Volunteer: Sustainable Last-Mile Business Marketing Strategy

This is a volunteer opportunity provided by Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit creating social change through pro bono connections. We have developed and demonstrated a U.S. Department of Energy–funded Sustainable Last‑Mile Delivery model that combines marine transport with electric cargo bikes to move goods between waterfront hubs and businesses. Working with freight, maritime, logistics, and community partners, we have proven the operational concept in real-world demonstrations. Our next challenge is convincing businesses to use this alternative to conventional truck deliveries: we need a focused way to identify, reach, and persuade companies to shift appropriate deliveries to the marine + e-cargo bike model. We can provide the volunteer with background research, project data, demonstration examples, existing communications materials, and direct access to the project team and industry partners. We are looking for a volunteer with Marketing Strategy expertise to develop a business-facing marketing and recruitment strategy that helps us identify, reach, and convert companies to participate in and ultimately adopt our marine + e-cargo bike delivery model. The volunteer will: - Define priority business audiences and customer segments and deliver a prioritized list of target segments with short profiles and selection criteria for outreach. - Develop clear value propositions and messaging for each priority segment and deliver a messaging framework plus sample outreach language that emphasizes business benefits as well as environmental outcomes. - Identify the most effective channels and tactics for reaching target businesses and deliver a recommended mix of channels and tactical approaches with the rationale and suggested outreach formats. - Create a practical outreach and marketing plan ECC and our partners can implement and deliver a plan document with step-by-step outreach activities, suggested sequence of actions, recommended materials to use or adapt, and measurable objectives. - Recommend strategies for converting initial interest into trial participants and customers and deliver suggested recruitment approaches and follow-up sequences to move businesses from inquiry to committing to participate in future demonstrations. New York City and Lower Hudson Valley Clean Communities Inc. DBA Empire Clean Cities Mission: Empire Clean Cities (formerly New York City and Lower Hudson Valley Clean Communities, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit environmental organization with a mission to ensure clean air for future generations. As the designated local US Department of Energy supported Clean Cities coalition, we are part of a national network of nearly 100 coalitions dedicated to advancing the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by reducing petroleum consumption in the transportation sector. We are committed to providing citizens and stakeholders access to reliable information about alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies.