Oceans, Waves and Beaches

Worthwhile view regarding why charities and nonprofits continue to not deliver the impact we all want them to… but won’t as long as they continue to be constrained the way they are.

Sometimes we think things are are harder, more complicated than they really are.
This hit me as I was heads down and got a ping regarding the video below. The question was “how did you do this?” (flipcam, phone, etc?).
I didn’t even think about what I did until I replied to the person.
1. FIND CONTENT. The [...]

Meanwhile back in the Gulf of Mexico they are still cleaning up oil. They’ve evolved their approach, using UV light to identify oil on the beaches.

A few years ago I was at a water quality conference in Indonesia. One session involved local journalists and during the Q&A session I stood to ask what I thought was a safe question “Do you report the local water quality in your papers?”
They looked at each other and didn’t answer. Finally one of [...]

Building on the recent great article about Surfrider’s work in the Gulf is the below video.
It’s University of South Florida researcher Rip Kirby, recently featured on National Geographic, at this months Emerald Coast chapter meeting. The video is a tad shaky but priceless nonetheless. Rip’s commentary illustrates out the value of local knowledge and grassroots [...]

Think about your friends. They include people you used to work with, people you spend time with on weekends… it’s a diverse group.
We all know some friends are closer than others. Some will listen to you and spend time to hear what’s on your mind. If you’re doing a walk to raise money for breast [...]

I’ve always thought that non-profits don’t compete with other non-profits as much as they compete with every alternative a person can invest their time, energy and resources into. Non-profits, like for-profits, compete with Starbucks, Target, ESPN and someone reading a book. When Justin Bieber is this month’s flavor of the month, we are competing [...]

I podcast to share the gold.
(re-posted from mid-2008)
A few days ago I had breakfast with Julia Chunn. She was born and raised in San Diego, became smitten with the ocean while perched on the front of her dad’s longboard as a kid, came up through the ranks of the San Diego chapter, went on to [...]

Focus on results and impact first and foremost. Then seek ways to scale it.
Surfrider’s mission is “… protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches via our activist network…” ANYthing that can help us accelerate our path to achieve that is good. ANYthing that can help us amplify our coastal mission, engage more people in [...]

If there is a single thread through every post on this blog it’s that an individual can make a meaningful difference in our world.
Virtually all of my podcasts are the stories of coastal activists. A few days ago I pointed to the rockstars of Surfrider who are this years Wavemaker Award winners. This past Monday [...]