Mike.Delponte

Wanna breakthrough in fundraising? First, change the way you think!

Mike.Delponte — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:05:33 -0400

If I could give you one piece of advice on fundraising, it would be this: go to the For Impact Web site and absorb everything they offer.

Attend a free teleseminar.
Read all of their nuggets.
Invest in a training camp.

The folks who lead For Impact have over 30 years of social sector experience, and they’ve fundraised more than $1 billion (yes, that’s billion with a “B”). They are the experts; I’m just a messenger. But the message I have today is simple and powerful, so start here and then check out the resources mentioned in this post.

So here's my #1 suggestion to transform your fundraising results: CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK. Change the way you think about yourself, your organization, and funding your vision. read more »

How to Make $5,000 by writing 2 pages

Mike.Delponte — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:30:44 -0400

Before I started the CLYV Social Innovator program, I committed to providing up to $1,000 in seed money to each venture that we launched. There was only one problem: Conscious Lifestyle didn't have any money to give. We were a new organization and had done almost no fundraising at all. Nonetheless, I knew that if I were going to do this program, I had to give it my all. So I committed to providing seed grants of up to $1,000. There were two things that prevented this ambitious goal from becoming a disaster. First, Conscious Lifestyle formed a partnership with Youth Venture, which co-funds each venture. Second,

I learned how to make $5,000 by writing two pages.

Here are the takeaways from that experience that you can apply to your grant writing: read more »

Conferences for Fall 2008

Mike.Delponte — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:42:46 -0400

EPA 2008 Collegiate Environmental Sustainability Conference
October 23-24, 2008; Spelman College; Atlanta, GA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Spelman College invite participants to its 2008 Collegiate Environmental Sustainability Conference. The conference will feature speakers, panel presentations, and exhibits, as well an on-campus tour of the Green Residence Hall at Spelman College. The intent of the conference is to promote environmental, economic, and social benefits of green initiatives; provide numerous sources of funding for green building available at the national, state, and local levels; and facilitate a network of partnerships to promote green initiatives at HBCUs and MAIs.

Greenbuild 2008
November 19 – 21, 2008; Boston, MA read more »

Welcome New Social Innovators!

Mike.Delponte — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:38:59 -0400

Conscious Lifestyle is proud to welcome the following new ventures: read more »

Bike Share Initiative - Southern CT State University
Climate Solutions Coalition - Tufts University
Fair Tees - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
GREEN House, Northwestern University
M3E Consulting, Georgetown University
Organic Garden, Skidmore College
Slow Food – Princeton, Princeton University
Slow Food – Rutgers, Rutgers University
Slow Food – Madison, Univ. of Wisconsin
Vegfest – Syracuse University

CL Social Innovators Attend Slow Food Nation in SF

Mike.Delponte — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:21:23 -0400

Conscious Lifestyle's recent partnership with Slow Food USA included a commitment to send the social innovators leading the Conscious Lifestyle - Slow Food Ventures to Slow Food Nation in San Francisco.

Slow Food Nation (SFN) was a summit of over 60,000 people who celebrated the birth of a broad and inclusive food movement to build an American food system that is sustainable, just, and delicious. It included tastings, a farmers market, workshops, a concert, lectures, and a lot of great food.

Paul Valetutti and Kathy Helfrey represented Slow Food - Rutgers. Their venture connects local growers with Rutgers University Dining Services to dramatically increase the amount of "good, clean, and fair" food served to students. read more »

Conscious Lifestyle Moves West

Mike.Delponte — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:14:51 -0400

We're back in the San Francisco Bay Area and excited to grow our organization. Here are the three main goals of Conscious Lifestyle for the next year:

Rebuild our board of directors (have anyone in mind?)
Raise $100,000 for salaries (you can make a donation here.
Rebrand our organization (designers can contact mike@consciouslifestyle.org)

Welcome People to People

Mike.Delponte — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:01:12 -0400

Welcome to everyone from the People to People summit at Stanford.

Conscious Lifestyle invests in young leaders committed to social responsibility to change institutions today and train the top social entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Chances are if you went to People to People, you're on your way to greatness, so make sure to apply for our support. We typically have two rounds of applications: February and August.

In the mean time, enjoy our posts about leading a social venture while in school.

TED Talk: Photojounalist Stirs People to Action

Mike.Delponte — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:12:34 -0400

On August 12 I'm giving a talk at Stanford about how each person has particular gifts that can be used to bring about positive social change. I love the TED Talks podcast because it proves this point so powerfully. In this TED Talk, James Nachtwey - perhaps the greatest war photographer of our time - discusses how "his intention is to record the truth, to document the struggles of humanity, and with this, to wake people up and stir them to action."

Salon.com says, "He's clearly one of those rare characters who focus singularly on their work with a missionary-like sense of purpose."

Watch this video for an inspiring story of commitment and unforgettable photos.

Should This Guy Blow Up His Range Rover? You Decide.

Mike.Delponte — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:19:30 -0400

The folks at onefewer.com do not mess around. Check out the video below to hear how you can decide what to do with this obsolete gas guzzler. Can anyone say domino effect? Ok, that may be a stretch, but this is cool nonetheless. Here's the story from digg.

"There's no way around it: 13 MPG sucks. But what do you do with a Range Rover that's already on the road? Selling it just passes the burden on, so, should we blow it up? Drive it off a cliff? Convert it to a biodiesel or plug-in hybrid and give it to an organization that can use it to do something great? This guy will use the best idea he gets.."

Read the whole story on onefewer.com and make sure to share this with others. You can do so by clicking the green "share" icon below.

High School Students Stand for Equality

Mike.Delponte — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:36:05 -0400

The following is a guest post by Patrick Lebedinski, an up-and-coming writer and social activist.

There are countless places where young people are working for social change. One spot in particular is near-and-dear to me because it's located in my hometown, Santee, CA. This past May, at West Hills High School, members of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) organized a Day of Silence to spread a message – a demand even – that social equality must include people of all sexual orientations. read more »