Here’s your chance to do some good without doing too much. Every month, we’re planting 5 trees for every new customer that signs on with Emma, and it’s up to you to tell us where they should go. In January, Emma customers voted to plant 1,715 trees in California. Where February’s trees go is your choice, dear blog reader. Cast your vote!

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Speaking of lazy environmentalism, we met the self-proclaimed Lazy Environmentalist Josh Dorfman at the Opportunity Green Conference last year (which we proudly helped to sponsor). His pitch is that you can add some green to your lifestyle with no mess and no sacrifice. He focuses on the little things, like telling you about the company that’ll fix that old, broken second generation iPod, so it stays out of the landfill. Or letting you know how to reduce the junk mail you get. The tips from his blog and radio show are designed to help you learn how to live green without disrupting the way you live, and we really like what he’s up to.

Technorati Tags: environment, lazy environmentalist, myemma.com, opportunity green, planting trees

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Here at Emma, we’re big fans of trees. From the noblest Redwood to the teeniest Dwarf Willow, we love them all, and we suspect that you, dear reader, do too. With that in mind, we recently forged an exciting partnership with Plant-It 2020 to give our Emma community an easy way to participate in non-harvest reforestation efforts across the globe. The idea is simple - for every new account we open, we’ll plant five trees with the help of Plant-It 2020. Already in the first month of the initiative, we’ve donated the money to plant nearly 1,000 trees in the lovely state of Oregon. And with nearly 300 fabulous organizations joining us each month, we hope to donate more than 15,000 trees this year.

Founded by John Denver in 1992, Plant-It 2020 plants an indigenous tree for every dollar they receive. Their savvy approach to reforestation ensures that the trees they plant will live a long and happy life. They’ll be nurtured in their natural environment with ample light and water, and they will never be harvested. Perhaps they are also lulled to sleep at night by “Rocky Mountain High.” Okay, we can’t guarantee the lullaby, but it’s a nice thought. If you’re curious to learn more about Plant-It 2020, visit their website and subscribe to their email newsletter (powered by Emma, of course).

As we grow as a company, we look forward to forging more partnerships with cool companies dedicated to positive change. We invite you to be directly involved in making our world a more sustainable place. So, go forth and plant some trees, do-gooders! We salute you.

Technorati Tags: plant-it 2020, reforestation, trees, myemma.com, environment

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We decided to adopt a family for the holidays through St. Luke’s Community House, a fabulous organization (and past Emma 25 honoree!) that provides a wide variety of social services for the West Nashville community. Everybody chipped in to help, and we were able to give our family some fun stuff, like a tea party set and Lightning McQueen race car, as well as some practical stuff, like winter coats and bedding. Not that winter coats aren’t fun. Just don’t try and race a parka.

Anyhoo, a big thanks to St. Luke’s for giving us the opportunity to give back. Between the bake sale to raise money, the present wrapping bonanza and the many shopping trips, we had a great time doing some good. To find out ways you can get involved with St. Luke’s, visit their website or sign up for their email newsletter (powered by Emma, of course).

In the picture, from left to right: Kendall, Taylor, Emily, Kathleen, Christina, Erik, Sara, Erin, Rachael, Dave, Cliff, Gina, and Kris.

Technorati Tags: St. Luke’s Community House, volunteer, adopt-a-family, myemma.com, Emma 25

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That’s the motto for our Emma 25 program, the annual initiative where Emma customers tell us about the great non-profits in their communities, and we pick 25 and award them with a free email marketing account, html email template, and service that’s renewable year after year. In its fourth year, we hope that giving away free accounts through Emma 25 makes it easier for deserving charities to get the word out about what they’re doing, stay in touch with donors, organize events and do even more great work.

And these organizations are all about great work. They’re doing all sorts of fabulous things, like organizing a 4000-mile bike ride from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska to raise money for cancer research, providing cost-free arts programs to underprivileged kids in Australia and raising money to fight hunger in Massachusetts, just to name a few. For the complete list of this year’s Emma 25 honorees, including their websites, visit the Emma 25 landing page.

Oh, and here are some Emma staffers who pitched in to help with the selection process, standing in front of the infamous Emma 25 Selection Process Whiteboard. We really should think about a new name for that. From left to right: Christina Griffith, Cliff Corr, Gina LaMar, Kathleen Cotter and Suzanne Norman. Thanks to Laura Key and Dave Delaney for helping as well, although we have to give them the dreaded “not pictured” label.

Technorati Tags: nonprofits, charity, email marketing, Emma 25, myemma.com

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There’s nothing like a rockin’ party for a worthy cause … except perhaps a rockin’ party for a worthy cause with an ice sculpture.

I just wanted to brag about one of our customers, Vaco, whose recent five-year celebration (cleverly dubbed Cinco de Vaco) was not just about recognizing its staff or all its success in the recruiting field. Or dancing to 80s music. Or admiring the ice sculptures (though they are lovely, aren’t they?). It was also about helping Safe Haven Family Shelter, a fabulous Nashville non-profit working to fight homelessness. By the end of the night, Cinco de Vaco guests had donated more than $2,000 for families working with Safe Haven. Muy bien!

Social responsibility points go to Vaco for taking what could be just another corporate party and turning it into a stylish party for a really great cause. And if you’re in the Nashville area and want to find out more about Safe Haven, you can subscribe to their email newsletter here. And yes, we’re proud to say they’re dear members of the Emma community - they joined us four years ago as an Emma 25 honoree during the program’s first year.

Technorati Tags: vaco, safe haven, emma 25, nonprofits, myemma.com

Photo by Steve and Angela Purinton of Pure Photo

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As you emerge from your sugar coma today, you may slowly realize that it really is November now, and the holiday season really is here.

And as bewildering as this whole “November” thing can be, it’s a really great time to be an Emma customer. That’s because today, November 1, marks the launch of our annual Emma 25 program. It’s the initiative where we ask our fabulous Emma customers to nominate their favorite local charities while we pick 25 of them and award them free Emma accounts (including custom designed stationery and complimentary service that’s renewable year after year). The idea is to help great non-profits do even greater things, using email marketing to communicate with volunteers, stay in touch with donors and spread the word about the fabulous work they’re doing in their communities.

Head over to our landing page - we’ve got full program details, honorees from past years and the form to nominate *your* favorite non-profit just waiting for you, amigo.

If you’re not an Emma customer but want yourself or a charity you love to be considered for an Emma 25 account, send some emails and make some calls to the folks you know asking if anyone out there uses Emma and would be willing to send a nomination on your behalf.

Whatever you do, do it soon (remember the landing page?) - we’ll be accepting nominations through Wednesday, November 21st, and we’ll announce this year’s 25 honorees during the first week of December…

…when we’ll all be emerging from turkey comas, amazed that, yes, it really is December.

Technorati Tags: emma25, myemma.com, email marketing, non-profits

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On Saturday, a few of us Emma staffers joined up with 1,200 other volunteers as a part of Nashville’s largest day of community service, put together by Hands On Nashville. We couldn’t resist the opportunity to give back to the community *and* get to know one of our favorite local nonprofit clients.

Our team ventured to Cumberland Elementary for the morning, and our job was to cover the hallways (and ourselves) with paint. We felt like Rambo saving the day, if, um, Rambo ever decided to trade in his machine gun for a paintbrush. Here are Erin, Kim and Hilary showing off their painting skills.

But the most rewarding part came at the end of the day, when the school principal gave us big ol’ hugs and thanked everyone for their time and work. Coming together to help the community is such a great feeling, especially when you can see how it helps someone like the principal and all the students at Cumberland Elementary.

Big props to Hands On Nashville organizing an incredible day of giving back. If you’re in the Nashville area, you can learn more about getting involved by signing up for their (stylish!) email newsletter here.

Technorati Tags: Hands On Nashville, Nashville volunteer, myemma.com

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