for the first ever Capitol Clean Tech EXPO in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The Clean Tech EXPO was held in honor of Earth Day and to showcase energy companies, non-profits and telecommunications organizations are showcasing advances in clean energy and environmentally friendly products and technology....