If last year brought the promise of change, I hope 2009 will see the wave of personal empowerment continue by benefiting the greater good. Whether in the name of sustainability or social entrepreneurship, making decisions that consider our planet and our communities can also have positive effects on our waistlines and wallets—plus they make for more enjoyable promises than the illusion of running ten miles a day. Unlike your resolutions of New Years past, some of these ideas for ’09 may even last beyond February 1.
I’ve taken the liberty of tweaking the U.S. Government’s list of popular American resolutions (yes, USA.gov really does list these) to make them more ’09 friendly. And while you may already feel like January is slipping away from you without much happening, doing your part feels pretty good once you get to it.
Be Book Smart, Help Others Read
Contrary to Steve Jobs’ recent comment about Americans not being interested in reading anymore, many people think books are still worth buying and spending time with, thank you very much. Purchasing novels and biographies from an outlet that works to encourage literacy and protect the environment, not just their profits, is a great way to change your one-click ordering habit on Amazon. Online retailer Better World Books sells new and used books to raise money for global literacy while also saving millions of books from the landfills. Reading John Wood’s autobiography Leaving Microsoft to Change the World about starting the organization Room to Read, which publishes children’s books in local languages around the world, is another good way to jumpstart externally aimed personal resolutions.
Turn Trash into Treasure
Composting food scraps and switching your incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are cost-efficient ways to make your house or apartment easier on the earth. But what if someone actually rewarded you for your good deeds? Recycle Bank, a new award program that gives incentives for curbside recycling, aims to do just that. Once you sign up for an account online, the amount you recycle is recorded, and you start earning reward points from participating companies, including the natural skin care line Kiss My Face and organic yogurt producer, Stonyfield Farm. Helping myself by helping the earth never seemed so easy!
Support the Starving Artists
If you’re among the many gift recipients that got another dismal album or bad DVD during the holidays, you may agree that supporting independent artists is a great way to improve the quality of what’s available to watch and hear. A few Web sites make it easy to find projects you’re eager to see produced. Sellaband invites music fans to throw a few dollars behind bands and artists looking to raise money for their first professional album, which will earn browsers a limited edition copy once the musician raises $50,000. For filmgoers complaining that there’s nothing worth watching, IndieGoGo offers a wide range of film projects in various states of production that audiences can help fund, endorse, and comment on. Getting to see the $10 you would have spent at the metroplex work harder for a new or experienced filmmaker is a gift in itself.
Socially Responsible, Financially Savvy
One unexpected benefit of Wall Street’s mismanagement may be Americans willingness to try socially-conscious investment funds with an emphasis on empowering small companies and entrepreneurs. While I’m working to earn the funds required to join Women Moving Millions in their efforts to invest in women’s economic growth around the world, I’m intrigued by the opportunity to make $50 loans to upstart West African companies through the new group Investors Without Borders. There are also good opportunities to help the Cambridge-based MicroLoan Foundation make loans to women starting sustainable businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. If you lack money to loan but have computer skills or the willingness to host a donation day at your school or office, you can help the foundation expand to Zambia and encourage their clients to start business projects that improve their self-sufficiency.
Walk the Health Talk
Raising money for charity certainly isn’t made any easier by an economic downturn, but your decision to hit the road can make a compelling case in encouraging donations to an organization or cause you support. If you’ve slashed your vacation budget for the upcoming year, rounding up a few friends to meet you at the LA, San Francisco, or New York AIDS Walk can make for a fun long weekend of urban hiking that benefits local AIDS research and outreach organizations. Another option is the two-day Avon Walks for Breast Cancer that take place around the country—and the miles of cheerleaders don’t hurt. The funds raised support not only treatment and support services, but breast cancer screening that is proving ever more important for early detection.
Where Are Your Priorities?
These ideas are only a sampling of the socially smart, personally rewarding actions that you can find with some brief Internet browsing. Planning for the causes and companies you’ll support in the year ahead is easy with charity and product review sites such as Great Nonprofits and GoodGuide, which provide information about the environmental and social impact of products you own. The green living community Care2 also offers advice on sustainable nutrition and volunteering for causes you care about.