SocialOffset.org Launches; Allows Event Attendees to Balance Values with Venue
Nonprofit Serves the Association and Event Industries
Washington, DC – SocialOffset.org, the nonprofit platform that allows meeting attendees to align their values and their spending, completed its startup phase and shifted to operations with its first meeting partnership in January and a series of events to follow.
The platform was developed by its volunteer board and volunteer support teams , fueled by strong industry support. SocialOffset.org is based on the carbon offset model, counterbalancing attendee spend and taxes collected at meetings hosted in U.S. States with laws contrary to an attendee’s values with directed donations that make a difference in peoples’ lives.
“Nonprofit and association boards are energized by the opportunity to relaunch events in a post-Covid environment, in part to replenish funding sources,” noted founder and president Elena Gerstmann.
“At the same time, attendees can be conflicted between needing to engage with their professional and industry networks and not wanting to support states that have enacted restrictive legislation targeted at specific groups. SocialOffset gives everyone involved a third way.”
The options for associations have not been good: risk alienating members, losing attendance, reputational harm to the organization’s mission; cancel or move a meeting, often at substantial expense; limit the locations under consideration for future conferences based on today’s political climate.
Once an event or a location partners with SocialOffset, the organization directs 100% of the funds donated by meeting attendees to vetted, local nonprofits that support service and action on hunger and homelessness, climate change, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ and racial and ethnic equity.
When the concept was outlined to key players in the events and hospitality industry, three locations stepped up with financial support immediately – Visit Salt Lake, Austin and Seattle.
In addition, several industry service providers have stepped up to provide pro bono support, including Tenenbaum Law Group LLC, and many people and organizations are raising their hands to volunteer.
“The nonprofit community stretches far beyond associations, to include our industry partners and trusted advisors,” noted Gerstmann.
“We have barely needed to state our need for help before legal, banking and management support has been offered by others in our industry concerned about the potential impact of state-based restrictions and the willingness of organizational members to engage and connect in person.”
The SocialOffset inaugural board of directors features respected leaders from the association and event industries, including: Marc Beebe, treasurer; Beth Surmont, secretary; Christie Tarantino-Dean; Erin Fuller; KiKi L’Italien; Rhonda Payne; and James Pogue.
“When you have a board composed of association and industry professionals, things happen with both speed and excellence,” said Gerstmann.
For more information, please visit https://socialoffset.org/
The SocialOffset.com Experiment in Nashville During ASAE Annual 2022(Opens in a new browser tab)
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