Also in the issue is a new feature called GOOD Business. The GOOD Business section was done in partnership with B-Corporation. (Of which Better World Books is a founding B-Corp). The most interesting article for me was “What Nau?” about what went wrong with the clothing start-up Nau. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Nau had gambled naively without a backup plan. But the company had come close to turning a corner. The clothes, the webfronts, the giving program, the bylaws—they all worked. The fundraising and the timing hadn’t. The irony, of course, is that a company so committed to sustainability was ultimately unsustainable. But not because of its principles. Rather, the mundane problems that plague most startups—lack of money and poor execution—had undermined Nau. Still, the brand had an impact in its short life span, accelerating the greening of the apparel industry and creating a new genre of outdoor clothing.”

You know what else is really cool about GOOD? Their graphic design and sense of humor. Check out the graphic below with regards to Nau.

It is tough to see a company like Nau with such great intentions fail. Nau’s investor essentially pulled their funding rug out from them due to the investor’s holdings in sub-prime mortgage securities. As the probability of a recession sets in, what will be the future for other triple bottom line companies? Will they stick to their guns—living wages, environmental responsibility, and social impact—or will they cave? Will investment in innovation dry up or will a lack of natural capital lead to radical resource productivity? Only time will tell.

Along the same lines–after I finish State by State, I plan to pick up Thomas Friedman’s Hot Flat and Crowded.

Check it out:

A US-BASED online bookseller which gives a proportion of its turnover to literacy charities has launched its first overseas subsidiary in Scotland.Better World Books (BWB), which was set up in 2001 by a trio of IT graduates in Indiana, has opened a warehouse in Dunfermline and claims it is aiming to become a serious rival to Amazon on both sides of the Atlantic. (continue reading)

Greek Media: Politis loves Better World Books

The Great American Book Drive got off to a strong start in Brooklyn.  There was a band, a book sale, face painting, and, of course, lots of book donations.  Minus a few stitches in Dustin’s finger, the drive went off without a hitch.  By the end of the day, the library was already talking about a repeat performance in the spring – and given the number of people who asked when the next event would be, this seems like a great idea.

We received some good press in advance of the event – including mention in the New York Times and TimeOut New York.  And while a concerted push the past two weeks to promote the event resulted in a total of 15,000 – 20,000 books (many were recycled locally and 8 packed pallets are en route to the Green House), the next time around we will be able to considerably build upon this with sustained and concerted promotion.

Check out a few photos from the day.

Looking forward to sharing more details but I wanted to give you a quick update before the close of the weekend.

Finally, was great to have the help of my colleagues – thanks guys – and I’m looking forward to building off of our good start in Chicago and Boston.

…and Better World Books (whose Dustin Holland was a 2007 LJ Mover & Shaker) are two of today’s most popular discard solutions. Both help libraries make the most of the marketing principles of the long tail, as coined by Wired magazine’s Chris Anderson, wherein obscure titles are able to find a larger audience owing to the efficiencies of e-commerce.

…contributors to Better World Books are pleased with the results. “The Brooklyn Public Library sees a real value in this relationship and has been more than happy with the revenues it generates,” over $155,000 since 2005, says Barbara Genco, director of collection development. Western Kentucky University Libraries, Bowling Green, succeeded in building a $200 Alibris credit over a two-year period. Southwestern University earned $300 with Better World Books during the 2006–07 academic year.

Thanks, Library Journal!  We do our best to bring libraries the best value while providing a much needed service.

Jaime is 33, moving back to Chile (we’re all wiping away the tears, seriously), he’s an architect by trade but a warehouse manager by day and, sorry ladies, he’s happily married to his lovely wife Pia (who also works at Better World Books and is a total business rockstar) and has two kids, Victoria and Benjamin (who are obviously training to become book nerds at BWB as well).

Congrats, Jaime!

This Award is being presented by the National Coalition for Literacy (“NCL”), a Washington DC-based non-profit whose mission is to “advance adult education, family literacy, and English language acquisition in the U.S by increasing public awareness for the need to increase funding and programs; promoting effective public policy; and serving as an authoritative resource for the field on national adult education issues; www.national-coalition-literacy.org.  Note:  NCL here is not to be confused with our major non-profit literacy partner NCFL (The National Center for Family Literacy) they are two completely separate and distinct organizations!

The Award is in recognition of the commitment and service of Better World Books to the field of adult education and family literacy. To quote the NCL:  “This award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to improving literacy in the United States.  Award recipients have demonstrated a deep and sustained individual, organizational, or corporate commitment by supporting literacy across the lifespan of the local, state and national level.”

Additional 2008 award recipients include Rep. Ruben Hinojosa of Texas, The National Council of La Raza (Janet Murguia, President and CEO), and John Comings, former Director of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.

The 2008 NCL Literacy Leadership Awards will be presented at a reception on Wednesday, September 10th, at the James Madison Building of the Library of Congress.   I have been asked to receive the reward and speak at the award ceremony and I look forward to representing all of you there.

While we’ve spotlighted green book sources before, I do believe that Better World Books might be the only place you’ll be shopping in the future.

Here’s what makes them so great, and my new top pick for book buying:

1. All books sold help fund high-impact literacy projects around the world.
2. Not only do they sell new books, but they collect and sell donated books as well. Not only is this a great way to reduce/reuse/recycle, it also has helped to generate $4.5 million in funding for literacy and education. So far, over 6,000 tons of books have avoided landfills.
   
3. To date, Better World Books has donated over 1 million books to literacy programs.
4. Every order is shipped carbon neutral, using offsets from Carbonfund.org.
5. The company was started by college students who knew first-hand about the importance of passing on textbooks, literacy and business with a social conscience.

Ah, that feels good… like a warm towel after a shower.  Head over to Green Daily for great tips on how to greenify your life, a little bit at a time, and a sweet “Top Ten Green Kids’ Books” list that I’m way jealous I didn’t think of first.

Taken from PJStar.com, apparently we’re doing something good again. You know that we’re really doing the right thing when the so-called evangelist can’t even keep up with all of them!

From PJStar.com -

Many college students have a hard time committing to weekend plans, let alone a pledge to rebuild a community in Sudan.

But recent Illinois Central College graduate Matt Hoffman vowed to make a difference – one book at a time – in the lives of the “Lost Boys.”

Over the past two decades, more than 27,000 boys have escaped villages in southern Sudan during a civil war that has claimed millions of lives. While their parents and sisters were being slaughtered, the young boys banded together for the 1,000-mile walk to refuge.

Though the violence mostly has subsided, the survivors have had little incentive to return to their war-torn villages. But Hoffman and other members of ICC’s honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, want to give the Lost Boys a reason to go home.

The fraternity recently partnered with Chicago media company Endless Eye Productions and national bookseller Better World Books to conceive a plan to build and stock a library in Sudan’s Punyijiar County. Over the past few months, the effort, called “Walk Sudan,” has collected more than 8,000 books, which volunteers loaded onto a truck Thursday to be shipped to Africa.

“We wanted to start with a library because education is a way to empower them,” said Hoffman, adding that most of the Lost Boys have seen no more than three books in their lives. “We want to give them something to come back to.”

Hoffman, who graduated from ICC in May, sat down with friend Sean Fahey from Endless Eye earlier this year to devise a plan about how to help Fahey’s friend, Justin Machien Luoi, a Lost Boy who was educated in the United States as a refugee.

After just an evening of brainstorming, the two set out to raise awareness and money to rebuild part of Luoi’s country. Nearly 50 members of Phi Theta Kappa began speaking at area schools and churches during the spring semester, asking for monetary donations as well as books. They also sponsored a 3-mile walk from Bradley University to the Peoria riverfront in May to raise awareness about their campaign and to simulate the trek the Lost Boys made to refuge.

While Hoffman has remained involved in the effort, his graduation from ICC and move to Loyola University in Chicago required him to pass on the reins to new Phi Theta Kappa president Thomas Aguilar, who is just as devoted to the cause.

Aguilar was covered in sweat Thursday, as he and other volunteers loaded the hundreds of boxes of books onto a truck. Better World Books also is donating texts and shipping the first batch to Sudan shortly, as construction of the library is scheduled to begin within the next few months. Endless Eye will follow along to capture the effort in a documentary called “A Library for Panyijiar.”

Walk Sudan has promised the library is just the beginning of the effort to rebuild the African community over the next 20 years. A school will follow, Aguilar said, then a water treatment plant. The project has no limit.

“This is our way of showing that Peoria can make a difference for people on the other side of the world,” he said.

There are those who would assume that running a business that keeps old textbooks out of landfills, takes those books and sells them at a low price, and then buys carbon credits to offset emissions that result from shipping those books is actually a charity. How could a company ever make money by trying to do good things for the environment? Better World Books is out to prove those doubters wrong.

Read more over yonder.

[ed. note: Now I know the betterworld.com team isn't far from Haight Ashbury but as a New Yorker I resent this hippie tag, harumph.  (kidding!  thanks for the support, Cyndy!)  However, we've actually raised $4.5 million, not just $2.75 (the difference is the money we've raised for libraries)!]

Over at the Red and Black, the student newspaper of the University of Georgia wrote an article that simultaneously talks about how sweet we are:

Better World Books has given more than 864,600 books directly to Books for Africa, as well as the National Center for Family Literacy, which helps here in the United States.  They’ve also raised $900,000 of unrestricted funding for Books for Africa, www.booksforafrica.org, since May of 2002.

A warehouse full of books at the Books for Africa headquarters in Minnesota is useless without the incredible amount of funding necessary to ship the books all the way to Sudan, Darfur or Ethiopia. This unrestricted funding ships the books across the Atlantic, and ensures their transportation inland to different countries and villages.

It’s hard to comprehend being forced to share my only book with six other students, but Fresew said that is the case, even in Africa’s private schools.

while talking about what the local Bulldogs can do to help:

As you finish your finals, get closure on that ridiculously hard class – take a walk to one of the bright green boxes that says, “Book Drives for Better Lives,” and let the bane of your semester save someone else’s life. I promise you, it’s worth it.

Check out the full article here.

“The city of Fresno is always proud to support family literacy,” said Deputy Mayor Jeff Eben. “We are excited to have won the ‘Great American Word Challenge’ and thank all Fresno’s residents who participated so successfully in this fun and creative Challenge.”

The Great American Word Challenge proved which American cities could walk the walk AND talk the talk:

For more info check out his previous post.

If you happen to be perusing CNET’s News Blog today (or if you like following the myriad links that we post), you’ll see a reference to a company you may recognize.  Hailed as “Eco-Alternative to Amazon funds literacy programs” Better World Books gets a pat on the back for all the hard work we do (which isn’t why we do it, but it feels good sometimes).

The article begins with a story you may have heard before:

F. Xavier Helgesen had big dreams to build Web sites after graduating from Notre Dame in 2001 with an MIS degree, but then the dot-com industry crashed.

Instead he co-founded a company in 2002 that sells books otherwise destined for the landfill, sends some of the proceeds to literacy groups, and uses carbon-neutral shipping…

and goes on with the good news of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, including our free shipping in the US, our flat rate $2.97 for international orders and how we use not just no-value books but use discarded, once landfill bound library shelving to store the books (680,000 lbs of library shelving, in fact).

Check out the full article.

Onondaga’s Student Newspaper, The Overview, has a blog, which mentions the latest Phi Theta Kappa induction. I’d talk more about it but I’ll let the fine writers at OCC do the work:

Alpha Sigma Zeta, OCC’s local chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, inducted 85 new members on Oct 23, 2007. In a candlelight ceremony, members were honored for their academic achievements and service to their campus and community.

Kelly Insel, chapter secretary, had the honor of presenting checks to Elmwood Elementary School and Seymour Elementary School to purchase needed books and supplies.

*This money was earned through the Better World Books program in which members collected textbooks that were sent to Africa. For each book accepted into the program, the chapter was reimbursed money to be used in the local community.*

Debra Baehr, Elizabeth Bailey, Elaine Baker, Michael Balintfy, Andrew Borchik, Helene Brophy, Latoya Brown, Brittany Caprilozzi, Sarah Carlson, Karen Carnessali, Christa Carsten, Christina Catalfano, Melissa Ceresko, Jonah Cohen, Mert Coskan, Sean Cummings, David Currier, Amy Dederich, Caleb Defrees, Paul Dooley, Alexander Douglas, Emily Dwyer, Franciscalenae Egbuna, Christopher Ezomo, Justin Fabiny, Christine Finnemore, Megan Forman, Kimberly Germinio, Jacqueline Goletsas, Kevar Griffin, Shelby Hall-Lorenz, Peter Hawley, Machia Haynes, William Heuschneider, Lauren Jemola, Susan Johnson, Swaroop Joseph Varghese, Terea Killings, Jessica Kline, Melissa Krausnick, Craig Laduke, Katie Larock, Crystal Lauzau, Ashley LeClair, Debra Ledford-Prahl, Martha Lortie, Kimberly Lowe, Allison Masella, James McCampbell, Sarah McMichael, Jessica Milton, William Mitrus, Jason Myers, Timothy Olson, Kevin O’Toole, In Gi Park, Peter Paynter, Edward Perry, Nicholas Pikarsky, Kimmy Radell, Alison Randolph, Mike Robbins, Robert Rudeau, Dipendra Sah, Jacqueline Samora, Cadelyn Schmid, Alice Shaw, Denise Shuart, Josh Siddall, Deborah Silver, Thomas Sleeth, Staci Smith, Jill Stellmack, Sutida Sukkrasae, Andrew Swan, Margaret Swift, Timothy Szarek, Alexis Truskalo, Heather VanAlstine, Marina Vasquez, Lan Vo, Katharina Wesel, Janet Witter, David Youngentob, Jaime Zolfaghari

That’s right, it’s Better World Books’ own, co-founder Xavier Helgesen!  Xavier, on top of a throne of Reader’s Digest books that resides in our “Fortress of Solitude” (ok, it’s just the warehouse) is the image of the hot new topic:

Strategies: Mission Possible
Making money while doing good isn’t easy, but more companies are proving it can be done.  Here are some successful strategies. (article by Anne Field)

Pick up the issue at newsstands (or wherever you pickup up your glossies) and read about it.  If print journalism doesn’t float your boat you could always root around for it online at their website.

These book drives are truly making a difference in the lives of impoverished people. Books collected in a Better World Books /AMSA drive will either be sold to raise much-needed funding for Books for Africa , or they will be sent to their collection center for shipping overseas. Pat Plonski, Executive Director, Books for Africa , notes, “By increasing African literacy, we decrease African poverty. Every book donated by a student or a bookstore puts us that much closer to ending the African book famine.”

Better World Books has provided $3420 to AMSA chapters, and has allocated $1056.75 for a travel scholarship to Africa . The hope is to make improving literacy in Africa an everyday, every chapter effort that expands each year. With increasing book collections we hope to have a growth of this fellowship to fund not only travel but support promising students in their development of an on the ground literacy initiative in Africa.

To read the entire article pick up a copy of December’s New Physician Magazine or visit this link, www.amsa.org/chapoff/BWB.cfm

AMSA: It takes more than medical school to make a physician

Hey, if you live in Oklahoma, are a Sooners fan/alum or just really dig news about the Big XII, check out the following from The Norman Transcript:

Phi Alpha Theta, Zeta Theta chapter, will organize a campus textbook drive to benefit Worldfund, a nonprofit organization seeking to transform lives in Latin America through high quality education, between Monday and Jan. 9.  The group will collect all textbooks and other college level texts published between 2001 and 2007.

An assessment by the U.S Agency for International Development reports that children in Latin America attend school an average of 5.4 years, stating that “the inferior quality of education impedes the ability of Latin America to move forward economically.”

Organizers of the Worldfund book drive will collect used college-level books in green-and-white “Book Drive” collection bins on the OU campus at Dale Hall, Dale Hall Tower, Ellison Hall, Gould Hall and the Fine Arts Building.

Thanking the University of Oklahoma community for its support, Worldfund Founder Luanne Zurlo said, “By donating your books to benefit Worldfund, you will help individuals gain the education they need to lift themselves out of poverty.”

In July 2006, Worldfund retained Better World Books as its premier agent to collect books on its behalf. Books collected for Worldfund will be sold online to generate a sustainable stream of unrestricted funding for the organization. Nationwide book drives since fall 2006 have raised $15,000 for Worldfund’s programs. For more information, visit Worldfund.

(Link to original article)

According to Nicholas Yang, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport, “our distinguished and successful speakers will share their experience on how they bring profits to their companies and benefit society at the same time.  Investors and entrepreneurs will also share their insights on how to seek out, fund and build companies/business models which can do well and do good at the same time.  We believe more that more businesses in the future will embed social elements in their operation and strategy, to help create a better society for future generations in which to live, to work, to enjoy, and to dream.”

Please click on the link  below to find out more information regarding the 2007 Cyberport Venture Capital Forum.

Venture capital forum set for December 4
News.gov.hk – Hong Kong

Attached you will find the article from Fast Company magazine (Dec/Jan issue) that announces their “2008 Social Capitalist Awards.” This is the fifth year Fast Company has selected outstanding companies for their social impact; however, in the past, they have only focused their search and selection process on the non-profit community.

2008 Social Capital Award – Fast Company.pdf (1.25 MB)

This is the first year that Fast Company embarked on an experiment to look at the for-profit sector for those companies that are truly making a social impact and changing the world. Thirty one companies applied and ten winners were selected…..including Better World Books!! Fast Company teamed up with the Monitor Consulting Group and some other outside social venture expertise to apply a rigorous methodology for selecting companies that, in the end, explicitly place social good ahead of shareholder return.

Take a look about what they say about your company….it is certainly nice to see a highly respected institution like Fast Company/Monitor Group verify (again, after a ton of examination), understand (they clearly “get” all that we do and the impact we are making in the world) and publicly applaud our business model.

I like the closing paragraph to the Social Capital Awards article here….worth highlighting for all of you.

“Change the world. Make some money. Raise more money, and make more change. It is an appealing prospect. Nonprofits were born because for-profits weren’t addressing some market failures — pollution, poverty, illiteracy. Profits won’t cure those ills, but it’s becoming a bigger part of more solutions. Perhaps it’s dawning on us that the cost of capital for changing the world should be lower. Perhaps the capital markets will cut the world a break.”

It goes without saying that this award is YOUR award….each and every one of you who make Better World Books run. Congratulations on being such an integral part of not only this recognition but in changing the world….one book at a time.

BetterWorld.com is featured in the “Let’s All Get Merry!” December/January 2008 Issue of the Hallmark Magazine.  Check out the “Shop for a Cause” section on page 23 to read more.

Check it out, the self-proclaimed leader in city blogs (with the data to back it), Gothamist LLC, posted an interview with our own Xavier Hegelsen, now Director of Business Development. Xavier is currently “bik[ing] around town, writing his first book” and living in San Francisco. Hop over to SFist for the good word.

Here’s an excerpt: “…Better World Books offers a different option. Started by some freshly minted Notre Dame graduates in 2002, it collects used books and textbooks from about 1,000 campuses and 700 libraries nationwide.

As an individual, you can donate if you pay for shipping yourself; but you can buy anything off its Web site and shipping is free anywhere in the country.” Click here to read the full article…

One of the pictures taken on our warehouse floor – the photographer even bought a book for his book club!

Click here to read the story.

Here’s the link to the article.

http://connect2.owu.edu/newsandviews/209.php

Thank you Ohio Wesleyan Circle K, and thank you to all Circle K and other student organizations that work hard to help our goal of promoting world literacy.  I hope we can collect even more books this spring!

In the Spring of 2006, Better World Books coordinated book drives at 32 schools in the state of Michigan, totaling close to 20,000 books. Michigan State University collected the most books of any school in Michigan, sending in over 5,000 books. The book drive at Michigan State was lead by their “Books 4 Africa” student group. All the books collected in that drive went to benefit Books for Africa.

With over 150 colleges and universities in the state of Michigan, I hope we can have a lot of success with book drives there this year. I expect to see a lot of healthy competition between the The University of Michigan and Michigan State University to see who can bring in more books.

The Michigan Region of Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of the 2 year college, is encouraging all of their chapters to run a book drive with Better World Books this year. I am expecting great things from the state of Michigan this year! Below is a picture from the MSU B4A student group: