Clínica Verde

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a googlephile. I don’t want to sound too effusive, so I’ll let the magazine Fast Company provide the praise: Google is the #1 World’s Most Innovative Company. Who am I to argue with that? Despite Nicholas Carr’s recent article in The Atlantic exploring the question, Is Google Making Us Stupid? (in which Google is really just a proxy for the Internet at large), few will deny that the company is connecting the world of information in ways that are really, often, not short of dazzling. And, they’re doing good things.

Clínica Verde is a recent recipient of Google Grants, an in-kind text advertising program to which registered 501(c)(3) organizations can apply. Non-profits awarded Google Grants create AdWords campaigns to promote their charitable activity. Or, in the words of Google, the program “is designed to help organizations extend their public service messages to a global audience in an effort to make a greater impact on the world.”

It’s a great program. As a recipient of Google Grants, we can constantly adjust our keyword campaigns to make our search results more successful and analyze the activity of users in great detail. We can track where visitors to our site come from (including country of origin), how long they stay on each page, the number of impressions and click-throughs each keyword generates … To be honest, there’s so much information available through the program that I haven’t yet studied it all in full.

If you’re involved with a nonprofit, I would recommend you apply. The vetting period takes a number of months, but it’s worth the process. So, yeah, thanks Google! Even if it is “artificial intelligence,” it’s intelligence that advances the cause.

So, I’m guessing most of you have heard about the company Clif Bar, which makes natural and organic energy bars (including my favorite, the Mojo). Clif Bar is a very cool company, not just because they make great products, but because their values extend beyond their own brand and bottom line to the sustainability of the communities and world in which they live. They’re a very successful company that provides a progressive standard for how businesses can be both financially successful and socially responsible.

The company’s founder, Gary Erickson, wrote a book called Raising the Bar that tells the Clif story. (You can check it out on amazon: Raising the Bar.) I read the book with my husband when it was published in 2004.  

When we founded Clínica Verde in 2007, Clif Bar was our first choice in corporate sponsorship because we believed they were an example of the highest possible standard in corporate culture and responsibility. So, you can imagine how thrilled we were when the Clif Bar Family Foundation awarded us a grant. Clif Bar has issued a Matching Grant Challenge of $25,000 – that means every dollar you donate to Clínica Verde up to $25,000 will be matched by them. We are truly humbled and honored to call such a company a partner in our work!

So, go to the home page of our website and join the Clif challenge by making a donation – and tell your friends! We’re very grateful for any and all support. Donate now!