Re:new Richmond Non-profit

I have wanted to start a non-profit in Richmond with the intention of funding projects that revolve around the idea of sustainability in an urban setting.  This idea has been formulating for many months now.  I had once toyed with the idea of converting my for-profit business into the non-profit's "store front", and make the deli/market a model for environmentally sustainable practices.  But, in the long run, I would personally end up losing on my investments. So instead I have turned my attention towards starting a separate entity.  On the short term, I envision a group that would fundraise and invest in projects that basically get the idea of urban sustainability out into the community.  Anyone interested?

I have a few projects in mind, such as establishing community gardens in various urban neighborhoods, and setting up committees in those neighborhoods to continue their involvement.  The gardens could be on private land that was rented or donated, and have water and irrigation that involved a rainwater catch system rather than pumping in water.  Plots could be rented per season, or fundraised by each committee and plots assigned on a first-come basis.  There are so many models for community based gardening taking place all over the country, it would be great for Richmond to have similar recognition.

A second idea is to fund the installation of bike racks all over the city.  In Amsterdam and all over Holland it seems like EVERYONE rides bicycles, so they have these kick-ass bike racks that work like a parking space for bikes (see www.youtube.com and search "bike tree") by hanging your bike up in a rain-covered "tree".   Richmond may not need such an expensive bike rack, but more simple ones would help to encourage bicycling and less car traffic.  Also, lobbying the city council for bike lanes on major roads would be a good project to pursue.

Another idea that I have been working on is to sponsor a hypermiling race, much like an auto cross race but one in which the winner is chosen by the least amount of fuel used rather than the fastest time.  This would be a collaborative project with other businesses and non-profits as well as the city.  Prizes would be awarded for the driver and the car that received the best fuel economy along a predetermined stretch of "race track" (through the city, on the highway...).  I'd like to try to do this in the spring of 2009, even if the non-profit is not up and going yet!

And yet another idea that I would LOVE to see happen is for Byrd Park's Shields Lake, the one with the fountain, to re-open as a swimming lake.  At one point in time, this lake was a popular swimming spot in Richmond, but due to integration laws it was closed in 1955 so that Blacks moving in to the Byrd Park area wouldn't be able to swim there too (see www.byrdpark.org).  The re-opening of that lake would not only be a major symbolic accomplishment for Richmond, it would also be AWESOME!  So, this idea is not as strict in keeping with the whole "sustainability" theme of the non-profit, but it would be amazing to be a part of such a project.  

A long term goal that I have put the most thought into, is to eventually open some sort of interactive museum in Richmond.  The museum would incorporate the use of recycled pieces of the city, like old warehouse metal and street lamps, to make an artistically fashioned jungle gym, much like the City Museum in St. Louis (www.citymuseum.org), but also incorporate elements of the sustainability idea.  There would be a community garden in the space, and a water system that was self sufficient (rain water filtered into the building, and building water filtered out for the gardens and back in again...it's possible!).  There would also be a space for a cafe with locally grown foods served, and a space for bands to play, all of which would be powered by alternative energies (wind, solar).  SO this space would be the total self-sufficient oddity unlike Richmond has ever dreamed.  And what's more is that it would be interactive, so it would be teaching along with being really cool to visit.  Families, field trips, teens, adults could all be a part of it and find something about it that interested them.  It would involve art, Richmond history, and the environment, and be a space to hold lectures, teach classes, and hang out.  I know it sounds like a "hippy dreamland",  but I do see Richmond being a place that could use a meeting place for these kinds of ideas.  

One of the most frustrating parts about living in Richmond has been the barriers that I have seen stifle a lot of creative ideas.  These barriers start all the way at the top, with the local government (doing things like refusing solar panel installations because the city official had poor knowledge of the technology) and then trickle down in to the separation of cliques based on dress codes or musical tastes.  I've lived in and visited many cities where the attitude of the local government is a main reason for the city's ability to take risks and make positive changes (Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Arcata, CA, Amsterdam, Paris, to name a few).  But it's the community that elects those officials, so it has to start on this end.  I know that Richmond has the community-power to back more progressive ideas, and I guess starting a non-profit like this would be a good way to see that happen.