Cascade Alliance Blog
Technique Tuesday: Ways Organizations Can Increase Millennial Engagement
The average attention span of a millennial is 8 seconds. Below are suggestions on ways to engage with Millennials (born between 1981-1996) and Gen Z (born after 1996) and build your follower/audience base. Read on…
Our Cascade Alliance Member, UTEC, recently received a $75,000 grant from the New England Patriots new Social Justice Fund. To learn more about their experience, read on…
Technique Tuesday: The Konmari Method and How to Take Advantage of the Impact
Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo’s immensely popular book has now become a Netflix series based on helping people declutter their lives, and according to an article in the New Yorker, seems to have driven many people into a frenzy to clean their closets and dispose of anything that doesn’t bring them joy. Retail thrift store operators are definitely feeling the joy at this development, read on to learn more…
The work of the Cascade Alliance was recently featured in a case study done by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. An excerpt pulled from the study mentions: “The endless supply of waste in this country, Gootman said, offers “a huge business opportunity that could bring some of the change that everyone sees is needed,” and she noted “the tremendous potential there for a national network to help deal with waste.” You can read the recap here along with the full case study.
Technique Tuesday: Tips for Opening a New Store
This week for Technique Tuesday, we will be focusing on tips and tricks to opening a new store while keeping a level head. Sometimes it seems like a stressful goal to pull off but using a timeline and spreading tasks out can be super helpful. Read on…
This week for One Good Thing, we would like to highlight some of the accomplishments of our members from last year. We had another wonderful year of growth with our partners in 2018! Read on to learn more…
This week for One Good Thing, we want to highlight the success of The Mustard Seed in Central Florida. They’ve had lots of exciting moments happen in December! Read on to learn more…
This week for One Good Thing we would like to highlight the recent success for our partners at TAP in Roanoke, VA! This past week they were able to launch their online book site on Amazon and made their first sale! Read on…
Technique Tuesday: How to Handle Employees Under the Influence
This week for Technique Tuesday, we will be covering the topic of how to handle suspected employees under the influence. While this is a heavier subject matter, we hope this technique can provide guidance for dealing with these issues. Read on…
This week for One Good Thing, we want to highlight our members at Opportunity House. Bethany & Madeline, from Cascade Alliance, were thrilled to be able to work with our pals at the Opp Shop last week. To learn more about their trip, read on…
Technique Tuesday: DIY Inspiration (12/11/2018)
This week for Technique Tuesday, we’re sharing some documents for reusing materials that you can share with your customers! These tutorials were put together by Mitra Demirza, the designer of ENVIA fashions. These DIY instructions can be great to leave next to the materials for shoppers to see. Read on…
This week’s One Good Thing is featuring the Scrap Exchange in Durham, NC. Our director, Susan Palmer is currently visiting them along with Chris Pletcher, the Deputy Director from Finger Lakes Reuse. We’re highlighting this collaboration because it’s great to see our other members teaching one another through the network Cascade Alliance created. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Productivity Management (12/4/2018)
This week for Technique Tuesday, we will focus on ways to keep your organization running smoothly by productive task management. Last week, St. Vincent de Paul director, Terry McDonald, visited one of our mattress deconstruction operations in Stockton, CA. Read on…
This week for One Good thing, we are celebrating that we have two visiting member this week! We were excited to welcome Shannon and Madeline from Opportunity House, to Oregon. Both came here for training together and Madeline and the Cascade Alliance staff will be going to the Opp Shop next week. This will be a two part series. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Social Media Strategies
This week for Technique Tuesday, we’re focusing on how to promote your organization through various ways on social media. These examples are from our group and member organizations. The techniques presented work well for us but of course, these techniques can be tailored to what fits best for your group! Read on…
This week we would like to highlight the many ways we are thankful – for the many positives this year has brought and for all the successes our members have had. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Strategies to Combat Shoplifting During the Holidays (11/20/2018)
With the holiday shopping season kicking off this week, we’ve chosen to re-share some key tips to preventing shoplifting in stores. Theft is a continuous problem. The best deterrent to shoplifting is giving the best customer service possible. Read on…
This week for One Good Thing we’re highlighting TAP into Hope! We wanted to share the example of how teamwork is a key factor in an organization’s success – specifically with this story surrounding rare books. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Keys to a Successful Thrift Store (11/13/2018)
This week’s Technique Tuesday will focus on tips to run a successful thrift store. Since Thanksgiving is coming up, we’re using that holiday as an analogy for these key tips to success. Read on…
Sometimes we see so much negativity in the news and on social media that we forget about all the positive things that happen – that’s why we started One Good Thing a few months ago to focus on successes of our members. This week for One Good Thing, we will be focusing on some of the recent successes UTEC, in Lowell, MA, has experienced. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Creating Successful Store Displays (11/6/2018)
This week for Technique Tuesday, we will be focusing on the steps it takes to create a successful store display. These tips are especially relatable with the holiday season starting.
This week for One Good Thing, we are focusing on a recent visit from John, the online book program manager at TAP into Hope in Roanoke, VA. Over the last few days this week, John has been shadowing some key staff to learn best practices running online books ahead of their program going live. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Creative ways to display items (10/30/2018)
This week we’re focusing on ways to sell products in your stores if you happen to be lacking the usual equipment for hanging or displaying items. Read on…
This week we are focusing on the past conferences our Economic Development Director, Susan Palmer, recently spoke at. These conferences focused on reuse of materials that would otherwise be headed towards the landfill, and ways of recycling waste. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Selling Seasonal Items (10/23/2018)
With the changing season and holidays coming up, this week’s Technique Tuesday will focus on the best way to sell seasonal items in thrift stores. To learn more about what seasonal items to hold on to for the next year and displaying holiday specific items, read on!
This week for One Good Thing we will be focusing on two good things happening for two of our members…because the only thing better than one good thing is two! Our members Big Reuse in Brooklyn, NY and Finger Lakes Reuse in Ithaca, NY, are both in the process of resetting and redesigning their spaces. Read on to learn more…
Technique Tuesday: Tracking Data Using Excel: Part 3 (10/16/2018)
We are back with the final installment of Tracking Data Using Excel, from Rebecca Currie, Finance Director at The Scrap Exchange in Durham, NC. Today we will be focusing on how to use different average functions. Read on to learn more…
Welcome back to the 4th installment of One Good Thing! This week we will be highlighting some of the recent successes such as a renovated store front and a collaboration with a University in NYC at the Urban League of Essex County in Newark, NJ. Read on to learn more…
Technique Tuesday: Tracking Data Using Excel: Part 2 (10/9/2018)
We are back with Part 2 of Tracking Data Using Excel, by guest writer Rebecca Currie, Finance Director at The Scrap Exchange in Durham, NC. Read on to learn more…
This week for One Good Thing, we would like to take the opportunity to highlight our organization’s recent success in becoming semi-finalists in the Communities Thrive Challenge, a grant opportunity presented by the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation. To find out more, read on…
Technique Tuesday: Tracking Data Using Excel: Part 1 (10/2/2018)
For the next few weeks, Technique Tuesday will be written by a guest who is none other than Rebecca Currie, Finance Director at The Scrap Exchange in Durham, North Carolina. She has written a three part series on tracking data by using excel. This informational/tutorial will be useful for those who don’t use a point of sale system but would like some sort of way to track their businesses data. Check out part 1 of the series…
Welcome to the second installment in our One Good Thing series! In a week of stressful news, we are excited to share some more successes from our members. This week we are featuring the success of increased revenue, donations and and expanded clothing area happening at Finger Lakes ReUse in Ithaca, NY. Read on..
Sometimes we get so focused on challenges in our work that we don’t notice positive progress. Over the next year we will have a series of blog posts called One Good Thing for highlighting our member’s successes on a regular basis! This Week’s One Good Thing comes from Denny Bender from Union Rescue Mission: Wichita. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Annual Stores Goal (9/18/2018)
Goal planning for a business can become complex pretty quickly, however, we’ve identified four basic principles that can help you and your business stay on track and successful during the planning stages of goal execution! Read on…
Five Headline Friday (8/31/2018)
This week we bring you stories about prisoners re-entry into community, new recycling equipment, ThredUp’s response to Burberry’s burning, a book heist and more!
Technique Tuesday: Read this article by The Balance for tips selling used books on eBay (8/28/2018)
This week we talk collaboration, independent bookstores, plastics, and social enterprise! Read on…
Five Headline Friday! (8/17/2018)
Happy National Thrift Shop Day! Our first story kicks off with some thrift, followed by the impact Dollar General, Mattress Recycling and Amazon are having nationwide. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: How to Distinguish Counterfeit Money (8/14/2018)
Though the presence of counterfeit money is relatively rare, it is an important issue to be aware of when running any business where money changes hands. According to a recent study conducted by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, counterfeit bills make up .01% of the bills in circulation in the United States. This number is small, but its important to remember there is always a chance that counterfeit money may pass through your store. Do you know how to distinguish counterfeit bills? What should you do if you suspect someone is trying to pay with one? How would you respond if you realize you have ended up with a counterfeit bill?
This document is intended to answer these questions.
This week’s Friday Five touches on the new internet sales tax, e-bikes, and culture suck! Read on… (8/10/2018)
Another round of the Friday Five! (7/20/2018)
Read on to learn about the upcoming conference we’ll be presenting at, an ambitious 45 mile fiber optic building, and more!
Five Headline Friday (7/6/2018)
This week we cover:
- Risk Leadership
- Market shift in the shoe industry
- The new partnership GUESS has formed in order to reduce textile waste
- How the affordable housing crisis impacts the job market
- The world’s first plastic free mark
Technique Tuesday: Bumping Summer Retail Sales (7/3/2018)
When the dog days of summer hit, it can drive retail revenue down. We responded with a four-day tent sale in the store parking lot that was stocked with some of our best furniture and housewares. There are multiple benefits, read on….
Five Headline Friday (6/29/2018)
We are back with some fresh headlines for you on this Five Headline Friday.
- Circular economy targeted investment is a thing, catalyzing the use of recyclables in manufacturing. A look at Closed Loop Partners.
- We appreciate some good news for an Albuquerque social impact non-profit getting a $1Million grant from U.S. Department of Commerce to scale up a successful business model.
- Two retail business articles: Bookselling tips from the American Booksellers Association Children’s Institute conference, and the whys and hows of running a “Pop-Up Shop” event.
- The value of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit took a hit from the 2017 Tax Act. We will be looking increasingly to our local communities, cities and states to provide affordable housing solutions.
Read on…
Five Headline Friday (6/21/2018)
Summer is here, and so is Five Headline Friday! Some of what’s happened this week that we hope will be informative and useful to our partners:
- business opportunities and challenges in upcycling
- housing affordability is at a 10 year low
- how to engage in community conversations about housing affordability
- a prison jobs program that highlights the benefits of emphasis on respecting employees
- analysis of measurement methods in recycling
Five Headline Friday (6/15/2018)
Five Headline Friday is back, after a brief technology-induced hiatus. This week we’re looking at:
- a new book on how to participate in the sharing economy in your local community
- building capacity for steel and aluminum recycling to reduce imports and respond to the reduced international scrap metal market
- guess which online retailers and services are doing well in spite of Amazon
- a new study reports the percentage of group support needed to turn the tide on social change
- the importance of cohesive networks for social impact investments to take hold
Five Headline Friday (6/1/2018)
Welcome to this week’s Five Headline Friday, and Happy June! Some stories that got our attention this week: Zero Waste Scotland is working to help the city of Edinburgh to become more circular, the recycling crisis – the struggle really is real as we dump recyclables into landfills, a how-to framework from the Harvard Business Review for cross-sector collaboration for social good, textile waste and what to do about it, and the trend toward regional philanthropy. Read on…
Five Headline Friday (5/25/18)
Happy Friday and Memorial Day Weekend. Here are your Five Headlines for the week, we hope you find them informative, inspiring and useful.
This week we’ve come across: a new Social Enterprise directory, designed to raise awareness and connections between entities involved in social enterprise; hoteliers and mattress recycling; Ikea is going full circular (economy, that is); innovations in helping incarcerated people succeed, and more investing in affordable housing by health-focused entities such as Kaiser Permanente. Read on…
Technique Tuesday: Motivating Staff Part 2
Here’s Part 2 of our Technique Tuesdays blog on motivating employees. We’ll share what we’ve learned about using compensation and other monetary incentives to encourage high performance….
Five Headline Friday (5/18/18)
Happy Friday! We’re back to share some headline news with you. This week we’re looking at…questioning of fashion resale’s actual connection to sustainability, systemic problems with recycling and what to do about it, a new tool to help health and human service organizations identify heath and well-being issues in their cities, and advice for non-profits as they approach the summer season. Read on…
Every so often (Tuesdays, let’s say) we offer some tools and techniques we’ve found helpful for organizations to advance their missions more efficiently and effectively. This week we turn our attention to motivating employees. Read on..
Five Headline Friday (May 11, 2018)
It’s Friday, and we have our weekly round-up of news and views. We are looking at nonprofits’ using Amazon wish lists to fund specific needs, the role of design in affordable housing, a look at the sharing economy, and manufacturers turning toward a circular economy model. Read on…
Work the Problem: Strategies to Combat Shoplifting
Theft is an ongoing problem in retail stores. This article offers some strategies we have found effective to reduce losses. The best deterrent to shoplifting is giving the best customer service possible. We talk about prevention, and how to respond when shoplifting is suspected. The focus is on how to relate to customers in a way that lets them know your store pays attention and keeps everyone safe in the event shoplifting is discovered. Read on…
Five Headline Friday (May 4, 2018)
With you May the Fourth and the Five Headlines (plus one) be!
- A furniture upcycling enterprise provides job “reskilling”, and more.
- Ways for non-profits to collaborate when scaling up and broadening impact is called for.
- A new global database of circular economy projects has been launched by Circular Economy Club.
- Two articles featuring reports on sustainability initiatives in the steel market with potential impact on scrap steel market.
- A critique of sustainability as imagined in the Marvel Universe and the Avengers: Infinity War movie.
Five Headline Friday (April 27, 2018)
It’s Friday and we are here once again and to serve up some of the news of note from this week:
- Durham Magazine profiles Scrap Exchange’s Ann May Woodward in annual women’s issue.
- China extends its ban on recycling imports to include steel and other materials.
- Social innovations by Catholic groups are helping immigrants and refugees
- A critique of the “circular economy” trend in retail clothing suggests it won’t help much if we don’t slow down.
- Need and opportunity for better eco-design and product stewardship in the mattress and carpet industries.
Five Headline Friday (April 20. 2018)
Come and get your Five Headline Friday to see what’s been going on this Earth Week!
- The Scrap Exchange, our partner, expands with the opening of Scrap Thrift!
- In Turkey, a fun street featuring recycled materials helps local business thrive
- A sustainability center in Ireland, featuring furniture repair and repurposing, thrift, education, jobs and more
- A new and better plastic-eating enzyme is developed, timely for this year’s Earth Day plastics theme.
- A deep but important dive into a trend we’re reading more about retail toward circular economy initiatives. If more businesses begin adopting this, would there be an impact on donation-based thrift retail?
Five Headline Friday (April 13, 2018)
It’s Friday and time for some headlines we hope you’ll find useful and inspiring. This week we’re featuring articles on:
- Countries that recycle the most and how they achieved success
- An interview with a supply chain specialist about how companies can do better to participate in the green supply chain
- Retail buy back programs embracing the circular economy
- Plastic pollution crisis in Brazil and community response
- The Mattress Recycling Council has new management
Five Headline Friday (April 6, 2018)
Welcome to our weekly offering of headlines we hope you’ll find useful and inspiring. This week we’re featuring articles on:
- growth in the resale apparel market
- contracting of traditional retail as Amazon expands its reach
- bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to nonprofits
- using local resources and talent in ventures to develop inner city business
- growing potential of “urban mining” of electronic waste to replace virgin mining
Five Headline Friday (March 30, 2018)
We’re back to Friday with some news and views on…
- Opportunity Zones: areas eligible for community development financing, for low-income urban areas
- Scaling up social enterprise projects by advising other organizations who can replicate them
- A federal prison reform bill that promotes employment and other measures to reduce recidivism
- Landfills as sources of raw materials
- Research findings on the use (or not) of nonprofits’ written mission statements
Read on…
Five Headline Friday (March 23, 2018)
It’s Friday and time for some headlines! This week we’re featuring two stories about response to the China plastic recyclable ban, an ICYMI- Starbucks is responding to pressure and spending big to make greener coffee cups (but why not just bring your own re-useable one, we say!), a story of online resale going to bricks and mortar, and a program linking business students with non-profits to mutual benefit. So here they are…
Global Recycling Day is March 18
Ever heard of the seventh resource? We hadn’t either until we stumbled on Global Recycling Day, March 18, 2018, being launched by the International Bureau of Recycling. Read on…
Five Headline Friday (March 16, 2018)
Welcome to Friday! Have you recovered from the transition to Daylight Saving Time? This week’s headlines feature two stories about certain caffeinated beverages, coincidentally. We also have stories about a real mischief-maker in waste diversion: child car seats, the value to rural women entrepreneurs of market-based social enterprise, and online thrift is gaining momentum with the help of technology to increase profit margins. Read on…
Five Headline Friday (March 9, 2018)
Welcome to Friday! Here’s our weekly offering of five of the latest topical articles, news stories, and reports. This week’s top stories include: Ebay’s role in the circular economy and ways they are innovating to enhance user engagement, the Association of Fundraising Professionals is observing Women’s History Month with its Women’s Impact Initiative, and an article highlighting the successes of mattress recycling in California. Is there a place for retail thrift in the “pop-up” economy? The Roanoke Times explores this emerging business model. Finally, Resource Recycling describes the value of measurement and analytic software tools being used to measure impacts in recycling programs in state, local, and industry sectors. Read on…
Potential Impacts of Steel and Aluminum Tariffs on Waste and Recycling
Waste Dive took a look last week at how a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum might impact the waste and recycling industries. Authors Kim Slowey and Code Boteler write that prices for domestic steel and aluminum are likely to increase, so domestic recyclers could get higher prices for their products.
That’s a short-term potential impact, says Terry McDonald, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, which sells about 5,000 tons of various kinds of scrap metal into secondary markets each year. Read on for more about predicted effects on waste and recycling…
Five Headline Friday (March 2, 2018)
Here’s our latest “Five Headline Friday.” This week we are reading about the Super Bowl doing super waste diversion, Millennials donating their parents’ stuff to thrift stores, networking to advance local social enterprise, a check-in with how the EPA is approaching sustainable materials management in the Trump era, and a presentation by Greg Vestri, a profit-non-profit “bridger”, on how non-profits can use a profit-oriented framework to reduce dependence on donations to fund growth. Read on…
Changing Workplace Culture Not Easy But Doable
“In the past year, the “Me Too” discussion has made all of us aware of the importance of creating a workplace culture where people feel valued and safe, but there are many other ways that workplace culture can go sideways – gossiping among staff, kidding around that can lead to workplace injuries, failure to reinforce best practices – and it takes sensitive leadership to change the culture and improve working conditions.
Read on for how we describe a positive work-place culture, both for employees and for customers, and examples of the ways we work to make changes when we see that they are needed.”
At the Cascade Alliance we mostly focus on reuse at the level of individual items – whether it’s clothing or furniture or a salvaged mahogany fireplace. But we also excel at adaptive reuse, taking a building adapted for one purpose and giving it a new lease on life with a new purpose.
Next Cities reports on the successes and underlying philosophy and strategies of Saint Vincent de Paul of Lane County, and the Cascade Alliance in accomplishing our social venture mission.
Five Headline Friday (February 23rd, 2018)
It’s Friday again! Here’s our seventh installment of “Five Headline Friday.” Each week we pull together our top five articles, news stories, and reports and share them here. This week’s top stories include a thrift store piloting new strategies, a sustainable publisher calling for reduction in book waste, and some apps that make charitable giving easy and fun. Read on…
Five Headline Friday (February 16th, 2018)
Happy Friday! Here’s our sixth installment of “Five Headline Friday.” Each week we pull together our top five articles, news stories, and reports and share them here. This week we touch on two efforts to improve measurement of outcomes in social impact programs, Uber-like technology for on-demand recycling pickups, rewards for innovation in plastic pollution solutions, and a mattress recycling program with a social and environmental mission. Read on…
Five Headline Friday (February 9th, 2018)
Happy Friday! Here’s our fifth installment of “Five Headline Friday.” Each week we pull together our top five articles, news stories, and reports and share them here. This week we touch on the impact an Amazon warehouse has on a host city. Waste360 highlights the importance of collaboration and partnerships to do end-of-life management of consumer products. RecycleForce is helping reduce criminal recidivism with employment in recycling, we get a look at a venture to improve retention and diversity in non-profit management, and a study of how new philanthropists can learn to best donate for impact. Read on…
Embracing Working Goals in California (February 5th, 2018)
“We were pleased to see the James Irvine Foundation’s recent announcement of a new funding focus in California. Announced in December, it recognizes the distance between quality family wage jobs and low-income workers. The foundation announced two initiatives designed to reduce the barriers for those who want to work and are working, but lack the opportunity to move up to jobs with better wages, while also recognizing the need to support workers in low-wage jobs, who often have no voice at the policy table. We have four strategies for bringing along entry level workers so that we can promote them…..”
Five Headline Friday (February 2, 2018)
Happy Friday! Here’s our fourth installment of “Five Headline Friday.” Each week we pull together our top five articles, news stories, and reports and share them here. This week we touch on the cost of housing for homeless patients, the world’s first intelligent waste bin, Austin’s reuse challenge and more. Read on…
Collaboration Benefits: Learning from Each Other, Building Relationships
“Collaboration has the potential to make us all stronger, but it can be difficult to employ across a national network. Why bother? A thoughtful piece about collaboration came out last year in the Harvard Business Review, noting both what collaboration is and what it isn’t. Read on…”
Five Headline Friday (January 19th, 2018)
“Each week we gather the five articles we found most interesting that week, and share them with you here. This week we follow the ongoing global conversation around China’s plastic ban, touch on redesigning fashion’s future and more. Read on…
Quality Jobs Survey (January 15th, 2018)
“At the Cascade Alliance we’re all about creating sustainable jobs. Thanks to a report by Insight at Pacific Community Ventures, titled Moving Beyond Job Creation: Defining and Measuring the Creation of Quality Jobs, we have the tools to analyze our efforts more deeply. The report, funded by the Surdna Foundation, offers a lens we found fascinating and helpful. It identifies five core components of a quality job …” Read More
Five Headline Friday (January 12th, 2018)
“Each week we gather the five articles we found most interesting that week, and share them with you here. This week, our focus was on the power of policy in boosting recycling rates, the struggle in philanthropy to address inequality, and reusing precious metals in electronics manufacturing. Enjoy! …” Read More
Leading from the Ground: Three Tips on Leadership During Company Growth (January 8th, 2018)
“Growth can be difficult. It involves walking into territory that is not always clearly charted, meeting challenges as they come, and letting go of old ideas. One danger, Jason said, is thinking you have it all figured out…” Read More
Five Headline Friday (January 5th, 2018)
“Each week we gather the five articles we found most interesting that week, and share them with you here. This week, our focus was on recycling trends, the circular economy, and the recently passed tax bill. We hope you enjoy this curated list. …” Read More
Bomb Cyclone Coming? Get Your Thrift Store Ready! (1.3.18)
“Our numbers took a huge hit for a few days, but we were able to spike them up right after. This was an unavoidable event, and things like this will inevitably come up. The point is to be aware and adaptable so that you can best prepare your site and staff…” Read More
Work the Problem: Welcome to the Cascade Alliance Blog! (1.2.18)
“We continue to thrive and grow because we’ve learned to keep our eye on problems as they come up, to observe and question and work on solutions…” Read More
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