Your City Could Be Better—The Trick to Getting People to Volunteer. Plus, the Bike storage Debate July 24, 2026
Santa Cruz Green Exchange (SCGX) is a community exchange initiative coordinating volunteers and community resources to steward the San Lorenzo River along Downtown Santa Cruz.
The SCGX partnered with community cleanups to produce 3 events:
For each event, SCGX functioned as a coordination layer to different degrees of responsibility. Its role was to super-charge the productivity and impact with community outreach, communication, and incentive rewards for volunteers.
SCGX work is backed by local businesses and donors invested in the well-being of the local economy and health of Downtown Santa Cruz. These GX Rewards come in the form of Downtown Dollars and gift cards from local businesses offered in exchange for documented and verified collected litter.
By coordinating volunteer impact with the value spendable at Santa Cruz businesses, SCGX connects environmental remediation of Downtown green spaces to supporting the Santa Cruz local economy.
Across 3 Events
Backers: 16 Backing Raised In Local Value: $6,300 Rewards Earned Per Volunteer: $3,800 — BTG × SCGX and Tri-Area only Amount Rewarded: $3,000 Amount Rewarded Per Volunteer: $21
Volunteers: 145 Core Partners: 5 Support Partners: 4
Litter Collected: 890+ lbs # Pieces Of Litter Documented: 7,081 # Pieces of Litter Documented: 2,552, limited data successfully submitted Invasive Species Removed: 236+ sq ft, BTG × SCGX only