FAQs

What is “The Portland Bottom Line”?

“The Portland Bottom Line” is an incipient series of short essay collections by small business people from Portland, Oregon, each sharing his or her experience with sustainable business practices.

The book explores 1) how small businesses can effectively and efficiently shift toward sustainability and thrive; 2) how small businesses can innovate to put people before profit, be good to the ecosystem, and prosper, and 3) what specific benefits sustainability brings to small business operations, community, and the environment. Read the book description.

The first volume of “The Portland Bottom Line” released on November 10th, 2010. Buy it on Amazon or Lulu.

Who is behind “The Portland Bottom Line”?

The book is the brainchild of Peter Korchnak. Read the book’s Introduction for the background on the book’s creation.

Peter edited the first volume and managed the crowdsourcing project together with Megan Strand. Read more about the editors.

What happens with the revenues generated from the sales of “The Portland Bottom Line”?

One hundred percent of the first volume’s net profit (or between $3.15 and $7.54, depending where it’s purchased), will be donated to Mercy Corps Northwest. Contributors selected the organization by vote from among nine Portland, Oregon-based organizations supporting the launch and growth of businesses. Read more about the book’s beneficiary.

What’s in it for the Contributors?

Contributors agree to forgo compensation for their Chapter in exchange for 100% of profit being donated to a community organization of their choice (Mercy Corps Northwest for Volume 1). Read more about benefits for the contributors.

I want to contribute to “The Portland Bottom Line”. How do I submit my chapter?

The first volume is already out. Volume 2 will be published in November 2011. Contributions for Volume 2 will likely be accepted beginning in Spring 2011. Join the book’s mailing list to be the first to know:

Until then, browse the guidelines for Volume 1 submission process. The process for Volume 2 will certainly be improved, but the gist, especially the wiki, will remain the same.

What is crowdsourcing?

Read these related posts about:

• Crowdsourcing in general
• Raz Godelnik’s take on crowdsourced book publishing
• Using crowdsourcing for social and environmental sustainability
• Lessons from managing the book’s crowdsourcing process

Missing questions? Email us.