ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD
Design. Educate. Unite.
Mission
To empower engineers to tackle sustainability challenges.
Ruling year
2014
Executive Director
Mr. Thomas Loughlin
Main address
424 Sapphire Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15224 USA
Formerly known as
Engineers Without Frontiers
EIN
46-3391142
NTEE code
Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C. (S99)
Higher Education Institutions (B40)
Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C. (C99)
IRS filing requirement
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
With the increasing imminent threat of climate change, especially for underserved and vulnerable communities, we need changemakers to tackle tough sustainability challenges facing us today, so we can be prepared in the future. To accomplish this, we unite engineers and local communities to build a more sustainable world together. Creating thriving communities is crucial for low-income residents and people of color as they are most affected by economic and environmental burdens. Issues such as food scarcity, natural resource depletion, native/natural landscape degradation, clean water, healthy air, public open space, and economic disparities disproportionately affect marginalized communities as they lack the resources to prepare and recover from sudden shocks and extreme weather disasters. The best solutions come from the people who live closest to these issues.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Resileint CommUnity Design Challenge
CommUnity is a challenge that empowers interdisciplinary student teams to develop solutions to improve access to resources, quality of life, and climate-resistant infrastructure system. We will educate teams in community based learning, guiding them to work collaboratively with organizations to propose solutions to local resiliency challenges. The individual programs support ESW’s “Big Idea” of resilient and sustainable communities. Students can put to use their technical skills while also learning throughout the process in an authentic and hands-on way, thereby gaining valuable experiences.
Build Day
Build Day is a new initiative that aims to create local sustainable change by bringing together local technical expertise and community power. Regular citizens, community leaders, and engineers will work together to design, educate, and build a sustainable solution to a locally pressing issue such as stable food production, clean and equal water access, and urban rehabilitation. Through the Build Day program, we are challenging students to consider and propose new, innovative solutions to tackle energy, water, transportation, public space, and engineering social justice issues to address resiliency and sustainability issues within their communities.
Project Grants
ESW offers seed grants ranging from $500-$1000 for new and ongoing projects. ESW runs two cycles in the fall and spring during the academic year.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of paid participants in conferences
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
ESW didn't host a paid conference in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ESW hosted its first digital conference that was free in spring 2020.
Number of competition winners declared
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Competitions include design challenges at conferences and virtual events (e.g. hackathons).
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, People with disabilities
Related Program
Build Day
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Campus and community space closures prompted lower participation numbers in 2020-2021.
Number of new programs/program sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Low-income people, Students, At-risk youth
Related Program
Build Day
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Build Day projects implemented and Project Grants funded
Number of free participants in conferences
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Young adults, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
ESW hosted virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021.
Number of students who feel their program structure provides opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary work
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of students reflects active student engineers and project participants who engaged in interdisciplinary project work and scopes. In 2020/2021, campus closures led to less active students.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Estimates for 2021 are during our current fiscal year FY22, which ends in June 2020, and will be updated when our fiscal year ends.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
- Design and implement hands-on sustainability projects across the globe.
- Educate students and practicing engineers on sustainability best practices.
- Unite people who are passionate about sustainability to create a global network.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
- Stimulate and foster the growth of a more diverse and networked community of engineers.
- Bring together students and professionals of various disciplines to create lasting solutions with immediate impacts.
- Infuse sustainability-oriented design into the practice and studies of every engineer through projects, courses, and outreach.
- Encourage innovative ideas that promote environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
- Increase community participation in sustainable engineering and development worldwide.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We've brought together some of the brightest minds in sustainability and engineering to our distributed team of volunteers. In just a few short years, we've iterated on our model to grow to 47 student and professional ESW chapters across the United States and Canada.
For three years, Build Day has improved the sustainability of seven underserved communities in the Tri-State and NorCal area by providing funding, resources, and community volunteers to build a solution within six months. Build Day alone has impacted over 1,200 community members and provided over $30,000 in pro-bono services. This year, ESW will expand this program to impact underserved communities in the South and Midwest regions.
For the past eight years, Project Grants have offered more than $16,450 in funding for 31 projects to student teams furthering the sustainability field through research, outreach, and small projects. Lastly, ESW launched a pilot mentorship program this year that pairs professional engineers with young engineers to provide project help, career advice, and networking.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since its founding, ESW chapters have implemented 320 projects in 24 states and provinces and 12 countries. By 2023, we plan to implement over 400 projects globally. Past projects have included a self-contained living unit and design studio for mobile deployment in disaster areas; an affordable solar-powered lamp for Haiti citizens; and a hydroponic system for a local food pantry to produce fresh low-cost food.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
ENGINEERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD
Board of directorsas of 06/30/2023
Mr. Kyle Gracey
Data for Progress
Term: 2015 - 2023
Rena Chen
Spark Scholars
Brian Lange
IDEO
Paulo Lopes
Environmental Attorney
Kurt Davis, Jr.
Investment Banker
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/21/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
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