The Sustainable Leadership Forum

Organization

May 25, 2012: The Sustainable Leadership Forum is pleased to announce the appointment of Frank Wennin as Research Fellow for Sustainable Communities.

The co-founders of the Sustainable Leadership Forum are Victoria Zelin and Jonathan Cloud.

Original organizational proposal (6/11/2009):

Here’s what we’re proposing. The initial organization of the Sustainable Leadership Forum will be as follows:

1. It’s an individual membership organization. We welcome corporate partners and sponsors, but the membership is established on an individual basis.
2. Basic membership costs $195 (with a discounted rate of $95 for individuals with special circumstances) a year.
3. It’s also possible to “earn” membership by working a certain number of hours (though there is a minimum financial contribution of $25 for persons doing this, and a minimum commitment of 40 hours to earn full membership).
4. In addition to basic membership, members have the opportunity to invest in the Program Investment Fund. Those investing control the use of the monies in the Fund, and can withdraw any available balance at any time; in essence, they’re making an interest-free loan to the organization, portions of which may be committed to programs at any given time but are eventually expected to be paid back. The minimum investment in the Fund is $2000. (The design of the Fund will be explained in greater detail in the meeting, and elsewhere on this site; it’s essentially a first-world variation of the Kiva model.)
5. The core program of the SLF is a one-day course on Transformational Leadership for Sustainability, which will be offered twice in July (July 11 and 25). The cost of the course is $95 for members, and $195 for non-members. Further courses will be offered based on member demand. We may also offer the programs on a “two for one” basis, if one of the attendees agrees to assist with the event.
6. We encourage the formation of local chapters, and will train other course leaders to deliver the program.

Intrinsic to the idea is that the organization will evolve over time, in response to the members’ needs and interests. It is intended to incorporate the best of current sustainable-organization models, and be a vehicle for exploration and experimentation, while paying for itself pretty much from Day 1. The organization “belongs” to its members, with the extent of control being determined by the level of contribution, in a more or less “organic” or natural pattern.

Here is a preliminary discussion of organizational models we are currently studying.

Important: Please note that the Sustainable Leadership Forum is not affiliated with or endorsed by Fairleigh Dickinson University, or with or by the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise at this time, although we are in discussions as to whether and how the Institute can support this and other initiatives that involve training, leadership, membership, and networking activities. Because of my role at the Institute and as Manager of the Sustainable Business Incubator, ISE has allowed me to use their facilities to introduce and promote this nonprofit program. This is not an endorsement, and we are reviewing the pros and cons of reaching an agreement, or having the Forum and other similar programs be completely separate from my role at the University. – Jonathan Cloud