Leveraging the Talk Around the Water Cooler
What if you could literally change the fate of hundreds of non-profit organizations just by making a small change in your office break room?
Nope…not by installing compact fluorescent light bulbs or implementing a recycling program, but by giving “water cooler talk” an entirely different meaning. That’s exactly what Portland, OR-based NedWater has set out to do, one water cooler at a time.
A New Definition of CSR
Ask NedWater co-founder Perry Gruber about his business and it will take some time to get to the water part – here’s what comes first, “Our passion is to change the way business gets done. NedWater is a living example of this new model. We’ve taken the liberty of rebranding the traditional CSR acronym to ‘Commodities Spur Revolution’.”
Perry knows a thing or two about CSR – he spent years as a CSR big whig at Intel.
Perry explains how they do it:
-“A business signs up to get water service from NedWater on a monthly basis (and, yes, of course it’s fabulous water from a local source) with competitive pricing and no required service agreements…
-5% of the gross revenues (yes, you read that correctly…gross revenues not net profit) goes to non-profit organizations determined by NedWater customers. Customers nominate non-profit organizations to receive funding and ultimately vote for the recipients.”
Here’s where it gets interesting:
-“Non-Profit organizations can also apply to become ‘Better World Partners’ with NedWater. Through what is essentially an affiliate relationship, selected non-profit organizations earn 20% on every customer they refer to NedWater. What this creates for that Better World Partner is a passive income stream.”
Examples of these Better World partners are Portland’s National College of Natural Medicine and Incite.
It’s so hard to decide where to begin addressing the coolness factor of this business model, but let’s start with…
The Business Benefit
I’m not sure if there could possibly be lower hanging fruit for the business that is interested in engaging customers and employees and making a statement about their commitment to community in an eminently affordable, accessible and simple way. I mean, really?
Replace your existing break-room water cooler (sorry Sierra Springs) and start the conversation with your employees and customers on whatever level you’re comfortable. Make a big deal out of it…or don’t. Show your support for your favorite local non-profit organization by nominating them to receive the monies or get your employees involved. Who knows? If this model of affiliate funding works for non-profit organizations, the amount you’re asked to contribute may decrease (OK, maybe that’s wishful thinking, but stranger things have happened).
The Non-Profit Gold Mine
Ok, all you non-profit organizations out there bemoaning lack of funding, reduced contribution budgets and diminishing grant sources – LISTEN UP. This is an incredible opportunity for you to start generating some residual income for your organizations, in a way that adds value to your business partners (see above) and doesn’t require a long-term investment of your time.
Yes, you will initially have to (gasp!) get out there and talk with your business neighbors, partners and board members but since you’ve read my previous blog postings about developing good relationships, you’re already doing that, right? This is an easy experiment that has the potential to lead to a new way of funding your important projects and your mission. If nothing else, this gives you a great excuse to get out and talk to those business partners again. Remember…if this model works for you, it could reduce your future asks to that business partner.
But Don’t Bother If…
…your primary mission is to keep yourself in business (versus addressing your cause), because NedWater isn’t interested in your kind. And if your internal dialogue right now sounds something like, “But I’m not in sales and I’m certainly not in the water business…”, you should probably take a pass, too. This undertaking is only for those courageous enough to put themselves out there, try something new and understand inherently that it’s a risk….but one that could reap big rewards.
Next Steps
I personally am going to keep a close eye on the progress of NedWater and encourage you to do the same. NedWater’s new definition of CSR, “Commodities Spur Revolution” may just leverage our dependence on commodities for good.
To sign up for NedWater service in your office or to inquire about their Affiliate program, connect with Perry via email or Twitter.
P.S. Some of you may know that I’m one of the hosts of the new marketing podcast, The Naked Marketers, where we dish on all things marketing, cover relevant news, discuss the tools we’re loving and interview interesting people. Perry was one of the people we interviewed recently. You can hear our interview with him by downloading the podcast here.
-@MeganStrand
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