Business For Good’s Goals for FY23 Will Drive Even More Impact

Earlier this month, Business For Good’s wonderful Board of Directors met for their annual retreat. They joined together for some bonding, laughter, and that feel-good sense of pre-pandemic camaraderie. 

They also came away with some serious goals to drive the real, equitable change that is desperately needed in Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023) throughout San Diego County. 

Right now, life in America’s Finest City isn’t so fine for many of its residents. 

The dizzying rise in San Diego housing costs over the past couple of years have, at best, made houses and apartments less affordable for many; and at worst, have further compounded the existing homelessness epidemic.

San Diego’s Climate Action Plan needs more crucial updates if we actually want to reach our net-zero goals by 2030. Many local businesses are still reeling from the impact of COVID-19, and migrants seeking asylum continue to face incredible barriers to entry at the Tijuana border.

While all this sounds like doom and gloom, it doesn’t have to be. We believe that by uniting values-aligned local business owners, BFG and its four policy action committees will continue to be a powerful force that helps change the trajectory for thousands of San Diegans. 

Read on to take a detailed look at how we aim to keep driving policy in FY23 that improves San Diego for all.

A refreshed Business For Good approach and vision 

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted life for everyone on the planet. We’ve all had to pivot, rethink the way we work and live, reprioritize what matters, and reimagine how we can most effectively drive meaningful change.

Our Board retreat was the perfect opportunity for Business For Good to do just that. While our core values, policy action areas, and ethos remain unchanged, we’ve clarified our approach and vision to reflect the following: 

• BFG is the bridge between the government and the community when it comes to policy. The pandemic underscored how important it is for communities to have a direct line to government officials, not only in times of crisis but in everyday life. BFG voices concerns on behalf of community groups whose voices aren’t heard, and fights to have those needs addressed in all enacted policies.
• BFG brings power, equity, and improved quality-of-life to the San Diego community. By uniting like-minded local businesses, BFG gains the collective voice necessary to align with other organizations that advance policies that improve San Diego for everyone. 
• BFG educates and advocates for policies that create a sustainable San Diego region. Since its inception, BFG has always advocated for equitable, thoughtful policies. But we realized we could also do far more with our thought leadership to help educate and guide others in San Diego about how they can be active stewards of positive change. 
• On that note of education and thought leadership, we refined BFG’s mission statement: “To connect and unite San Diego’s local business community in order to educate and advocate for equitable, inclusive, and sustainable policies that create enduring change.”
• BFG will become a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Currently, Business For Good is a 501(c)6 nonprofit. We are excited to move to a 501(c)3 nonprofit status, which will increase our ability to secure funding to allow for much more long-term organizational sustainability. In February 2022, we filed our 501c(3) application with the state and received our EIN number. The BFG Board has also approved our new bylaws and all required documents.
• BFG Board members have committed to “Give or Get.” To accelerate our BFG fundraising for FY23, each of our Board members will either personally give, or “get” (fundraise), $2,500 to contribute to BFG’s financial goals. 

Business For Good goals for FY23

Our BFG Board members set concrete goals and objectives for FY 2023 in two categories: policy and membership. 

Policy Goals

BFG’s overarching goal is to directly engage with four specific San Diego local policies by June 2023. 

As the world begins to transition out of pandemic crisis mode, we expect to see a big uptick in the local policy work of all our BFG action areas—Homelessness, Immigration, Environmental Health, and Small Business Resources. 

We will be ready to respond to and advocate for the four policies in the following ways: 

• Letters to elected officials and agencies. It may seem par for the course, but concise, informed, and actionable letters to elected officials and agencies from organizations like BFG go a long way to influence policy votes. 
• Public comment at municipal meetings. Public commenting at public City and County meetings is by far the most effective method to make our collective voices heard. BFG aims to offer more training and support so that our members feel equipped to do this on a regular basis. 
• Lobbying. Once BFG becomes a 501(c)3, our non-paid staff, Board members, and general members can lobby to influence the policies BFG supports. While we cannot endorse or oppose political candidates, we’ll be able to fully engage with crucial nonpartisan election year activities like ballot measure advocacy and Get Out The Vote. 
• Robust social media presence and engagement. BFG is a nearly all-volunteer organization. We are incredibly grateful for the time and energy of our Communications Committee members who are dedicated to creating a more robust social media presence for BFG to get the word out on critical policy matters and upcoming votes.
• Networking socials that include policy stakeholders. We are thrilled that we’re now able to return to holding our quarterly BFG member social events. Members will have even more opportunities to connect with one another as well as local policy stakeholders.
• Testifying at public hearings. BFG will participate in public hearings to show where we stand on current or proposed government action. In the past, our involvement in these hearings has heavily influenced local officials’ decision-making process. 
• More local media placements. We’ve developed a strategic PR plan to increase public awareness of BFG and our stance on policies and legislation throughout San Diego County. Doing so will help educate and inspire the community to join us in driving change. 

Membership Goals 

In addition to our policy goals, BFG has a lot in store for our members in FY23. Our top priority is to educate and support our members on local policy issues and connect them with other San Diego coalitions that align with their specific values and passions. 

We aim to make this happen by doing the following: 

• Increase our BFG member base by 25% every quarter. The more our membership grows, the stronger our collective voice gets. Let us be clear: Local business owners are a powerful force in helping to create the equitable, accessible change San Diego needs.
• Launch our new membership tiers. In just a few short months, BFG will launch its much anticipated new membership tiers. There are two types of memberships: Businesses & Individuals and Public Sector & Nonprofits. Each membership includes four tiers with amazing perks that BFG has never offered before!
• Provide educational workshops. As part of our refined thought leadership focus, BFG will offer a series of in-depth workshops led by our members who are subject matter experts. Each workshop is designed to give clear, actionable information that all BFG members will benefit from personally and/or be able to enact in their own local businesses. Workshop subjects include: 
• How to make public comments. As mentioned earlier, we’ll offer detailed training and support that helps BFG members feel confident and equipped to comment at public City and County meetings in support of progressive local policies.  
• How to become a B Corp. We are proud that nearly 10% of our BFG members’ local businesses are also B Corporations, and that number is growing every month. 
• How to become a sustainable business. Many of our members are sustainability experts who can share a wealth of knowledge about how to run a sustainable business—whether it’s a handful of employees or a larger corporation.
• How to navigate insurance, legal services, and other compliance issues. If there’s anything that spikes a business owner’s stress level, it’s sure to be insurance, legal, and compliance issues. Luckily, we have a core group of BFG members who are brilliant legal professionals—and they also speak in layman’s terms.
• How to understand policy and regulations. It can be incredibly difficult to navigate the ins and outs of lengthy legislation in order to feel like you really get it. Our BFG policy experts are here to help our members understand the depth and breadth of local San Diego policies through easy conversation.
• How to create content worth reading. Our BFG member experts in branding, content, digital marketing, and web can share everything your business needs to do to create content that gets read and, most importantly, acted upon.
• Coffee and conversation with politicians. One of the biggest benefits of joining BFG is that it gives members a direct line of communication with local politicians. Our past monthly member meeting guests have included San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, U.S. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, and more. 

Business For Good is growing, and we’re stoked to have values-aligned San Diego businesses like yours join us. Become a member with us today!