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Environment

BTW works with nonprofits and foundations committed to integrating environmental sustainability and “green” practices into programs and planning efforts.

For the Community Clinics Initiative (CCI), BTW assessed and documented the Initiative’s initial foray into green grantmaking.

When Green For All experienced a huge growth spurt in 2008, they called on BTW to help with strategic planning and organizational alignment.

See examples of our work with environmentally conscious clients:

 

The Community Clinics Initiative

The Community Clinics Initiative (CCI), a joint project of Tides and The California Endowment, is a partnership designed to strengthen the capacities of California community clinics and health centers.

In 2007, CCI launched a new half-million dollar “Green” Grants Program to help community clinics renovate or operate environmentally sustainable health-care facilities. BTW was brought in to evaluate the program’s success.

BTW’s assessment shone a light on the success of the program among CCI grantees. Our findings included the following outcomes:

  • Grantees reduced their energy and water consumption
  • They reduced environmental hazards in their buildings
  • They engaged staff in implementing environmentally healthy operational practices.

In March 2009, BTW released an evaluation brief that examines these results. The report also describes 10 Lessons Learned through this grants program, and Key Factors that Help Nonprofits “Go Green.”

Green For All

Green For All was a new and rapidly growing organization at the forefront of the green economy. Recognizing that it needed help to graduate from start-up to established enterprise, Green for All asked BTW for assistance.

Through interviews with internal and external stakeholders, BTW helped Green For All

  • better understand the context for its work,
  • articulate clear near-term objectives, and
  • map out possible organizational structures to support these goals.

BTW’s work helped Green for All transition from nimble start-up to a solid and sustainable organization.

The San Francisco Foundation

The San Francisco Foundation (TSFF) was planning a new initiative for environmental health grantmaking. It needed to understand the trends within the environmental health and justice movement, and to know more about what other programs already existed. To inform its new initiative, TSFF turned to BTW.

Through research and focus groups, BTW gathered information that helped the Foundation

  • identify specific areas of need within the field, and
  • design a new structure for its environmental health grantmaking program.

Today, TSFF supports a robust portfolio of organizations under this new program.