The mission of Good Neighbor Iowa is to educate the public and transition lawn culture away from the idea that pesticides are necessary to manage green spaces, and instead show people that green spaces and lawns where children are playing can be managed naturally. They believe that the biodiversity that this creates is what brings beauty to those green spaces. Read more here.
Good Neighbor Iowa (GNI) is not a non-profit, it is technically an initiative of the UNI Center for Energy & Environmental Education. The university has a foundation that people can donate to, so they have the ability to fund initiatives like GNI. This was a new type of organization that I learned about through this interview. I talked with Emily Dvorak, the Environmental Health Program Associate with GNI. She said that most people do confuse GNI as being a non-profit, and wanted to make sure that distinction was made.
Launching the Initiative
Good Neighbor Iowa was started in 2017 through a class partnership with the director of the UNI CEE, Kamyar Enshayan, and students from an Interactive Digital Studies (IDS) class and from a Communications class. The IDS students created the digital outreach materials, and the Communication students started the outreach campaigns. Then, GNI got grant funding to keep the initiative going and were able to hire student fellows. In 2018, they earned a larger grant and were able to hire a program manager. Since then, they have continued to grow and expand their team of employees.
Student Lead Branding
In the late 1990s, Kamyar planted the seed for the creation of GNI, which at the time he called Yards for Kids. He wasn’t doing an formal work but did have one yard sign made. This became the inspiration for the branding the IDS students created in 2017. Students worked in teams to develop the website, six new yard signs, an Evidence of Harm report, and other promotional materials.
In 2020, GNI did an informal rebrand to ensure that all of its materials were matching. The older version of the website had a lot of pastel colors, and they realized that wasn’t really their brand anymore. They hired a graphic design student to create themed social media graphics to ensure cohesive branding. This student tested out different templates on social media to see which ones generated the most involvement, to maximize the reach of Good Neighbor Iowa.
I have actually worked for GNI making website edits, so I have firsthand experience with their branding. Many different people work with the design elements of GNI, so it is very important that their branding is clearly defined to ensure consistency across all materials.
Marketing Struggles
Emily told me the greatest marketing struggle GNI faces is knowing how to communicate something that could be controversial. They have to consciously think about how to frame their position in the most compelling way possible. Focusing on the really scientific side of their work can be intimidating for viewers. Therefore, GNI is tasked with figuring out how their message is going to resonate best with the public.
Standing Out
Good Neighbor Iowa is unique because it is the only initiative in the state working to stop people from using pesticides in urban spaces for cosmetic purposes. They have a lot of great groups supporting them, but Emily told me there are times when it feels like the weight of the state is on GNI’s efforts. The nature of Good Neighbor Iowa is to be an information hub that can connect people with information and resources for safer lawn care practices.
GNI uses a pledge system to track their progress. If someone is already managing their lawn without pesticides, or if they plan to start, they can “pledge” so that those areas of unsprayed lawn are tracked. On their website, viewers can see interactive maps of all the people who have pledged. Check it out here.
Emily’s Advice
When trying to grow a non-profit, Emily’s first piece of advice is to have a solid funding plan. It can be hard to keep the boat afloat while also trying to write grants, so making sure you have adequate funding is very important.
Her second piece of advice is to find the right employees to advance your mission. It takes a special kind of person to work in non-profit advocacy work. These people need to have a real passion for the work they are doing, and have a good work/life balance.
Get Involved with GNI
For college students who want to work for Good Neighbor Iowa, they can apply to be a Student Fellow. They hire 3-4 students every year to work with the GNI team in their advocacy efforts. There are occasional internship opportunities, and the team is currently in the process of developing a more regular internship experience. Or, if you love web design, maybe you can take my job with them when I graduate. 😉
Students can also volunteer as a Local Champion here. These are passionate community members that want to spread the mission of Good Neighbor Iowa. After becoming a Local Champion, people get access to resources and outreach materials.
Follow Good Neighbor Iowa on Facebook!
Learn about more non-profits in the Cedar Valley!
Do you know if they promote No Mow May? My husband was interested in participating in that.
Hi Alissa, I’m not sure! I would encourage you to email them at goodneighbor@uni.edu to get more information on that.