Betty & Lisa, Board Member and President, respectively, of Matter of Trust, outside our model Eco-Home in Haight Ashbury, San Francisco.

The front exterior of our Eco-Industrial Hub. SOMA, San Francisco.

We see how working with Mother Nature, using common sense and being positive around youth and the young at heart, all contributes to the success of our programs. We know that our departments, like natural systems, are complex and inextricably linked.

This is our ideal for selecting & executing projects that are in alignment with our vision for Matter of Trust:

STRUCTURE

All of our work uses the following protocol, and this is fractal, meaning generally this structure is visible at the level of a meeting, project, program, department, and our organization as a whole.

Problem
Opportunity(ies)
Challenge(s)
Sollution(s)
Goal(s)
Objective(s)
Target(s)
Do The Work
KPI(s)
Impact
Outcome(s)
Legacy(ies)

HIERARCHY

Every Project that we have has a protocol. with a Lead, apprentices, interns and volunteers.

A long-term, inhouse project becomes a Program overseen by a Manager.

Projects and programs fall under our 7 Departments which each have a Director.

Liaisons are under our Administrative Director and connect all of our work internally and with external partners. This helps ensure follow ups, flow, met deadlines… according to our Strategic & Implementation Plan.

List Overview
* = 2026 dream chart of accounts

Board (Pro Bono)
 – Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Committee Heads, Board Members, Advisory Board Members (Pro Bono)
 – Committees:  Executive, Strategic Planning, Finance, Philanthropy, Engineering, Programs, Marketing, Legal, Advisory, Ethics (Pro Bono)
President – (Pro Bono)
SVPs* –  Administrator (CEO), Philanthropic Relations, Legal Counsel (Paid)
VPs (Chiefs)* – Operations (COO), Outreach (CMO), Accounting (CFO), Engineering (CTO), Programs (CPO)
Department Directors (Paid)
Program Regional Managers (Paid)
Program Liaisons (Paid)
Project Leads (Paid)
Apprentices (Paid)
Interns (Stipend)
Volunteers (Pro Bono)

• We always presume there is more to learn from Mother Earth.

• We orchestrate truly helpful, beneficial programs that are in concert with Nature.

• We only work on projects that improve lives and respect environments.

• We listen to society and hear what is needed.

• We demonstrate engagement in ecology through sorting, using recycled materials and prioritizing renewable resources.

• We improve constantly as an organization by being inclusive (mailroom to the main office, drawing board to the boardroom, boots on the ground to seats at the table…).

• We always seek out perspectives and incentives from others.

• We celebrate peer-recognized mastery in all sectors – high tech and low tech – applauding project ownership.

• We nurture only what we do want for the planet.

• We believe that immersive, provoking media and exhibits have a responsibility to provide positive, 2-way interactions.

• We promote pathways for change, both via small, convenient, individual habits over a lifetime and  through impressive, mobilizing, large-scale actions vital to societal shift.

• inspiration and conversation have the power to be transformative for all involved. We wisely expect mutual learning.

• We were taught that textiles are rated on how well they hold together or fall apart on a scale of integrity. The fabrics of society and reality work by similar principles.

• We know the more we are integrated and our threads overlap, interweave, and are entangled with others, the better we feel, the stronger we are and the longer we live.

• Matter of Trust (and verify) – we install, implement, or reproduce eco-ideas, innovations and inventions in-house or as pilot projects and field work, in order to see results with our own eyes. We put them on display, and, very importantly, we give credit where credit is due. Everyone is standing on the shoulders of giants.

1. Eco-Industrial Hub – At our model factory we make oil spill clean up mats** out of recycled clippings of hair, fur, wool, and fleece from salons, groomers, and farmers.  Our replicable exhibit hall walls discuss best practices for sorting waste into resources, as well as perspectives, incentives, challenges and solutions for clean air, water, energy, materials and manufacturing. Plan a visit!

2. The Eco-Home – Showcases planet-friendly living and greening all areas of the house with fun ways to ecologize your holiday celebrations:  Bee My Valentine (Bedrooms & Garden), Spring Greening (Bathrooms and Storage), Greendependence Day (Home Office / Home Gym), Fallin’ for Harvest (Kitchen and Dining), Haunted Eeek-o-Home (Exterior and Garden), and ending with Seasons Greenings (Living room, reception & gift shop). Check out our week-long General Public Open Houses every 2 months or book a tour!

… with Urban Edible Garden – Explore our research projects made to uplift and heal the mind, body, and soil. Visit our tiny home, solar fan aerated compost pile, laundry to landscapes gray water system, dog poo composter, chicken mansion, fog catcher, raised veggie beds, honey beehive, bat house, and more!

3. Hair Matters Program** – Our flagship Eco-Hub and MofT’s Global Partner Hubs make mats that are installed in storm drains, and contaminated waste-water filtration systems, to soak up petroleum spills. Beyond this, natural fibers make an excellent substrate and are a slow nitrogen release, proving to remediate soil as well as help to regenerate seagrass and kelp forests. Together with donors, felters, researchers, purchasers, artists and media… this program keeps waterways clean, sorts trash into resources, restores habitats, inspires the public and creates cottage-industry green jobs! 

4. The Hum Sum – for Humanity Adding Solutions is our online, environmental, social media platform. This allows everyone (individuals, businesses, government departments, schools, nonprofits, neighborhood projects…) from around the world to connect in a cost-free, ad-free, politics-free, troll-free, bully-free, and spam-free zone. We have forums, polls, local to global events calendars, green biz directory, gamified eco-commitment counters, and an affordable eco-services and donated gifts / wishlist exchange for items and materials. Coming soon check out our Hum Sum Emporium (Humium) for unusual and excellent eco-items! Welcome All!

5. Eco-Academy – Our positive communications  & mutual learning department is for youth and the young at heart.  We host field trips, volunteers, interns, apprentices, and Hum Sum Mods. We support university & citizen scientist research,  curate our own resource library, conduct fieldwork pilot projects & in-house write-ups. We build local to global replicable exhibits & green city tours. With staff and members, we annually compile The MofTies – Life Cycle Assessment Awards of Merrit, network The Millies (1000+ community gardens, tiny homes, maker fairs etc.) and our Global Partner HumSummits.  We provide social media updates on all of our work and celebrate likeminded projects and experts around the world.

6. The WALOP & Fiscal Sponsorships: The WALOP covers our interns’ Worthy, Actionable List of Projects through 2030 & 2050,  the Hair Mulch / Mat Soil & Coastal Restoration Projects, Global Compost Project, Peace of Mind Kits (eco-disaster kits), Wrap Stars (eco-packaging), Jean Baggies (recycled denim carrier bags & reusable food containers for instacart & grubhub deliveries), Zero Waste Flash Mobs, It’s a Corker (restaurant wine cork collection), The Fibrary,  Insulation Cubes (using laundry lint & synthetic wigs waste) and more… this Department also includes 2 projects we fiscally sponsor [1. Heart of the City Farmers’ Market Food Security Education, 2. Sonoma Food Runners].

7. Our Administrative Department is compiled of Operations, HR, Finance, Engineering, Philanthropy, Outreach, Facilities, & Social Media.  This team is our rock and ensures that our oxygen mask is on securely so that we can thrive in our 6 other Program Departments.  This public charity is basically a small family business with big dreams and wide reach.  Our Board, President, Directors, Managers, Leads, Staff,  Apprentices, Interns, Volunteers, and Partners, feel lucky to work steadily and tirelessly on what we all love.

Matter of Trust is a 501(c)(3) environmental public charity established in 1998. We have two locations in San Francisco, California: our showcase Eco-Home with urban edible garden and our Eco-Industrial Hub – our flagship, working model factory with exhibit hall. We also promote cottage-industry through our Hair Matters program which collects natural waste fibers and felts them into mats for oil spills, soil remediation, seagrass and kelp restoration projects, now with 116+ Global Hub Partners.

Hair, fur, wool and fleece donors around the world, led us to develop and launch our environmental social media platform, TheHumSum.org for Humanity Adding Solutions.

Our Eco-Academy works with youth and the young at heart. We celebrate optimism for the future, spotlighting biomimicry (asking nature first) and ecology (the study of how life thrives in habitats – from forests to cities).

All of our programs (in-house, in the field and fiscal sponsorships) link surplus with needs and concentrate on re-use, research and renewable resources.  Join in today!

120 words:

Matter of Trust is an environmental 501(c)(3) public charity est. in 1998. Visit our two San Francisco sites for field trips and the general public: 1) showcase Eco-Home with urban edible garden. 2) Eco-Industrial Hub – flagship, working model factory with exhibit hall. We celebrate optimism for the future via our 3) Eco-Academy for youth and the young at heart (tours, research, internships & apprenticeships). 4) Our Hair Matters program collects natural waste fibers (hair/ fur clippings) and felts them into mats for oil spills, soil remediation, seagrass / kelp restoration projects and cottage industry promotion. Finally, 5) growing volunteers and fiber donors around the world, led us to develop our planet-friendly social media platform TheHumSum.org for Humanity Adding Solutions.