Today a dragonfly appeared on my morning walk, a sure harbinger of Summer.  Before Summer arrives we wanted to be in touch and share some of the latest news from G2 (Give Green Canada / Patrimoine vert.)

• Latest brain research on legacy giving
• Monthly Giving Resource Centre
• Monthly Giving – Learning Together (for Ontario eNGO’s)
• 2017 – opportunities for the environmental sector
• Announcing G2 in Quebec:  “Patrimoine vert”
• News from our partners
• Twitter @GiveGreenCanada

All this at no charge to you, thanks to our funders. Click here to see what past participants had to say about their training and mentorship experience with G2.

The most talked-about research in the legacy field today is the work of Russell James of Texas Tech University who uses fMRI machines to explore the minds of donors.  Russell is a former gift planner (and attorney) who has discovered a specific region of the brain is activated when individuals contemplate a planned gift.  At the Canadian Association of Gift Planners conference in April, I gave a presentation summarizing Russell’s work, available now on Scribd.

As monthly giving expert Harvey McKinnon puts it, there are 7 very good reasons to focus on monthly giving:

• Increased income
• Building better relationships
• Donors stay longer
• Predictability
• Savings
• Income grows over time
• Convenience

Since there didn’t seem to be anywhere on the Internet where you could find information about monthly giving all in one place, we created a resource centre. You can also find links to recordings of the webinars expert Harvey McKinnon has recently given as part of our Monthly Giving – Learning Together program (see below). Click here. 

The year 2017 will mark Canada's 150th anniversary. Major anniversaries can be powerful tools to encourage positive action.  2017 is one such example that could provide Canadians an opportunity to not only reflect upon the kind of country they wish to see in years to come, but to take action that would result in a green and healthy future.

G2 Give Green Canada is acting as a catalyst for environmental and conservation groups across the country to maximize opportunities to encourage their supporters to create a green legacy. 

Last year we convened a group of representatives of eNGO’s from across the country to let them know what other initiatives were underway and to encourage them to include 2017 in their upcoming planning cycles.  The presentation can be found on Scribd.

Public Opinion Research:  We are planning to conduct public opinion research and polling about attitudes towards 2017 with interested eNGO partners. 

If you would like to participate please email vanbentum@gmail.com.

Are you exhausted by the never-ending quest to obtain sustained funding for operations?  Sign up for the second round of “Monthly Giving – Learning Together”, a program made possible by Ontario Trillium Foundation. Based on the success of its first year, we are welcoming new participants for round two.  Here’s what one of our participants has to say:

“At the Couchiching Conservancy, we already had a monthly giving program in place but being part of G2 Give Green Canada's monthly giving initiative has been a great benefit to our organization. With their help, we have improved our program and more than doubled the number of monthly givers that support us. Having someone to turn to outside the organization has been helpful and the regular contact helps to keep us on track.”

This special opportunity – at no charge - will set you on a firm course to financial stability. To learn more or to sign-up, please contact Natasha van Bentum, CFRE, Director, G2 (Give Green Canada) by email vanbentum@gmail.com.

Our partner CISCO Canada is helping to make a positive difference in the North thanks to their TelePresence technology. Please click here to read a feature article in the Globe and Mail, “Technology allows students in inaccessible northern communities to get a taste of experts and experiments.”

Announcement to Quebec-based environmental organizations

Following a successful launch in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, we are very pleased to announce our program has started in Quebec with the name Patrimoine vert. We will be offering training and mentoring at no charge to you, thanks to our funders.

How does it work?  Our program is a combination of one-on-one training, distance learning through our Toolkit, and webinars.  Together, we identify practical, achievable goals. The time commitment is not onerous and we work around your schedule.  If you would like to participate please contact Pierre Valiquette by email valiquettepierrem@gmail.com.

Message aux organisations environnementales québécoises

Suite au lancement réussi en Colombie-Britannique, en Alberta et en Ontario, nous sommes fiers d’annoncer le démarrage du programme au Québec sous le nom de Patrimoine vert .  Nous allons offrir de la formation et un encadrement sans frais, grâce à nos bailleurs de fonds.

Comment çà fonctionne ?  Notre programme est un mariage de formations individualisées, d’enseignement à distance avec notre « Boîte à outils » et de webinaires.  Nous identifions ensemble des objectifs pratiques et réalisables. L'engagement en temps n'est pas lourd et nous nous ajustons à votre emploi du temps.  Si vous voulez participer, veuillez contacter Pierre M. Valiquette par courriel valiquettepierrem@gmail.com.

 Follow us on twitter @GiveGreenCanada

@GiveGreenCanada saves you time and keeps you up-to-date with all the latest research, tips and best practice in the world of outreach and legacy giving. We also keep an eye out for interesting developments in the fields of social enterprise and social finance.

That dragonfly I spotted this morning reminded me dragonflies are symbols of adaptability. In  our current landscape adapting to change has never been more important.  The old paradigms no longer work. We can’t continue “business as usual” when it comes to the environment and conservation.  At G2 we can help you to adapt to the myriad challenges facing environmental and conservation organizations every day.  And there is no charge since our training and mentoring is made possible by our funders.

All the best,

Natasha van Bentum, CFRE
Director

Formerly Green Legacies, G2 Give Green Canada / Patrimoine vert is a national nonprofit organization housed at Tides Canada Initiatives that works with eNGO’s across the country through online tools and training. We also mentor a new generation of green fund development practitioners; provide web-based resources for donors on gifting options, and tools for professional advisors who work with green clients.