Verde: Building Environmental Wealth in Disadvantaged Communities
We envision a world where community members can find local jobs that are safe, pay a living wage, and provide important benefits such as health care and paid sick leave, while building environmental wealth in their communities. We employ sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy by increasing access to green jobs for persons of color and women who are low-income and low-wealth, empowering them to protect and restore the environment and benefit their communities by insulating homes, planting trees, installing bioswales and generally creating environmental assets, while building important life and job skills that enable them to build their own economic wealth. Our advocacy also drives opportunity for low-income people outside of our enterprises through market-based strategies.
About You
About You
First Name
Katrina
Last Name
Beloof
Facebook Profile
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Verde
Organization Website
Organization Country
United States, OR, Multnomah County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, OR, Multnomah County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Verde: Building Environmental Wealth in Disadvantaged Communities
What change do you want to bring to the world?
We envision a world where community members can find local jobs that are safe, pay a living wage, and provide important benefits such as health care and paid sick leave, while building environmental wealth in their communities. We employ sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy by increasing access to green jobs for persons of color and women who are low-income and low-wealth, empowering them to protect and restore the environment and benefit their communities by insulating homes, planting trees, installing bioswales and generally creating environmental assets, while building important life and job skills that enable them to build their own economic wealth. Our advocacy also drives opportunity for low-income people outside of our enterprises through market-based strategies.
What are the primary activities of your project?
Verde connects low-income people with the benefits of environmental wealth, particularly the economic benefits generated from environmental projects, in two major ways.
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: Verde runs three environmental businesses that provide employment, job training, and entrepreneurial opportunities to low-income persons and people of color to improve their economic conditions. They are Verde Landscape, a landscape contractor, Verde Nursery, a native plant nursery, and Verde Energy, a weatherization contractor. Crew members work for 3.5 years building the job and life skills they need to be successful and competitive in the job market before they “graduate” to another job or to go on to run their own businesses.
OUTREACH/ADVOCACY: Verde builds stewardship among community youth through education, connects residents to environmental changes and environmental wealth-building opportunities in the neighborhood, and builds community awareness about the connection between environmental wealth and economic opportunity by educating residents about green jobs and working with community organizations to identify green job opportunities in sustainability initiatives. Verde supports community residents as an integral part of the decision-making process and engages the community through trainings, meetings, and one-on-one conversations. Verde also powers economic opportunity through our advocacy for projects and policies that drive investments into disadvantaged neighborhoods and ensure that community members have access to the jobs created by these investments.
What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
Verde’s innovative approach powers economic opportunity by bridging the green divide. Verde drives opportunity into disadvantaged communities by advocating for the creation of environmental wealth (parks, walkable streets, stormwater management systems), while ensuring that low-income people are connected with the economic benefits of building environmental wealth (good jobs, new skills, growing businesses). We employ sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy, thus increasing the environmental and economic wealth of disadvantaged communities. Our innovative approach addresses the community’s daily concerns through environmental job and business opportunities, providing a more direct connection between the community and environmental wealth. Our advocacy brings opportunities to the neighborhood in the form of environmental projects. Our outreach tells community members about green job opportunities and how they might benefit from them. Our social enterprises give community members job and training opportunities that ensure that crew members know how to do their jobs and demonstrate their learning and expertise through their work. By giving our crew members on-the-job training and the opportunity to demonstrate their growth, we ensure that they will be valuable workers in their field in the future. Our work also creates jobs for people in the community outside of our social enterprises through community workforce agreements, community based approaches to recruitment that reduce barriers, and encouraging contractors to hire workers from community programs.
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.
Verde serves low-income and people of color communities with a focus on the residents of Hacienda Community Development Corporation (HCDC) and Portland’s Cully Neighborhood. Many of HCDC’s low-income housing residents are recent immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries or Somali refugees and earn less than 60% median area income. Cully residents are disproportionately impacted by environmental and economic harms, including poverty, lack of access to food, and a dearth of parks and natural habitat. Nearly half of Cully’s residents are people of color and 18% of Cully residents live in poverty. They are economically isolated, disconnected from the region’s broader economic opportunities. Yet they are eager to have a say. When Verde and partners created opportunities for low-income residents to access and influence decisions on a Green Street project through outreach, partnership building, and policy maker engagement, low-income residents participated and benefited economically from the Street’s construction. Verde’s outreach activities have also increased the community’s capacity to participate in the Thomas Cully Park Project, a collaborative effort to build a park in Cully. Additionally, Verde has launched Lideres Verdes, in which community leaders are paid to participate in up to 75 hours of trainings and meetings with environmental policymakers on environmental issues that concern them. In conjunction with outreach efforts, community members are hired to work in Verde’s Social Enterprises and serve as members of Verde’s Board and as program Advisors.
Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
Verde is primarily by and of Hacienda CDC’s resident community. Many of HCDC’s residents are marginalized and excluded from mainstream economic opportunities. In response to this need, Alan Hipólito, then HCDC’s Sustainable Development Director, created a program to identify environmental business opportunities appropriate for the resident community. In collaboration with advisors and community members, Mr. Hipólito analyzed market demand, capital needs, training needs, and community capacity for potential opportunities. He oversaw the creation of Verde and ensured the smooth transition of the Landscape and Nursery Social Enterprises from HCDC to Verde, where he now serves as Executive Director. Verde has remained a steady presence in the community, training and employing HCDC and other community residents for environmental jobs. Under Mr. Hipólito’s direction, Verde has recently added its third Social Enterprise, Verde Energy, and continues to develop crew member capacity. Mr. Hipólito’s passion for social and environmental justice makes him a tireless advocate for his community. He works with partners to ensure that minority contractors, minority workers, and those from low-income and disadvantaged communities see the economic benefits of rapidly growing green industries by advocating for equal opportunities and equal access to training and jobs. He strives to empower people to build environmental wealth in their communities through outreach and civic education activities and by continuing to listen to the community he serves.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: Verde employs 10 full time crew members with barriers to employment & pays them $12-$17 per hour + health care benefits, dental & vision. Crew members increased educational and skill levels through trainings: ESL, computer skills, personal finance & job related trainings. Each enterprise has an advisory group (Board Member, Verde staff, enterprise crew, & subject matter experts) that meets bimonthly & establishes and monitors budgets & progress toward program goals, & coordinates program activities. Verde is working in tandem with Virtue Ventures, an evaluation consultancy firm, on a system to measure the progress and success of our crew members.
OUTREACH: On the Cully Green Street project, outreach workers gave information about the project to over 75 residents through bi-lingual flyers, surveys, & one-on-one talks. Verde helped get community members hired on the project through Verde Landscape and for-profit contractors. On the Cully Park project, advocates engaged over 250 community members through talks and surveys. Verde also successfully educated environmental policymakers on practices for a green economy that creates economic opportunity for low-income & people of color. Recent successes: incorporating equity criteria into the Multnomah Co. Weatherization Assistance Program & working with partners on a Community Workforce Agreement for Clean Energy Works Portland, which set standards for local hiring, wages, health insurance, workforce diversity, & training. Our outreach program also has an advisory group to monitor program progress & activities.
How many people have been impacted by your project?
1,001- 10,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
More than 10,000
How will your project evolve over the next three years?
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: Continued growth in existing enterprises. In response to community need, Verde builds triple bottom line development capacity –to design and implement new developments that benefit the local environment, remain economically viable, and create economic opportunities for low-income people and people of color. We see this taking shape in our current work on the Cully Park project.
OUTREACH: Ongoing work with the Community for Equity, a collaboration through which organizations of color access & influence environmental policymaking. With them, we incorporate equity into the Portland model of sustainability & reinterpret it as an anti-poverty strategy, driving environmental investments into disadvantaged neighborhoods in response to low-income people’s existing needs.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
One challenge that Verde faces in our social enterprise operations is our rapid growth and success. Our enterprises have been growing more quickly than we expected! The barrier that might hinder us is not a lack of business, but a lack of capacity to get the job done. Fortunately, Verde has some great resources to enable us to address these challenges. Verde has a group of Advisors for each enterprise, composed of the program manager, crew members, and professionals in the field. These Advisors give us professional and practical insight into how to vary from our business plans while making sure we are maintaining good business practices and staying in line with our mission. Our success has allowed us to take on new crew members sooner than we expected and has fostered more collaboration between programs. Verde is also working to build our capacity in other areas. We are moving our accounting system to a bookkeeping firm that can handle our thriving business and we are adding a staff member to provide administrative and program support to these excelling enterprises.
Tell us about your partnerships
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE. Our Enterprises benefit from professionals in the field who serve as advisors, giving their professional expertise as nursery consultants, landscape architects, landscape contractors, financial consultants, land use planners, and weatherization contractors. Verde Landscape began as an HCDC program and Verde Energy is a partnership between Verde & the Native American Youth & Family Center/NAYA. NAYA is housed in Cully and provides comprehensive wraparound services to the Native community through Youth Services, Family Services, and Employment, Housing, and Community Development departments. HCDC develops affordable housing (300+ units in Cully) and builds thriving communities in support of working Latino families and others in Oregon by promoting healthy living & economic advancement.
OUTREACH. Verde, NAYA, & HCDC are founding members of the Community for Equity. Other members include: Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, El Program Hispano, Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization, and Urban League of Portland, as well as training providers, organized labor, minority contractors, and other employers. In the Community for Equity, Verde & Peer Organizations have created a new collaboration through which organizations of color can access and influence environmental policies in a strategic, coordinated way. Working together, these organizations – from the Black community, the Native community, the Latino community, the Asian community and other Immigrant communities – have an historic opportunity to bring environmental wealth to their communities.
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
More than $1 million
Explain your selections
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: Much of our support comes from our valued customers for the services we provide them. Our social enterprise programs are designed for self-sufficiency so that they may become sustainable after their initial grants. In 4 years, Verde Landscape grew from earning 23% of its expenses from customers to earning 100% of expenses (excluding management). In FY12, we project that Verde Energy will earn $755,567, roughly 83% of its operating costs. Social Enterprise activities build a diverse funding base beyond foundation grants. Overall, earned income has grown from $33K (14% FY06 revenue) to $436K (59% FY10 revenue). We also receive fee for service grants from regional government entities & are able to serve the city & county while supporting crew member development. Foundation grants have been essential to the initial phases of our social enterprises & continue to help us supplement training costs & low administrative costs.
OUTREACH/ADVOCACY: Foundation grants also support our outreach and advocacy efforts. Verde receives support from NGO partners for our role in community outreach and advocacy projects. Our collaborative model engages sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy by using funding support to bring opportunity, technology, & resources to the community. By driving opportunity for our social enterprises, minority contractors, & disadvantaged individuals, we create a system that can sustain itself while generating benefits for the community. We believe that with our approach, broader societal investments in sustainability will come our way.
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: Our social enterprises become ever more self-sustaining as we build up our reputation, customer base, & increase our capacity for larger projects. For example, Verde Energy has become a prime contractor in OR and WA, expanding services and broadening our impact.
OUTREACH: Our outreach and advocacy will strengthen outreach campaigns, civic engagement classes through the Lideres Verdes program, and new partnerships on environmental justice issues. We will drive more investments into disadvantaged communities and provide opportunities for low-income people by pushing for projects and policies that support a triple bottom line of development: profit, people, & planet. Since 2005, Verde has brought environmental assets to Cully, designed community engagement strategies around these new assets, & ensured assets provided direct environmental & economic benefits to low-income people. We have created a policy framework that can drive environmental resources into Cully in response to neighborhood priorities. To deliver these resources, we must design & implement a triple bottom line development of a new, greater scale: Thomas Cully Park, a 25 acre master-planned park site in Cully, but unfunded and un-prioritized by the Parks Bureau. If Verde develops Cully Park, we secure a new environmental asset that builds community, improves livability, & guarantees workforce/contracting opportunities for local residents in park construction. It is consistent with – and the next step in – our history & performance as a proven organization with a successful track record.
Challenges
Which barriers to employment does your innovation address?
Please select up to three in order of relevancy to your project.
PRIMARY
Lack of skills/training
SECONDARY
Restricted access to new markets
TERTIARY
Need for regulatory/policy support
Please describe how your innovation specifically tackles the barriers listed above.
1. Verde provides classroom and on the job training to ensure that its crew members have the skills they need to do a great job at their green jobs. Crew members can develop their English language ability, computer skills, and financial savvy, and access job specific trainings and certifications.
2. Verde enables access to new markets by providing avenues for disadvantaged community members to learn about and train for green job opportunities. Adults and youth are educated on the importance and stability of green jobs and how they can generate environmental wealth in their communities.
3. In order to ensure the ongoing access of people of color and low-income workers to good green jobs, Verde advocates for policies and projects that benefit disadvantaged workers and their communities.
Are you trying to scale your organization or initiative?
If yes, please check up to three potential pathways in order of relevancy to you.
PRIMARY
Influenced other organizations and institutions through the spread of best practices
SECONDARY
Enhanced existing impact through addition of complementary services
TERTIARY
Grown geographic reach: Within host country
Please describe which of your growth activities are current or planned for the immediate future.
1. Verde powers economic opportunity by driving investments into disadvantaged neighborhoods and working with other institutions on equity issues and best practices for the inclusion of minority and women workers and contractors on public and private projects, such as Cully Park.
2. Verde enhances outreach impact through Lideres Verdes, which pays community leaders for their time to participate in 75 hours of trainings and meetings with environmental policymakers on issues that concern them, thus increasing community civic engagement and volunteer efforts.
3. Verde and partners develop sustainability model that integrates equity, so others may replicate an inclusive green economy that supports environmental and economic benefits for low-income people and people of color in other areas.
Do you collaborate with any of the following: (Check all that apply)
NGOs/Nonprofits, For profit companies, Academia/universities.
If yes, how have these collaborations helped your innovation to succeed?
Our collaborations provide us with information, best practices, and support that allow our enterprises to thrive. Government collaboration has resulted in on-the-job training opportunities for our crew members and in work on meaningful projects in the community, such as Cully Green Street. Other non-profits connect us with low-income people who might be eligible for our programs, expand our outreach efforts, and provide life skills training to our crew members. For profit companies and professionals provide technical skills training, help develop and run our social enterprises, and partner with us on enterprise projects. Academic institutions such as Portland State University and Lewis & Clark Law School collaborate with us on meaningful research projects that support our advocacy.
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