Racing to Fundraise, New Old House, Haute Barrel, Greentrepreneur – GCNews #686

686: 21 June 2010 – Published by Green Communities Canada.

NEW DIRECTOR. Axel Tscherniak is Peterborough Green-Up new Executive Director. A native of Germany,  Axel Tscherniak worked for Frontenac Arch Biosphere in Kingston. Prior to immigrating to Canada, he managed Europarc Germany, an environmental NGO representing a network of national and provincial parks, and biosphere reserves seeking to improve the management and the value of protected areas to society.

FUNDRAISING RACE. Environment Network’s Race for the Planet is an adventure race to encourage use of the trails in Collingwood. Teams of four adults work together to travel through the course on foot, by bike, paddle power and public transport, conquering several fun mental and physical challenges along the way. First beginner-friendly race on 31 July. 

ECOBUSINESS MILESTONE. Durham Sustain Ability’s EcoBusiness program welcomes its 100th EcoBusiness member, 14 July: interactive waste reduction seminar and displays. RSVP by 12 July.

NEW OLD HOUSE. See photos of Ontario Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Brad Duguid, at the inauguration of Waterloo Region Green Solutions’ REEP House (Residential Energy Efficiency Project). Recognize any familiar faces?

HAUTE BARREL. Artists and aspiring artists promote water conservation during Green Calgary EcoStore’s Rain Barrels as Canvasses week, June 22-3 July.  Samples of US decorated barrels … See musically-bended video How Our Community Garden Built a Compost Bin, in collaboration with Green Calgary.

NONPROFIT & MONEY. Analysis of Canadian Environmental Grants shows how dollars were allocated by environmental issue, activity, location, and recipient type in 2007: 55% of recipients were environmental organizations while the rest were schools, municipalities or churches undertaking environmental initiatives … Pareto Fundraising 2010 Benchmarking study looks at trends in the Canadian charitable sector: monthly giving still provides tremendous ongoing income for charities; planned gifts increased by 8%; online giving grew by 17% from 2008 … Institute for Conservation Leadership analyses four online fundraising strategies: email and integrated campaigns, team fundraising, online competitions.

MANAGEMENT HELP. Endeavour provides free management consulting to enable Canadian non-profit leaders to improve organizational performance and social impact. Next application deadline 15 July.

GREENTREPRENEUR. The New Entrepreneurs: Building a Green Economy for the Future introduces a burgeoning class of entrepreneurs at the forefront of the green-tech economy, from forestry to water to agriculture and oil.  Book launch 22 June at Sustainability Network … The New Good Life, Living Better Than Ever in An Age of Less, by “rebel without a cone” John Robbins, says that materialism is bad for the soul and urges people to focus on their quality of life.

CANNED BPAs. No Silver Lining: An Investigation Into BPA Canned Foods tested food from 50 cans, including organic canned food, for BPA contamination. Over 90% of the cans had levels of BPA shown to cause health problems in laboratory animals.

JOBS. Recycling Council of Ontario, Program Coordinator/Waste Free Lunch Challenge.  Toronto, due 25 June … City of Ottawa, Environmental Stewardship Coordinator. Due 30 June.