Good ENERTREE
 The current Good ENERTREE logo. |
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| Type | 501(c)3 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Non Profit, Environmental |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Elsie O'Connor |
| Headquarters | New York City, NY |
| Key People | Elsie O'Connor Founder Doug Cojohnston Human Resources |
Good ENERTREE is an environmental 501(c)3 nonprofit, founded by Elsie O'Connor operating out of all five boroughs in New York City.
Contents
UC Santa Cruz Organization
Good ENERTREE began as a UCSC supported club that released monthly publications and took on small environmental projects under the leadership of then-student, Elsie O'Connor. Elsie founded the club in 2002 along with half a dozen friends and classmates, and initially intended to facilitate UCSC’s campus in its efforts to “go green.” The most successful project the club took on within the campus was their involvement in the planning of a segment of UCSC’s 25 acre farm, which provides organic produce to all of the campus’ cafeterias. Outside of UCSC, Good ENERTREE collaborated as advocates and volunteers with Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. Several former members of Good ENERTREE stayed on with Friends after the club disbanded with Elsie’s departure.
501 (c) 3 Organization
For almost a decade, Good ENERTREE has acted as an advocate for environmental concerns through grassroots fundraising on behalf of green spaces, peaceful protest, and other acts of political activism.
Support
Financial Support
From it’s initial filing for 501(c)(3) status in 2004, Good ENERTREE has been largely financed by an anonymous New York City based philanthropist. It is possible that it was this access to funding that prompted founder Elsie O’Connor’s choice to drop out of college in California and to move to New York to officially establish the organization. This donor provided Good ENERTREE with an initial start-up package, and has continued to make annual donations which cover a large portion of the organization’s operating costs.
There have been many postulations about the identity of this philanthropist the relationship that he or she has to Elsie O’Connor – the most popular theories are that they are either romantically involved, or that Elsie managed to track down her father’s identity, and that he comes from a wealthy lineage. It is a subject that Elsie only discusses with a few very trusted employees, and there has been no evidence to prove either theory.
Support from Local Businesses
On September 18th, 2009, Elsie O'Connor organized a fundraising event demonstrating the support from the local community. Twenty five companies were represented, including Searchlight Technologies.[1]
