Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth
19
6
"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Located: Palo Alto, CA
Founded: 1970
Mission: To bring people together to create local solutions for a healthy planet.
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Michael Closson.
Michael joined Acterra in May of 2003 as the Executive Director. Prior to Acterra his work history included serving as Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Stanford University (1972-1976); Co-Director of New Ways to Work in Palo Alto, CA (1976-1982); Executive Director of the Center for Economic Conversion in Mountain View, CA (1983-1998); Programs Director for the Earth Day Network…
See full bio.
Financial Data
| Read Annual Report | Overhead Ratio: 15.33% |
Charity Navigator Rating:
(profile)
|
Total Revenue: $1,724,866 |
From the Nonprofit
|
Arnie Thompson
Director, San Francisquito Watershed Project Oct 16, 2010 |
Check out Acterra's habitat restoration volunteer opportunities at: http://acterra.org/programs/stewardship/index.html.
Read More.
|
Contact Info
| Website: | http://www.acterra.org | Address: | 3921 East Bayshore Road |
| E-Mail: | ambern AT acterra.org | Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA | |
| Phone: | 650-962-9876 | ||
| Facebook: |
|
Story:
Read what Joe Lyons, a Green@Home volunteer who lives in Redwood City has to say about Acterra:
I became a Green@Home volunteer because I am passionate about the environment and I have a lot of experience with home improvement projects. Acterra’s energy auditor training was a great introduction to performing an audit and an opportunity for the volunteers to share ideas, experiences and expertise. Doing the audits is fun and worthwhile. Most people have heard about CFLs and programmable thermostats, but every time I do an audit there are some gems where people say, “Wow that’s a great idea, I didn’t know that.”
(Read more great reviews from volunteers at: http://www.acterra.org/donate/_doc/2009annualreport.pdf)
Expert Reviews of Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth
Evidence of Impact Summary:
Since starting the Green@Home program in 2007, Acterra has trained more than 260 volunteers in home energy conservation skills, putting them to work visiting residents in 5 Peninsula/South Bay communities and performing more than 475 energy-saving house calls. The program is reducing an estimated average of 2,000 lbs of CO2 per household visited.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Acterra has great leadership, a clear mission, consistent funding, and a great mission. They effectively involve volunteers and engage with the community.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
Experts have some suggestions for Acterra to improve: they should do more to publicize their work and they should find other ways to be involved in regional advocacy.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.
Show:
Show:
X
Foundation Professionals (F)
X
Researchers and Faculty (R)
X
Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
X
Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Impact |
|||
|
R
|
Acterra have been working on environmental issues and climate mitigation for many years. Their work is starting to pay off, with big wins connecting with business across the area. They offer many classes, demonstrations and films to help educate people. | ||
|
R
|
Acterra is doing an excellent job of reaching citizens in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties with it's Green@Home campaign. In this campaign, people get energy audits and learn how to save money and reduce carbon output. | ||
|
R
|
Acterra has played an incubator role for new organizations and initiatives by providing a financial "home" while the organization get started. Examples are Clean Tech Open and Environmental Business Cluster. | ||
|
N
|
Acterra has hands on work in regional stewardship and conservation. They work with individuals to help green their lifestyles and impact. They have a strong leadership training program, and give business recognition awards to encourage and give attention to companies and organizations doing outstanding work in environmental responsibility and climate mitigation. | ||
|
N
|
Acterra's Green@Home Program provides incentives for residents to "green" their lifestyle, save water and energy, and get their friends to do the same. They offer their programs in Spanish as well, which is something that more environmental nonprofits should do. | ||
|
O
|
Since starting it's Green@Home program in 2007, Acterra has trained more than 260 volunteers in home energy conservation skills, putting them to work visiting residents in five Peninsula/South Bay communities and performing more than 475 energy-saving house calls. This innovative program, which trains volunteers to install basic energy conservation devices and perform basic home energy audits, also includes various social marketing techniques, such as giving yard signs to participating residents, to publicize the program and encourage more people to get involved. Funded through grants from government agencies and some local foundations such as the Palo Alto Community Fund, the program is reducing an estimated average of 2,000 lbs of CO2 per household visited. | ||
|
O
|
Acterra has involved and trained individuals to complete home energy audits in my community and then applied that skill to the community at large. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.
Show:
Show:
X
Foundation Professionals (F)
X
Researchers and Faculty (R)
X
Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
X
Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Financially Strong |
|||
|
R
|
They seem well organized and able to gain consistent funding through their work. | ||
|
R
|
They have strong leadership, finances, vision, collegiality, and innovation. | ||
|
N
|
They run great programs on a tight budget. | ||
Good Leadership and Staff |
|||
|
R
|
The staff are excellent, knowledgeable, and motivated. | ||
|
N
|
They have a strong executive director and staff, and a history of consistent quality and community focus. | ||
|
O
|
They have great leadership and their mission is clear. | ||
Involve Volunteers, Strong Management, Financially Secure |
|||
|
O
|
Acterra's mission is to bring people together to create local solutions that foster a healthy planet. Throughout a 40-year history, Acterra's main strength has been its ability to involve volunteers in hands-on efforts to address the most pressing environmental problems of the time, ranging from land preservation to recycling, business involvement, habitat restoration and now, climate change and energy conservation. Another strength is Acterra's highly professional, dedicated and creative staff, who together with its board leadership, have been able to develop new programs and implement them in a cost-effective way. Finally, Acterra is known for its excellent financial management, and as such it also serves as a fiscal agent for a number of smaller projects that either do not seek or are not yet ready for their own non-profit status. | ||
High Potential |
|||
|
O
|
They've done a good job in working on education, residential energy audits. I think they have much potential moving forward. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.
Show:
Show:
X
Foundation Professionals (F)
X
Researchers and Faculty (R)
X
Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
X
Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Expand Program Offering and Work |
|||
|
R
|
With more funding, they could expand this program or add others. | ||
|
N
|
They need to go beyond small steps for moving towards a carbon neutral economy. | ||
|
N
|
They do good work on personal action, but this has limited effectiveness overall. They should get involved in regional advocacy for strong climate action. | ||
Improve Marketing and PR |
|||
|
N
|
Their presentations are a bit wordy. | ||
|
O
|
Acterra has been called "the best kept secret on the Peninsula" -- and this indicates a major area how the organization could improve: more publicity and public relations. Another area needing improvement is in fund-raising: the flip side of being "cost effective" in program delivery is that Acterra salaries are not competitive with others in the non-profit sector. This leads to more staff turnover than is optimal. | ||
Leadership
Michael Closson
Executive Director
Executive Director
From the Nonprofit
|
Arnie Thompson
Director, San Francisquito Watershed Project Oct 16, 2010 |
Check out Acterra's habitat restoration volunteer opportunities at: http://acterra.org/programs/stewardship/index.html.
|