Rob Mies: The Organization for Bat Conservation

By Bud on January 13, 2009 TrackBacks (0) Comments (9)

Download iPod Video (46MB)

The Organization for Bat Conservation is a non-profit that derives 40% of its revenue from the web.

Like this? Let us know with a $5 donation, so we can do more

Filed under: Bloomfield Hills, MI | EMU Google Adwords Partnership | Network Businesses | Rob Mies | The Organization for Bat Conservation

The Organization for Bat Conservation incorporated as a non-profit in 1997. Its mission is to educate people about the benefits of bats and to help preserve them. From the start, Rob Mies, the OBC's executive director, realized it would be hard to solicit contributions for bat preservation. People are afraid of bats or have other negative feelings about them.

So, Rob began to think of the OBC as a business. What could the organization offer that people would be willing to pay for? He came up with three broad areas:

  • Educational programs. Schools are willing to pay to have the OBC come and put on programs, and groups are willing to pay an entry fee to visit the OBC's traveling museum exhibit.
  • Grants. Some organizations are willing to fund bat conservation even though it remains a small percentage.
  • Ecommerce. Rob realized that, while the market for his services in any one state might be small, the web would allow him to address a national audience. He initially developed a bat house product to be sold over the web, and then branched out into other bat related products.

In future episodes, we'll discus how the OBC used Google AdWords to reinforce its online marketing efforts.

0 TrackBacks

Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Rob Mies: The Organization for Bat Conservation.

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://michiganinnovators.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/fpgibson/MI/mt41/mt-tb.cgi/266

9 Comments

Samantha Kies on March 25, 2009 12:41 PM
The expansion that Rob Miles took is innovative as well as useful and fun. By giving people a chance to see what his organization sees in bats, he's giving them a chance to come to love them, as well as help to save them. Starting with the education of students and clubs was ingenious; by providing students with a chance to learn more about bats, they are allowing the students to form their own judgment on the benefits of bats. I think that the expansion to the internet, especially the ecommerce, is brilliant and a valuable tool in earning money to support his non-profit organization. Starting at the seminars was a good idea; bringing examples of their products to allow people to purchase was a great idea. One of the key problems to the conservation of bats right now is lack of knowledge; people are simply focused on what they perceive bats to be like and are unaware of all the good that having them around brings. By educating the students, having the information available in book format, as well as accessible through the internet, Miles and his company are sure to gain a reputation for being informative, as well as fun. And having things available to view and purchase was the icing on the cake; the last little bit that would bring the customers in and allow them to see what good they could bring to the environment by helping out Miles and his organization. I especially liked the bat shirts; what a great way to promote a great cause.
Holly Eggleston on March 29, 2009 2:32 PM
Hello! As a business management student at Eastern Michigan University, I am really inspired by the progress and innovation that The Organization for Bat Conservation has made through the direction of Rob Mies since 1997. I’d consider myself an animal activist, and am surprised to find that so many people still have an intense fear of bats, especially knowing the benefits that they have on the insect population. It’s terrible to hear that it was so difficult to raise money for bats, but I’m glad OBC gained a 501(c)3 status to help out a little. I think this is also a good lesson for people who still think you can’t have a career working for a non-profit, because you can! There are huge possibilities and opportunities working for non-profit organizations. Beyond that, waking up every day feeling like you are making a difference for an issue you are passionate about must feel satisfying. I was also surprised to hear that 40% of bats are threatened, but inspired that Rob Mies worked so diligently and intelligently to protect them through teaching programs and conservation projects. Most importantly, this is a great lesson (especially to management students) as to how looking for even the smallest room for growth can make a huge difference. OBC took the marketing segment that was interested in bats, although small because of fear, and created new opportunities for the business and consumers. Starting with a web site and interest in owning bat houses (for any one of the 3 reasons Rob Mies gives), the company saw that people wanted more. So they created books, toys, jewelry, posters and just about anything and everything bat related for that marketing segment. Not only does this feed the needs of those who love bats, but it allows room for people to learn about bats, what they do and to hopefully eliminate fears and promote acceptance. That is innovation at its best! Great work, Rob Mies! –Holly Eggleston
Mike D on March 29, 2009 3:03 PM
It is inspiring to see a person like Rob Mies come so far in his efforts. I would tend to say that most people are scared of (or at least don't like) bats. However, Rob made some good points about how bats are important, and how they can benefit people. Rob started furthering his efforts by building bat houses; these houses can benefit the community in a lot of ways, by controlling the insect population, or moving them out of people's homes and into the bat house. Since the bat houses were becoming such a success, it was thought that they could expand the efforts by selling more than just bat houses; they created toys, posters, books and all other sorts of bat related paraphernalia. People who have a great interest in bats love the stuff and Robs company is definitely innovative in this way; not many company's are devoted to just bats.
Jacquelyn Richards on March 30, 2009 9:24 PM
I really appreciate what Rob Mies is doing over at The Organization for Bat conservation. I think it's great that someone is looking out for the bats of Michigan. It's a shame that people fear what they do not understand and that he had hard time finding the funding to start the program. People just don't understand how many animal species, not only in the bat realm are disappearing everyday right under our eyes. It is a shock to hear that 40% of bat species in the United States are either threatened or endangered! The OBC started out in April of 1997 as a non-profit organization and began collecting funding through educational programs for schools and clubs. In order to pay for their staff, animals and conservation projects they had to book enough of these programs to cover the costs. When they realized that just doing the programs would not be enough to fund all of these things they came up with a back-up plan. During the educational programs the people were introduced to the concept of bat-houses and they began to inquire how they might get their own? This made the OBC realize that there may just be a market out there of people who actually appreciated and loved these beautiful animals! Rob started to research more into bat-houses and came up with the ingenious idea of selling them online. Not only did people love bats but, they may want to lure bats into their backyard to eat bugs or in some cases people may have bats inside their home and could use a bat-house outside in the backyard to lure bats out of their homes. After the bat-houses, the website spread out into Bat books, toys, jewelry, posters and practically any bat memorabilia you could think of. Now their “Bat enthusiast” website has been accessed all over the world, so they have really opened up their funding possibilities!-Jackie Richards
Leah Layher on March 30, 2009 10:54 PM
The story behind this non-profit organization is actually quite inspiring. Rob Mies is correct in saying that it's can't be easy to raise money for bats. Usually, unless you're a complete animal lover, most people aren't huge fans of bats. They're either turned off by them or even afraid of them. The inspiring part is that the organization didn't give up and they've been in business since 1997 so they must be doing something right. I didn't realize that 40% of bats are threatened; I didn't know the percent was that high. I absolutely love how the organization started with an idea of conserving the bats, to bat houses, to bat books and toys, anything and everything bat related. Now that is being innovative, and making it expand in such a way is genius!
Katherine Sessoms on March 31, 2009 11:26 AM
I can only imagine that it would be very difficult to raise money for bats. Rob Mies made a wise decision when he decided to start a gift shop on his organizations website. It's amazing how many more people you reach through the World Wide Web. Through the sale of bat houses, t-shirts, mugs, jewelry, etc., he is able to raise a significant amount of money towards researching and protecting bats. It was interesting to hear that people would actually buy a bat house with the intention of attracting bats to their back yard. I was not aware that this would ever be a good thing. I can see why he feels it is urgent to spread the word about the benefits of bats. I wonder who is target audience is...animal lovers, batman fanatics, etc.
Joe Wright on April 16, 2009 7:26 PM
I guess everyone has an itch to scratch. It is also an interesting take on conservation and running a not-for-profit business. Normally logic would say that you would look at not-for-profits to get an idea of your financial model, but looking at for-profits is an interesting take on a different idea, especially when trying to advocate for an animal that most people are afraid of or dislike as a pest.
tricia on September 2, 2009 2:49 PM
Hello, I work in an elementary school garden and am very interested in putting up a bat house is our garden. In fact I already ordered one from the gardening with kids website. However, as word of the bat house spreads, I am receiving some opposition from my co workers. The main concern is, if I attract them to the school garden with that one bat house, in time they will take up residence in the eaves around the school campus and become a "nuisance". Also, another concern is "safety" for the children. Can you please tell me if these are real concerns? p.s. do you guys have any curriculum on bats for first though sixth grade? Thank you so much for your time, Tricia Woods Garden/Greenhouse Activity leader
Jason R. on November 24, 2009 3:54 AM
This video shows how a small market can be expanded with use of the web. Rob took his idea that had limited support in any given region and expanded it through use of the website. He found a way to market his idea to people and grow the non-profit organization. This is truly an inspirational story of innovation and of technology. The use of the website was to market to put on educational programs, receive grants from organizations, and develop a form of ecommerce. This is a good case to study from and see how to exploit the internet to promote a company, especially one that works with a subject that is not especially popular. Rob also did not want to limit his ecommerce portion of the website and continually expanded the product line. The Organization of Bat Conservation is also a good example of not limiting a business or organization and to allow continuous growth. This did not just help grow the organization but it did help with spreading the message of the organization. When people buy the products they are more likely to view the mission statement and learn more about bats and the organization. This sort of works as an enlightened self-interest, since the message is getting absorbed by more people than it would have without the site being created. Then with the message reaching more people, the organization gets more support and it gets helped out in multiple ways, and it also makes it so people are more willing to help with the cause.

Leave a comment

From Our Readers

Embed this Video

copy this code into your web page.

Subscribe by Email

Enter your email address:

Financing Innovation

Early Stage Innovation

Network Businesses

From the EMU Google Partnership

From our Bullpen

From the New Enterprise Forum