Yesterday was Giving Tuesday, and it was a massive success – all thanks to YOU! Our community is awesome, and we're so happy to have great people interacting with us every day, all for #MoreGreenBuildings. With all of your generous contributions and time, we raised nearly $2000 – all going to our community, such as student scholarships and advocacy campaigns.
It's contributions like this that give us a reason to keep fighting for net-positive buildings and a more sustainable future, for us, and for future generations. You're the reason we do what we do, through your support, and as motivation to keep pushing.
We've been talking a lot about Giving Tuesday the past week, but it's all for a good reason. This is the biggest day of the year for non-profits such as ours, as we celebrate our contributions towards our community, and our plans moving forward. Everything we do is for the greater good – a mission that can't be done alone, which is why we rely on our contributors to make all of this happen.
If you donate through Facebook, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match your gift. That's a HUGE deal for us. $5 becomes $10, $25 becomes $50, and so on. We can really make massive strides in one day.
Giving Tuesday is recognized as the first Tuesday following the string of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and then Cyber Monday. On this global day of giving, observed primarily on social media and group collaboration, non-profits make a call for holiday and end-of-year giving. Now is also a good time to get involved as a volunteer.
Your support makes a difference. Everything goes into our organization, and in turn, we use it for student scholarships, advocacy, service projects, and more.
I am stuffed from the recent holiday…but I am still hungry!
We have so much work to do. And now it's #GivingTuesday. Allow me to ask for your help, yet again.
I hope that you all had a great long weekend of giving thanks and connecting with loved ones. I can only imagine the diversity of discourse at your Thanksgiving tables. We are a creative bunch, and our families reflect the pluralism of the country. I love talking up green buildings with my less-green relatives. Our mission and programming is notably supported by all facets of our society.
We connect voices and offer a market-smart solution which provides broad community benefits.
Green buildings mean more jobs, more skilled workers, less money out the door for operating expenses, and better investments. Green b uildings also mean: healthier buildings, decreased GHG emissions, more resilient designs and stronger, more inclusive cities.
Our mission and the impact of our organization is so expansive and deep rooted that when examined, we should be at the top of any charitable giving list. I know it may sound presumptive, but green buildings really are “the answer” to a lot of things we are concerned about!
Our mission addresses the 40% of GHG emissions which come from buildings – an eminently practical solution to a global crisis. O ur mission promotes significantly healthier indoor environments where Americans spend 90% of their time – with the potential to decrease many health risks.
Green building will account for $13.6 billion in contribution to GDP; 155,000 jobs; $9.12 billion in labor earnings; and $279 million in tax revenue by 2018. If you are involved with our organization and reading this, you are most likely part of these numbers.
We often refer to green buildings as high performance buildings, designs consisting of many technological advances offering exceptional results. It's exciting to be a part of the future of real estate!
What we see green buildings being is the harmony of leadership at many different levels. Clients, who see the value of building efficient, healthy and socially equitable structures as a reflection of the ir corporate values; designers pushing the limit of traditional design norms and code as the base standard; manufacturers showing leadership by re-engineering their products to support values at all points in their life-cycle; and occupants for demanding a revolution in the building industry.
The USGBC MA is the only organization which is working to connect all these voices, provide market solutions , and take significant steps towards responding to the honest concerns you may have voiced or heard voiced at the Thanksgiving table.
Can you help us take it to the next level? Can you help us with the massive task of transforming our built environment for net positive results?
Our organization can only work at the pace of our funding, so we ask you now, in the spirit of Giving Tuesday, in the spirit of the holidays, in the spirit of not letting another lousy building go up ever again,please support our work. With your support in the past year, we organized hundreds of hours of volunteer service. We educated and inspired thousands of event attendees with green building content. We raised the solar net metering caps, supported net-zero municipal policy and successfully passed legislation for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) in our advocacy work. Massachusetts went from #5 to #3 in the union for LEED per square foot. We supported industry-transforming research at Harvard connecting green buildings to improved cognitive function, and we built coalitions of allies to expand our influence in real estate, academia, building operations, solar deployment and the general environmental advocacy community.
We are asking for everyone to donate: the amount is up to you. The challenge of transforming the building sector is daunting, and we are needed now more than ever. We value your support and will continue to serve you through our mission. Thank you for being an engaged member of our community.
