Community investment means providing capital (usually a loan) to people without access to traditional financial services, such as low-income individuals, small businesses and vital community services. By loaning your money to an independent grocery store in Chicago, a woman weaver collective in Peru or a day-care center in Oakland, you help these projects to get on their feet or weather difficult financial times. Community investment can be done by investing in just one project, but is more often done through a community investment fund that spreads out the default risk. The interest you receive can range from 0% (for charitable projects) to 10% or more, depending on the economy.

Right now is an ideal time to invest in communities. The stock market is not doing well and the fundamentals of the world economy do not make it seem like a stable turnaround is in the near future. At the same time, interest rates are extremely low. For example, a 10 year US bond is currently offering less than 3% return.

This all adds up to a situation in which community investment projects can actually produce better returns than stocks or bonds. The community investment world is vast and finding the right investment for you can be a challenge. A great place to start is the "Green America's Community Investment Guide" (pdf). It explains various types of community investments, from community development banks to special mutual funds. Another wonderful resource is the Community Investing Center's Database, where you can search for specific investment opportunities by geographic region and social sector.

Some specific investment opportunities that are worth considering include the Capital for Communities Fund, which offers 3-6% returns depending on time scale and amount invested. Microplace, a subsidiary of eBay, is very popular site that allows you to choose specific projects from around the world. You can search by social, financial and geographic considerations and the return rates are generally 1-4%. If you don't require a return on investments, Kiva.org is a wonderful option.

In an economy with stocks not looking great and bonds not paying much, community investments are a perfect option. It can be smart to keep a decent percentage of your money available to buy green stocks if something changes (either stock prices crash or the economy starts looking solid).

Enjoy finding great community projects.

Ambrose Desmond runs sustainablog’s green investment subdomain, and specializes in holistic financial counseling. In other words, an investment expert who works in Birkenstocks...

Image credit: Kiva

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A new wave of business incubators are beginning to spin-off green--and profitable--business ventures.

If you're old enough to remember the dot com bust, you may associate "business incubators" with small online companies with a cool idea and a lousy monetization strategy. While past incubators may have given life support to start-ups that may not have deserved it, a new generation of these organizations (both for- and non-profit) are springing up to support eco-minded start-ups.

While we'll have to wait to see if this model ultimately works for green business, the marriage of these two concepts seems almost ideal: the concept of a community of entrepreneurs that share resources -- capital, knowledge, space, and equipment -- fits quite nicely with the values of green business.

What is a business incubator?

According to the National Business Incubation Association,

Business incubation is a business support process that accelerates the successful development of start-up and fledgling companies by providing entrepreneurs with an array of targeted resources and services. These services are usually developed or orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the business incubator and through its network of contacts.

The association distinguishes incubators from coworking arrangements and research parks by the element of assistance tailored specifically to emerging companies.

Are business incubators always green?

Not necessarily in focus, or in the companies they support. By offering material, financial, and knowledge support, however, incubators ideally maximize resource efficiency for new companies, allowing them to focus on building financial sustainability. Business incubators are often also focused on broader community economic development.

So, what makes a green business incubator green?

In general, green business incubators focus on supporting the development of start-ups built around a sustainable/triple bottom line business model. In a number of cases (New York's Green Spaces, Chicago's Green Exchange), the incubators work to insure a green space, whether a building constructed to LEED standards, reused/reclaimed office furniture, or even renewable energy sources.

Are business incubators non-profit organizations?

Often, but not always. Green Spaces and San Francisco's Virgance are among the 4% of incubators that are for-profit. (Disclosure: I'm a stockholder in Virgance.) In about 25% of cases, incubators take an equity share in the companies they support, according to the 2006 State of the Business Incubation Industry report.

Where can I find out more about green business incubators?

There doesn't appear to be a central repository of information on sustainable business incubators, so the best sources of information I've found are NBIA and green incubators themselves. Others not mentioned above:

• The Sustainable Business Incubator at Farleigh Dickinson University
• The Clean Energy Incubator, a part of the University of Texas' Austin Technology Incubator
• Rhode Island's Gordon Avenue Business Incubator

I've also run across several good articles on green incubators, including

• "NYC incubator helps green companies grow" (Crain's New York)
• "New Incubators Will Nurture Green Business" (NJBiz.com)

Of course, if you're in any way involved with a green business incubator, let us know more...

Other green community posts: This post is a part of a multiblog series on green community models. I’ll link to new posts as I get them written and published:

• Ecovillages
• Cohousing
• Coworking
• New green development

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is the founder and editor of sustainablog. Follow him on Twitter @sustainablog

Image credit: equitus / CC BY 2.0

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Remember The Cluetrain Manifesto? The web had changed everything: markets were once again conversations between buyers and sellers (or, perhaps more importantly, buyers and buyers), and you'd better get involved or get left behind.

The message has reached businesses, no doubt: try to find a company now without a blog, Twitter stream, and/or Facebook page. Companies touting their social and environmental responsibility have flocked to the web to get the message out and engage with potential customers.

Is it working? Yes... and no.

According to the newly-released 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study, consumers do feel empowered by companies use of social media to talk about CSR. They want to find out about product materials and manufacturing processes. They make buying decisions (or boycotting decisions) based on information they find online. They feel like they have a voice to express their concerns about corporate responsibility.

By and large, however, they're not using that voice.

The survey revealed that, though consumers like social media, they're not participating in the conversation as much as we might think. When asked where they received their information about CSR online, nearly half responded with decidedly Web 1.0 technologies such as traditional web pages and email. Only 15% use social networks for this purpose; blogs garnered an 11% response. And the Twitter stream: 2% say they're following micro-blogs to find out about environmental and social performance.

So, is the big investment in social media a waste? No... obviously some consumers are using this technology, and we may still be seeing these uses taking hold mostly among early adopters (and perhaps influencers) at this point. Plus, there are tactics companies can use to encourage customers to join the conversation: Jonathan Yohannan, senior vice president of corporate responsibility at Cone, notes that you can leverage the channels consumers are using to get them to participate in dialogue. He observes "The value of engaging consumers and broader stakeholders in this way is to enhance reputation, build loyalty and even lead to business innovation."

How's the engagement with consumers on CSR issues through social media going with your company? Finding it hard to get the conversation going? Let us know in the comments...

via Environmental Leader

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is the founder and editor of sustainablog. Follow him on Twitter @sustainablog

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Surveys on business and the environment aren't particularly new -- the first one on consumers' willingness to purchase green products came out in 1989 -- but the people behind the Green Confidence Index aim to provide more than just snapshots. GreenBiz.com executive editor Joel Makower believes that "By surveying monthly, the Green Confidence Index will reveal real-time shifts and nuances marketers don't usually see." Amy Heberd, Chief Research Officer at Earthsense observes:

Manufacturers and retailers are increasingly aware of 'the green gap,' where consumers' behaviors and purchases often lag behind intentions, due in part to marketplace confusion about what makes products green... As better information and clearer standards evolve, the Green Confidence Index will be a valuable monitor of progress in communications and how this translates into buying decisions.

The questions used to survey participants are divided into three sections:

• Responsibility: how leaders and institutions are perceived to be addressing environmental issues (weight: 40%)
• Information: the adequacy of information available to make informed decisions (20%)
• Purchasing: past and future purchases of green products (40%)

The Index's first survey revealed that

• "American consumers are ready to increase their purchases of environmental products and services as the U.S. economy emerges from recession, though premium prices for green goods remain a barrier for many."
• Clorox and Wal-Mart were the two companies named most in response to the question "What company, if any, do you think of as being 'green'?"
• Americans prefer to get their information about corporate environmental responsibility, and green products, from friends, relatives, and colleagues; corporate blogs and websites were cited as the least-trusted source of information.

It will be interesting to see in what direction these opinions head as the economy (hopefully) warms up in the coming months. GreenBiz will publish top-level findings from each month's survey; subscribers will receive more in-depth data, as well as monthly briefing documents and quarterly reports spotlighting select trends and demographics. Subscriptions costs $499 annually; charter subscriptions at $299 are available through December 31st, 2009.

You can get a sneak peak at the first data set through a sample issue... check it out, and let us know what you think.

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is the founder and editor of sustainablog. Follow him on Twitter @sustainablog

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Consumers want more fresh, organic, and/or local foods, and farmers markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangements are springing up everywhere to meet that demand. A few entrepreneurs are going beyond these relatively traditional models: small companies in Portland, OR, and San Francisco, for instance, are providing organic gardening services for people who want that homegrown food, but don't have the time or inclination to start a garden themselves.

Italian company Azienda Agricola Giacomo Ferraris has taken the concept of convenient garden-fresh food one step further: its "Le Verdure Del Mio Orto" ("The Vegetables from my Garden") service allows Italians to "build" a garden in their web browser, and then have the produce from that garden delivered to their door.

Business trendwatching site Springwise notes that "gardeners" can choose the size of their plot, the vegetables that go into it, and can even pony up for extras such as "...a photo album of the garden's progress (EUR 49), herb and fruit beds (EUR 50/75), and even a scarecrow with a picture of the customer's own face (EUR 39)."

This is a really intriguing concept with lots of possibility: Springwise takes note of the potential for both farmers and web developers. It's also a business model that could attract scam artists by the dozen... transparency, whether in the form of credible organic certification, or web cams situated so that customers can watch the cultivation of the food, will be critical to the overall model's success.

What do you think? A viable method for meeting consumers' desires to reconnect with their food? Or, something a little to close to a Facebook application?

Image credits: Andyrob and totalAldo at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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The grant program, which has existed since 2002, is just one part of Free Range's efforts to do business in a responsible, sustainable manner. According to company CEO Jonah Sachs, "Free Range Studios was created 10 years ago as the Creative Agency for the social change movement." Creating social change hasn't just involved serving NGOs and companies with a vision for a better world, but also doing business in a more sustainable manner. The company uses Triple Bottom Line accounting practices, powers itself with renewable energy, and has recently become a B corporation.

Need proof that more sustainable business strategies can contribute to longevity? Free Range can now serve as a model. The company will be accepting applications for the YouTopia Grant until October 31st; you can apply online.

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Are producers and marketers of green consumer products blinded by the American cult of youth? I asked myself that question after taking notice of a pitch for a new company this weekend: France's Jingo, a clothing line targeted at "active people [i.e., senior citizens] who are respectful of our mother Earth." After taking a look at the company's site and reading through its press materials, I tried to think of another such company aiming at the elder market... and couldn't come up with one.

On the other hand, it's pretty easy to come up with a list of companies (in the fashion industry and otherwise) that are focused on a young, hip, and urban demographic... you can probably name ten off of the top of your head. There's nothing wrong with that... but are we missing the boat with the senior market? Consider these facts:

• The U.S. census notes that the the 65-and-older population is set to grow by 40% over the next five years -- from 39 million to 51 million... just in the U.S.
• Research firm Packaged Facts noted in a 2007 report that "As of Spring 2006, nearly 68 million people had blown out at least 55 candles on their last birthday, and various estimates show the 50+ crowd to be sitting on $20 trillion in resources, to control over 70% of disposable income, and to wield $1.6 trillion in spending power." While this has likely changed with the economy in recession, there's no doubt that seniors still wield a hefty amount of purchasing power

While this is all good news for those thinking about marketing to seniors in general, is there a significant percentage of this demographic that would be interested in green products? I can't provide definitive data... my cursory research turns up nothing. My gut certainly tells me that between the senior market and the LOHAS market (estimated at 41 million), there ought to be some overlap...

Do "green seniors" represent a (currently) missed opportunity for consumer products? Has Jingo recognized an underserved niche that others would do well to target? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts...

Image credit: ellievanhoutte at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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