Ice Cream, Anyone? January 30, 2007 By

Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's recently invested in Mission Research. While I think we're a great investment for customers, employees, and investors, I think for Ben it's more than the possibility of upside. It's about our triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Here's what he said for the press release:

“The founders at Mission Research, through their contribution to the Underdog Foundation, are providing a great example for the next generation of corporate leaders”, said Ben Cohen (founder of Ben and Jerry’s and investor in Underdog Ventures).

He's referring to a substantial donation of stock Dave, Chris, and I made, which  I'll talk about separately sometime soon. David Berge leads Underdog and is a force of nature himself. here's what he said:

“A lot of people seem to think that you can either get involved in business or get involved in helping your community.  The founders of Mission Research are showing that your business can be one of the best ways to help your community”, said David Berge, CEO of Underdog Ventures Legacy Fund.  He added, “At a time when you read so many stories about the harm that businesses are doing to the environment and to their communities, it’s particularly important to support companies like Mission Research, whose products help smaller non-profits and who have set aside part of their company to give back to charitable organizations.”

Last year we donated over $1 million of software to needy nonprofits. We made GiftWorks free to any Katrina-affected nonprofit (sadly, many of those never recovered after their donor bases were scattered across the country). Next month we'll announce another series of software donations as well.

But philantrhopy and community support is just one leg of our mission. Our internal culture is one of respect and autonomy. Respect includes what we think is a smart investment: full health coverage for our employees. We pay higher than a living wage, and all employees have stock options. And our turnover is very low--we have great employees who work hard for our customers. Perhaps it's our application of the golden rule, perhaps it's the free m&ms provided by Barb, but there's something to that.

Finally, we're committed to changing the world through our work. When nonprofits work more efficiently, they can spend more time and money on their missions and less on technology and training. We know we're having impact, and it drives us to work harder to help nonprofits do more with fewer resources.

So next time you go for ice cream, keep us in mind and grab some Ben & Jerry's. And read Ben's new book called Values-Driven Business, which he co-wrote with Mal Warwick, our friend and advisor.

Sustainable Business Practices May 25, 2006 By

We impact our customers, employees, investors, and community. The world, in fact; we produce software that sometimes gets packaged, and that packaging starts from trees and oil--dwindling resources. Trees for the paper or cardboard, and oil for CDs if we make CDs.

Trees are harvested, and then in some process that must be like making sausage, turned into paper. That paper gets cut and shipped to distributors, which then ship to retail distribution centers or retail outlets directly. The shipping itself requires energy, as does the manufacturing of paper. That energy comes from diesel fuel, or burning coal, or nuclear, wind, or solar energy. But mostly it's fossil fuels.

The trucks that carry the materials use oil-based tires. The waste from the manufacturing can and often does pollute streams and rivers. Rain washes tire tread waste that leaches into the soil and streams.

So when we say we're about to start using 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and will start to require that from our suppliers, you can see why. We're also likely to discontinue most CD manufacturing, and will no longer ship CDs to customers--you can download the software with minimal negative impact on the world, and 100% positive impact on your nonprofit (we hope!).

Check out New Leaf Paper to learn more, and consider how you can cost effectively minimize your negative impact on the world, and maximize your positive impact.

Back from Nicaragua January 31, 2006 By

On Friday I spent some time at a music store and bought some instruments for the kids--a few guitars and some rhythm intruments, then spent the rest of the day at Casa Alianza. The kids gathered in the courtyard and we played a few Beatles tunes (the kids asked for Nirvana but I couldn't bring myself to play it).

Later I played basketball with a number of the kid. I'm in no shape to play anything at the moment, but we played for over an hour and I made it through with merely a sprained ankle and some cuts.

Nicaragua is in a little better shape than my last visit; it's a little cleaner, has better roads and more chain stores, and it seems there are a lot of new cars on the road. But the poverty is just better hidden, and the number of street kids has increased. There's hope, of course, as always.

On the way down I ran into some people volunteering for Operation Smile, and some others working on an orphanage in Matagalpa. As I left I remembered why I started Mission Research in the first place--it was after spending a ton of time in Central America and New York trying to help with human rights issues, trying to help nonprofits but not really finding where I fit.

I think this is it. Mission Research. Our mission is to support your mission. We make the tools for your work. And we make them affordable and easy to use so you can spend more of your precious resources on your mission, and less on technology. It's a great fit, and a fulfilling one.

Slow blog week November 23, 2005 By

I've been off for a few days, though it's tough to be truly off.  I've postponed vacations 3 time, and the one I took I worked 12 hours a day. Not fun.

This working "vacation" I'm doing a lot of computer maintenance at home--reinstalling Windows, all my audio software, replacing drives, etc. My next project is to give wireless to the block near the office. We're in a low-income area and have a T-1 we can happily share.

In the meantime, check out co-Founder Dave Waver's blog on GiftWorks development.

Moving Day July 21, 2005 By

Mission Research moved to new space about a week ago--with no interruption of service! Chris did an excellent job of managing the move. This is the first time I've moved where phones and internet worked from Day 1!

The new space is in an old tobacco warehouse in Lancaster. Our floor is 8400 sf, has brick walls and high ceilings and there's room to for growth--we'll need it!

Here are some pics: First, the Big Empty...

...the big mess

...and Steve with the big sugar overload.