Green Homes Can — and Should — Be Affordable Homes

by Thomas P. Deyo, Deputy Director
Green, National Real Estate & Community Stabilization
NeighborWorks America

How can homes be efficient and healthy while remaining affordable?

“It’s about paying careful attention to the basics — thoughtful design, smart choices and good building,” says The Home Depot Foundation President Kelly Caffarelli, in a really thoughtful article on how families of modest incomes can reap the economic and health benefits of environmentally friendly homes.

I agree, and was pleased to see Community Housing Partners (CHP) — a NeighborWorks member organization in Christianburg, Virginia — cited as a prime example of how nonprofit developers are building green, affordable homes as a matter of practice.

CHP is just one of many organizations in the NeighborWorks network that are bringing green benefits to moderate- and low-income communities through green home design, construction and rehabilitation. In fact, NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network are fully committed to creating or rebuilding healthy, sustainable communities across the country. Visit nw.org/green to see a sample of the award-winning, green developments in the NeighborWorks network.

Cafarelli’s article, Green affordable housing protects pocketbooks, people and the planet, was published in Mother Nature Network’s blog.

Kudos to a Grassroots Effort to Stem Impact of Foreclosures in Detroit

As residents move out of a Detroit neighborhood hard hit by foreclosures, Bill Swanson spends his days trying to persuade businesses to move into vacant commercial spaces. "Shop by shop and block by block, the head of the local business alliance is waging a grassroots fight against crime, blight and neglect." CNN Money

We can't help but applaud this kind of effort.

http://bit.ly/9GVbOH

NeighborWorks America Reaffirms Its Commitment to 'Go Green'

As the nation celebrates Earth Day 2010, NeighborWorks America reaffirms its commitment to help low- and moderate-income communities across the nation go “green” and become healthy, sustainable places for people to live and work.

The commitment begins at home with NeighborWorks America’s pledge to reduce its own carbon footprint by 10 percent by 2012, and to offer training and education on green practices to the nonprofit community development field at large.

The commitment continues throughout the NeighborWorks network, which is working hard to promote green practices in communities through green home design and construction, rehabilitation, weatherization, energy efficient rental properties, and green jobs training. NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network are fully committed to work together to create or rebuild healthy, sustainable communities across the country.

“This is an exciting time for the nonprofit community development field and its efforts to create healthy, sustainable and affordable housing,” said Thomas P. Deyo, deputy director of National Initiatives and Applied Research at NeighborWorks America. “NeighborWorks America is committed to being a leader in employing and promoting green and sustainable practices for the long-term benefit of the environment and our nation’s communities, so that all people can live, work, and play in healthy, ecologically friendly and affordable places.”

The NeighborWorks newsroom has more information, including highlights of just a few of the local NeighborWorks organizations’ green initiatives currently underway.

Learn about NeighborWorks Green Agenda at www.nw.org/green, and about Green training opportunities at http://www.nw.org/network/green/training.asp.

NeighborWorks Works with Realtors to Develop New 'Green The MLS' Toolkit for Marketing Green Homes

The National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) released in time for Earth Day a new “green” tool kit to help Realtors^® add a green initiative to their local multiple listing service (MLS). The toolkit will make it easier to market and identify green homes for homebuyers and sellers. Its development was a collaborative effort by a team of individuals, associations and organizations, including NeighborWorks America^®.

“NAR research has consistently shown that there is a considerable and growing market for green buildings. ...Earth Day on April 22 only underscores the fact that many of today’s consumers want homes and communities that are sensitive to the larger environment. The Green MLS Tool Kit allows Realtors^® to support this growing market,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder.

“By identifying which homes contain energy efficient and environmentally friendly characteristics, the Greening MLS Tool Kit will help all home buyers – especially first-time and low- and moderate income home buyers – make more informed choices about the cost of their housing and where upfront payment may lead to long-term saving,” said Ken Wade, NeighborWorks America CEO.

Other organizations participating in the collaborative effort include the Appraisal Institute; Council of Multiple Listing Services; EcoBroker International; Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.; Metropolitan Regional Information; Multi-Regional Multiple Listing Service System; National Association of Home Builders; Traverse Area Association of Realtors^®; and the U.S. Green Building Council.

Learn more about the Green MLS Toolkit at http://www.greenthemls.org/. More information is also available in NAR's press release.

Make Your Volunteer Events More ‘Social’ Via Online Networks

by Tom Austin, web content development manager, NeighborWorks America

If you’re not already integrating social media into your volunteer events, now might be a good time to start. After all, it's National Volunteer Week (April 18-25), which draws attention to the huge contributions made by volunteers in communities.

Whether your neighborhood project is a fix-up, paint-up, plant-up or even a fundraising event like a 5k race – online social networks are where people are hanging out in growing numbers, and not just tech-savvy teens and 20- or 30-somethings, but older folks too.

These websites not only include popular channels like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, but also websites that match volunteers to opportunities.

What I find most promising for NeighborWorks and other local community development nonprofits is the potential to attract more people, particularly those starting their careers, to local activities that are transforming communities, and that includes engaging volunteers on service projects through social networks.

Here are a few ideas for using social media before, during, and after your volunteer events. If you’ve had some good luck using the tools mentioned below, or other social tools, please share your comments below.

Before Your Volunteer Event:

• Even if you don’t have that many Facebook followers yet, put your “Wall” to work by promoting your events, and in an inviting way that encourages comments and “thumbs-ups” from your followers.


• Some local nonprofits are beginning to create their own customized social networks on Ning that can easily be used to rally volunteers, but it does take some time to set up and engage a community in this kind of multifaceted website.


• Create a short video about your organization and event for upload to YouTube, then include the video on your website, Facebook page, or blog.


• Promote your volunteer events on a few of the many social network websites that match volunteers with volunteer opportunities. AllforGood is the result of a major collaboration between nonprofits and tech companies like Google and Craig’s List and integrates well with other websites and social media. MeetUp is another popular site to gather a group of people quickly, around affinity interests, including volunteering. Some of the other reputable websites that match volunteers with the organizations that orchestrate volunteer events are http://www.volunteermatch.org/; http://www.handsonnetwork.org/; http://www.dosomething.org/; http://www.craigslist.org/ (volunteers category); http://www.servenet.org/; http://www.volunteersolutions.org/.


• Post your event photos on websites created by your local television station. Also, be on the lookout for other online social networks that post volunteer events, such as those sponsored by civic associations, libraries, and local government community affairs offices.

During Your Volunteer Event

• Capture your event with video for posting to YouTube or photos for posting to Flickr. You can link to these from your website. Once you have the images posted, your volunteers may share them on their own social networks, attracting even more volunteers to your events.


• Encourage use of Twitter during your event. Twitter also has ways to share photos, which work well with snapping shots of volunteers from Smart Phones. You may want to even take your Twitter tweets and make a scrapbook out of them to promote future events.


• Does your organization have a blog? Consider a live blog of your volunteer event. Better yet, have one of the volunteers do a “guest blog” on their volunteer experience.


• When your volunteers register, give them the opportunity for them to share their email, so you can follow up with them by sending them links to photos, video, blog posting, or other content relevant to your event.

After Your Volunteer Event

• Show your online followers and fans who did not volunteer what they missed by posting photos and video, etc.


• Use your social network to thank those who participated in the event by sharing photos, videos, etc.
  

There are obviously lots of possibilities for nonprofit project managers willing to experiment. Which of the tools do you see working best for your organization?

Also, if you’re looking for more on trends in volunteerism, check out the upcoming symposium, hosted by NeighborWorks America in Phoenix in May at www.nw.org/volunteers.