CHAPTERS ANNUAL REPORT - US Green Building Council

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYConclusionsFor the 2012 Chapters Annual Report, chapterswere asked what support they would like fromUSGBC. The top requests for support from USGBCwere:• Funding (88%)• Webinar/in-person training (70%),• Connections to other chapters (65%),• Toolkits/case studies/models (60%) and• Providing staff/consulting support (60%).USGBC’s Three-Year Plan for Chapters andCommunity addresses each of these areas andUSGBC is committed to increasing support of itschapters in these areas in 2013 and beyond.The top strategic goals for chapters in 2013are: green schools, green building education,state advocacy, local advocacy, and EmergingProfessionals. The top organizational excellencegoals for 2013 for chapters are: board development,fundraising, membership, and effectivecommunication. Based on the overall chapternetwork health data analyzed for 2012, USGBC’sCommunity Advancement team will continue tofocus on supporting the chapters in the followingareas:MembershipThe organization is in a significant transitionon membership both locally and nationally. TheCommunity Advancement team at USGBC willfacilitate leveraging chapters who are successfulin this area with chapters who are struggling toshare best practices as well as educate on the newnational membership structure and ‘mission-based’membership versus traditional membership.Budgets and RevenueThe gap between successful and strugglingchapters continues to widen and the need for achapter blueprint for successful chapter operationsis apparent. The Community Advancementteam will support leveraging successful chapterswith struggling ones as well as provide tools, training,and resources on managing and raising revenueas a 501c3. This year the chapter network had asignificant increase in the number of education andprograms offered (more than 50%), yet a decrease inoverall revenue. Supporting chapters in creating aneducational and program model that grows revenuewill be critical as too much ineffective educationcontributes to volunteer burn-out and stagnation ofchapters.Emerging Professionals (EPs)A key to our chapter network is creating aleadership funnel of new leaders as founders areleaving the organization and existing volunteersare struggling with burn-out. The CommunityAdvancement team has created a program managedby staff and volunteers nationwide on growing theEP network which will continue in 2013 and beyond.DiversityIn order to reach the vision of USGBC, thechapter network must engage their community atlarge. Chapter membership and volunteer baseare still heavily weighted to the building industry.The Community Advancement team is supportingchapters in increasing the diversity of theirvolunteers and members in alignment with nationalUSGBC initiatives.VolunteersWith their limited capacity – both in budget andhuman capital – chapters are reliant on committedvolunteers to manage operations, programs, andinitiatives. USGBC’s Three Year Plan for Chaptersand Community focuses on supporting volunteerengagement across the network. The CommunityAdvancement team is committed to providingbest-practice support and resources on volunteerrecruitment, training, engagement, and recognitionin addition to further integrating volunteers acrossUSGBC.2012 CHAPTERS ANNUAL REPORT | 6