21 Aug Recap of Austin EcoNetwork Leadership Council

Many people have asked for an update from the Austin EcoNetwork community building event we had last Saturday. Over 45 people showed up to give valuable input at our Leadership Council meeting, and many, many more expressed interest in being involved in future leadership events.

It was truly an inspiration to see all of the support from the community.  We are excited to grow these ideas into action, and we look forward to providing even more services to the community.

For those who attended as well as those who did not, please fill out this survey so we can grow the network most effectively: budurl.com/News2survey

The following is a summary of what we learned and a few key things that we can each do to grow the network.

SUMMARY OF WHAT WE TOOK AWAY AND HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1. We’re on the right track to making Austin EcoNetwork a viable/sustainable business, we just need to get users who use/benefit from the site to become supporters
+ Join as a founding member: http://www.austineconet.wpengine.com/content/contribute
+ Have your green-leaning business or non profit/community group partner become a Partner or Partner Plus: http://www.austineconet.wpengine.com/partnership-landing-page
+ Attend a future Austin EcoNetwork leadership meeting: date tbd

2. We should have more graphical displays of information as well as interactive media such as photos, videos and podcasts ON the website.
+ Please post a picture to your profile on www.AustinEcoNetwork.com (you must be logged in)
+ Share your ideas for articles and videos or volunteer to help us create them

3. People want more on-the-ground events, especially social events to connect community members
+ A singles event is in the works as well as additional networking opportunities and parties
+ Please let us know if you can help organize, host or sponsor future events

4. We must grow the community by mobilizing our core supporters to pass on information to new people:
+ Share: Please use the Share button located above each blog post or full event description. It will allow you to email or post the item to your social media sites.
+ Forward the EcoNewsletter to friends and colleagues. Coming Soon: buttons to easily add yourself to the newsletter.
+ Build our presence on social media sites (you can help by adding us now)
        => Twitter: www.twitter.com/AustinEcoNet – hash tag #austineco, retweet our posts with @AustinEcoNet
        => Linked-in: http://budurl.com/AENLinkedIn  We will be posting a PowerPoint to share more detailed info from Saturday’s event
        => facebook: http://budurl.com/AENfacebook  Invite your friends to join our group and stay posted when you are on facebook
        => Flickr: http://budurl.com/AENflickr – Please post any pictures you have from any green Austin events and tag them with AustinEcoNetwork. Show others what’s going on in Austin’s EcoCommunity!
        => AustinEcoNetwork: Please post a picture of yourself in your profile on OUR website www.AustinEcoNetwork.com (go to Manage my Account).

We are so grateful for all of your support as we grow.

We will soon be sending out a form to gather feedback from our users and gather information on how you would like to be more involved.

In the meantime, we are stil looking for a new office location, launch the directory and grow our partnerships.  Please let us know if you have space available or would be willing to help us move.

Thank you for being an integral part of this growing network!!

The Team at Austin EcoNetwork

Brandi Clark, Chief Inspiration Officer  brandi@AustinEcoNetwork.com
Erin Hickok, Community Development  erin@AustinEcoNetwork.com
Jackie Sy, Digital Media Manager jackie@AustinEcoNetwork.com
Selwyn Polit, Web Development Director  selwynpolit@gmail.com

512-850-5895