Mission, Values, and Giving
Our mission is to help groups make good decisions.
We improve the efficiency and creativity of those we serve.
We generate income and opportunities for those we employ.
We make the world more joyful and peaceful for present and future generations.
Values
In all our work and relationships,
We value the good in each and every person. We believe that each person has something important to say and to do. We believe that each person has a piece of the truth and we make the best decisions by putting all the pieces together. We value caring, compassion, and encouraging our best selves.
We value integrity. We believe in honesty and that actions should be aligned with words. When mistakes are made, we value apologies, amends, humility. We strive for consistently extra-high standards of quality, professionalism, and alignment with our values. We believe in leadership by example.
We value creative solutions. We believe good group decisions create new benefits with measurable results. We believe creativity comes from having a positive attitude, a fertile and supportive environment, and from respecting and channeling social energy.
We value building capacity. We believe in teaching people to do things with tools and resources within themselves and close at hand. We strive help groups become in-house experts at making good group decisions. We value investing in our own capacity and in the capacity of others.
We value learning. We strive to be open-minded; always seeking. We believe in full understanding before judging. We value mentoring, apprenticeship, and experiential learning. We value educational investment in ourselves and others.
We value attraction. Rather than aggressive promotion of our products and services, we work to make our products and services attractive; that is, high quality, beneficial, aligned with our values, and easily accessible to those who seek them. We value clients and partners who are attracted to us with enthusiasm and gratitude.
For the Earth. Good Group Decisions gives at least 1% of gross revenues, before expenses, to charitable organizations working for the environment and/or social justice. We believe that all public and private policies and activities should consider long-term impacts on our environment, our community, and our economy. We believe in volunteerism and stewardship.
We subscribe to the Code of Ethics of the International Association of Facilitators.
Click here for the IAF Code of Ethics.
We also subscribe to the Code of Ethics of the National Speakers Association.
Click here for the NSA Code of Ethics.
1% for Charity
Good Group Decisions gives at least 1% of all gross revenues to charitable organizations working for the environment and/or social justice. Check out Craig’s “Pay it Forward” video, broadcast live on Martin Luther King Day 2016, to learn more about our philosophy of charitable giving. We also practice Earth-friendly policies.
At Good Group Decisions we believe that restoring the Earth’s health and ensuring our sustainability requires attention on two fronts:
Environment
We need to step up environmental protection and conservation of resources. We need to step down dependence on non-renewable sources of energy and materials, and we need to dramatically decrease overall consumption and waste.
Social justice
We believe that sustainability requires us to not fight with each other, not put each other down, but rather work together to sustain the things we love about life on Earth. We believe there is good in each person and we make our best decisions when each person has an equal chance to contribute.
In 2020 we made a special gift in response to the coronavirus pandemic. We received a CARES Act EIDL grant for $5,000 and then gave this money to Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston. Oh for sure, we could have totally used that $5,000 just then. Our business absolutely suffered economic injury. But others have suffered way more economic injury from this disaster: people who find themselves jobless, hungry, or homeless. Largest charitable gift we’ve ever made, by far. It was an easy decision.
Located at Kennedy Park in downtown Lewiston, Trinity Jubilee Center is open six days a week and offer five programs: the Meals Program, Food Pantry, Day Shelter, Resource Center, and Refugee Integration Program. More than 1,000 people are served by these programs every week. on the front lines of fighting economic injury resulting from the pandemic disaster.
Listed below are all the organizations to which we have given:
American Friends Service Committee
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
Environmental Health Strategy Center
Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance
Greater Portland Council of Governments (To support asylum seeker housing)
Friends of Midcoast Maine
Habitat for Humanity – 7 Rivers Maine
League of Women Voters of Maine
Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging
Maine Association of Nonprofits
Maine Center for Economic Policy
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program
National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Resources for Organizing and Social Change
Sweetser Learning and Recovery Center
Treehouse Institute (For a Ted Talk scholarship)
Things that we do
We believe in the three R’s: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, in that order.
The most effective way to lessen environmental impacts is to reduce consumption. Whenever we avoid buying a new product, we avoid depletion of natural resources that go into making the product, we avoid the pollution generated to produce and transport the product, and we avoid adding another product and its packaging to the waste stream. When we reduce consumption, the environmental effects are lessoned all the way down the line.
The re-use of products is an excellent way to reduce the amount of new products consumed. We help the environment by making things go further.
When we recycle products we reduce waste and we provide raw material for new products that would otherwise draw on natural resources for their production.
We like the old saying: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”
Here are some things we do to help reduce, re-use, and recycle:
Transportation
Our first choice is to walk or bike. Our second choice is public transportation. Busses and trains are running anyway – to jump on board contributes no new pollution. Our last resort is to drive a car, and the car we drive gets over 30 miles/gallon. We carpool whenever feasible. In these ways we avoid consumption of gasoline and avoid harmful pollution.
Product purchases
When practical, we buy used products and equipment. When we buy electrical equipment, energy efficiency is our leading criteria. We try to buy things manufactured or grown locally because it supports the local economy and less pollution is generated in transport. We try to use supplies made from recycled material.
Give aways
When we get rid of things that might be useful to someone else, we give it to Goodwill or another charity rather than put it in the garbage. When possible, we take food left over from meetings to the local soup kitchen.
Downtown support
We support downtown businesses because we know that vital downtowns mean less pollution (better to walk than drive from store to store) and more sense of community (people are more social on foot than in cars). Our office is downtown. When we park for work, our first choice is to park in a back lot leaving the best spots for the convenience of visitors.
Recycling
As much as possible, we re-use and recycle our office waste and all paper and food that’s left-over from the meetings we facilitate.
