Fundraising Initiatives

Until long-term funding is in place, the NSC relies on major contributions from industry associations and from individual companies to fund its initiatives. The goal of the NSC is to raise a minimum of $500,000 a year to fund its three primary goals: branding, sustainability and long-term funding. The fundraising committee met recently and will begin researching the possibility of applying for a grant to aid in funding.

NSC's Green Effort

The NSC’s environmental venture is now underway!  Through collaboration with the University of Tennessee Center for Clean Products (UT), the project is in the midst of its first phase: benchmarking the practices of the natural stone industry.

Benchmark Survey Schedule:

• January
  
  • Survey distributed to 1,326 stone industry members
  • Webpage developed to assist survey respondents
• February
  
  • Initiation of survey data organization and analysis
• March
  
  • March 31—Survey Deadline!
  • Preliminary evaluation of survey data
  • Dialogue with NSC Advisory Committee

The natural stone industry has shown a very supportive and enthusiastic response to this effort.  It is apparent that large and small companies alike are genuinely interested in better understanding the environmental footprint of their industry.

Additionally, the NSC has assembled an external advisory council comprised of green building and environmental experts.  Their input will help maintain alignment of this project with the needs of the green building industry.

For centuries, genuine stone has been known as an attractive and durable material. Now, the industry is also promoting its value by positioning itself as an environmentally responsible product and a preferred sustainable building material.  With the help of UT researchers, the Natural Stone Council will provide the industry with much needed insight and guidance within this new forum.

To learn more about the efforts of the NSC Committee on Sustainability, please visit GenuineStone.org or contact John Mattke, Chairman of NSC Committee on Sustainability, at 320.685.3621.

Check-Off Program

In an endeavor to fund a long-term advertising and public relations campaign to promote the preference for and consumption of genuine stone, the NSC is putting together a plan to implement an industry-wide check-off program similar to the milk (Got milk?) and beef (It’s what’s for dinner) industries. An industry wide check-off program is a government sponsored program that allows an industry to assess itself so it can raise resources to increase its position in the marketplace. The program is managed by a board of directors, made up of industry members, and includes research, new product development, public relations, and advertising.

2008 Goals:

• Agreement by the stone industry to tax itself as the dairy and beef industries are already doing
• Strengthen the idea that the ½ cent per dollar self-taxation of all imported and domestic stone will enable the industry to grow larger and more powerful through research and self-promotion.

NSC Taskforce Update:

The concept of a stone industry check-off has made progress since the first discussion in November, 2006.  The NSC has taken the lead on building a model that ensures equity and a reliable source of promotion revenue to promote genuine stone in the US.  The NSC developed a flow chart that highlights the distribution system of genuine stone as it flows into the US market, both from domestic suppliers and importers.  From the flow chart came a potential model and draft justification that identifies the assessment rate and who would pay the assessment, which has the potential to generate upwards of $10 million for genuine stone promotions annually.  The model also describes how the board of directors would be structured on a check-off program.  Next steps include further clarifying the roles of suppliers and importers in the process and developing a legislative strategy to carry forward to Washington.  

GenuineStone.org

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