Consider the vision like AAA meets 1-800-DENTIST
Heracles Association (1-800-HEALTHY) offers its member’s exclusive discount services and easy access to a wide range of qualified service providers. While service providers pay a start-up and yearly maintenance fee, to members joining the association is free.
Our service providers are selected with standards set forth to protect our planet and our members. The goal is for the small business owners of California to grow and nurture their business while supporting a community with a shared vision.
The standards include such qualifiers from environmental policy to exclusions to certain corporate entities and bio-genetically engineered products. I need to list out these standards and I would appreciate any input.
1. Green; environmentally sound, leave no trace
2. Exclusion of bio-genetically engineered products or by-products
3. Corporate ethical standards
4.
I was told that AAA and AARP were both started with the idea of being insurance umbrellas..just like this
hmm..
Heracles Association (1-800-HEALTHY) offers its member’s exclusive discount services and easy access to a wide range of qualified service providers. While service providers pay a start-up and yearly maintenance fee, to members joining the association is free.
Our service providers are selected with standards set forth to protect our planet and our members. The goal is for the small business owners of California to grow and nurture their business while supporting a community with a shared vision.
The standards include such qualifiers from environmental policy to exclusions to certain corporate entities and bio-genetically engineered products. I need to list out these standards and I would appreciate any input.
1. Green; environmentally sound, leave no trace
2. Exclusion of bio-genetically engineered products or by-products
3. Corporate ethical standards
4.
I was told that AAA and AARP were both started with the idea of being insurance umbrellas..just like this
hmm..
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SF Bay Area
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Re: feedback, comments, ???'s
Wed, October 18, 2006 - 10:22 AMI wonder if to qualify, the organization needs to provide more than just insurance to its members. Since the focus is on small businesses, we could come up with other support services that we need as small business owners. For example, we could offer workshops on how to run a small business in California, how to run an environmentally-responsible company, etc. These could conceivably be taught by our own members. If insurance companies see that our primary purpose is something other than just getting a break on insurance, we may have better luck. Plus, I know I would be happy to see an organization that supports small artist-run businesses form.
If you want, I could put you in touch with my accountant. He's a burner who is very much about helping people achieve financial freedom. He may be able to offer you some ideas, as well as get you in touch with other people who could join the collective. Another thought would be to join forces with an existing artist organization that does not yet offer health benefits but has enough history that it wouldn't raise eyebrows with the insurance companies. -
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Re: feedback, comments, ???'s
Thu, October 19, 2006 - 1:25 PMThank you Sharon for your valued and timely input. Offering small biz development courses is a great idea. Please put me in touch with your acct. I have considered co-oping w/ a pre-existing company or association and i would still if i could find an appropriate partner. Retaining creative and profit control is a major consideration however.
My real vision is offering discount services to members while supporting LOHAS business development in Cali.
LOHAS is an acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. It is a $227 billion market segment in the United States alone but worldwide in its extent. LOHAS consumers are those who are passionate about the environment, sustainbility, social issues, and health. The marketplace includes goods and services such as:
Organic and natural food
Organic and natural personal care products
Hybrid and electric cars
Green and sustainable building
Energy efficient electronics/applicances
Socially responsible investing
Natural household products (paper goods and cleaning products)
Natural and preventive medicine (Naturopathic, Chinese medicine, etc.) -
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Re: feedback, comments, ???'s
Fri, October 27, 2006 - 8:35 AMSorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I was away on a job and my access to Tribe was limited. My accountant is Scott Kimball. You can reach him at KIMBALLSA (at) aol.com or (818) 888-7228. As far as non-profits we could align with, the only one that is coming to mind is Machine Project, but I honestly don't know anything about them other than through the emails I receive from them and checking out their website:
www.machineproject.com/
They're a relatively new non-profit (incorporated in May 2005), but they appear to be well-organized and offer a lot of great programs. Their mission is not specifically LOHAS, though. I'm sure there are other non-profits out there that are more in-line with your vision, but I'm pretty new to LA so I don't know who they are. If you do a Google search of LOHAS + "Los Angeles" a bunch of stuff comes up. -
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Re: feedback, comments, ???'s
Thu, November 2, 2006 - 10:00 AMIf you need a nonprofit to work with let me know....I work with the International Humanities Center as a fiscal sponsor organization and help many groups get their 501(c)3 status with low overhead. It takes just a few weeks and is very easy to do.
As for existing groups to work with, contact Steve @ IHCenter, he's a wealth of information on this topic. ihcenter.org/groups.html has their groups currently hosted. -
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Re: feedback, comments, ???'s
Mon, March 12, 2007 - 12:40 PMevonne this is very useful information
i want to contribute to ton ton's community project for sure! and i would like to know if i may contact you myself
for help with my no more wigs campaign?
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Re: feedback, comments, ???'s
Thu, April 12, 2007 - 7:58 PMI have the recollection that a couple of months ago, perhaps on NPR, I heard a story about a woman(?) who might have won a MacArthur grant (but I found nothing when I checked their site) who was setting up an association for self-employed folks (perhaps small business folks, too), with the express intention of using the association to provide group medical insurance. I think the point was that something like 20-30% of the (employed) population would qualify for the group.
Has anybody heard about this?
H
