This is an amazing story about one paddle boarder’s quest to raise money for breast cancer awareness, and how an unlikely visitor showed up to guide her. With a little help from “Larry the Whale,” this woman has successfully raised more than $100,000 for her cause. For me, this story is a heart-felt reminder: when we set a clear intention born out of love and a genuine desire to do good in the world, anything is possible. Even magic. Even a whale.

There are few things more personal than the food we put into our bodies. With less than 10 corporations controlling more than half the food on grocery store shelves, we are all eating food that comes with a bigger price than what we pay out-of-pocket. Soil destruction, genetically modified seeds, polluted water, loss of family farmers, inhumane treatment of animals, and a number of health epidemics, including diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer…these are but some of the consequences of our current food system.

Today–Monday February 27, 2012–tens of thousands of people — including farmers and food workers, parents and students, urban gardeners and chefs — are participating in a Global Day of Action to Occupy our Food Supply, founded by Rainforest Action Network.  The event is bringing together over 60 Occupy groups from across the country, as well as sustainable farming, food justice, buy local, slow food, and environmental groups, healthy food leaders and advocates.

Want to know more? Here’s my roundup of some good resources on the web:

• Read this Huffington Post article Why We Must Occupy Our Food Supply, written by Willie Nelson, president of Farm Aid, and Anna Lappe, author of Diet for a Hot Planet.
• Dr.  Vandana Shiva, food activist and founder of Navdanya, a movement to occupy the seed, talks about seed sovereignty in this article appearing in Grist.
• Christopher D. Cook, author of Diet for a Dead Planet, shares his article Big Food Must Go: Why We Must Radically Change the Way We Eat.

Part Two in a two-part series: Communicating in Times of Crisis.

As we’ve seen how Komen for the Cure botched its recent announcement to stop funding Planned Parenthood, it only takes one poorly handled public relations crisis to threaten an organization’s reputation and lose valuable supporters.  Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with their decision or rationale, it’s still somewhat devastating to watch a well-known and loved organization lose so many supporters—overnight.

The point here is this: Every organization—whether a foundation, a charity or a for-profit company—needs a crisis communications strategy in place. If you wait for a crisis to  come, it’s too late. 

Not sure where to start? Here are 7 steps to developing a Crisis Communications Plan for your organization:

1) Appoint a crisis spokesperson and team

Your internal crisis “team” might include representatives from the board, the CEO, grant programs, public relations or legal counsel. Identify one person to serve as the primary spokesperson—such as the board chair, marketing/communications director or even a credible volunteer. Make sure this person is trained in communicating with reporters as well as on social media platforms. Emphasize to your staff, board and volunteers that no one besides the spokesperson should be talking to the media.

 2) Identify potential crises in advance 

Think through all possible problem areas in advance. Some crises you simply won’t be able to foresee–a scandal involving one of your grantees or clients, for example. However you can always identify potential weak spots and prepare in advance. For example, Komen for the Cure jumped into a highly controversial area of public and political debate. They could have anticipated that there might be some public outcry and prepared to respond immediately. Or better  yet, proactively reached out to the media and public first–before the story broke.

3) Gather information about the crisis

Gather as much information as you can, as soon as you can. This will help prepare your spokesperson to answer questions and develop your own angle. Follow closely what others are saying about your organization on Twitter, Facebook, the news media and leading blogs in your field. Respond to these posts directly, but not defensively.

4) Develop key messages and talking points

In times of fire, you want to arm yourselves with your organization’s most powerful messages and fact sheets. Use these messages early and often–from the moment you smell a crisis coming on. As part of your messaging, remind your audience what you do well as an organization and, as appropriate, stand by your actions and decisions. Acknowledge the crisis and anyone suffering as a result of it, and if needed, take responsibility for any part your organization played. Finally, make a bold commitment to those you serve, and thank your supporters for standing by you.

5) Deliver your message

Depending on the nature of the crisi, you may want to send out a news release and/or hold a press conference. Remember: it’s always better for the news to come from you than your critics. Make the media’s job as easy for them as possible. This gives you more of a shot in controlling the message.

In addition, you need to use social media platforms to get your message out. Blogs, Facebook updates and Twitter micro-blogs are immediate and in real time. They allow you to respond quickly to evolving public concerns, and correct misrepresentations in the meda. If you can, include video and photos as part of your blog or updates. This will put a human face on your organization in its time of crisis.

6) Implement your response

When a crisis goes down, it’s important to act fast. Brief your spokesperson on all facets of the issue. Present the spokesperson to the media as the source of information as early as possible. Keep the media and public well-informed with facts–not opinions or conjecture. Don’t keep them waiting for information; update them early and often.

7) Clean up

Once the crisis dies down, your job isn’t over. Continue to monitor the situation and public discourse, and update key audiences for several months afterward. You may even want to go public with an organization self-assessment–giving the community proof that you take the crisis and their feedback seriously. Show your supporters that you are putting safeguards in place so the situation won’t happen again.

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No one likes to plan for a crisis–it sounds so doom and gloom. Yet, if you don’t take the time for it now, it could mean real trouble later. While a plan may not help you avoid a crisis, it will give you the roadmap you need you manage it quickly and gracefully. Good luck!

Related Articles

• No News is NOT Good News: What Went Wrong with Komen for the Cure (philanthropywriting.com)
• 5 Tips for a Successful Social Media Crisis Response (prnewsonline.com)
• What to Do When a Good Cause Goes Bad (inc.com)
• Komen Kan Kiss My Mammagram, PinActivism, and Newsjacking for a Cause (bethkanter.org)

Bummer for breast cancer screening.

I’m sure you’ve read the news (or at least the tweets) by now.  Yesterday afternoon, the AP reported that Komen for the Cure has decided to halt grants to Planned Parenthood, which were used for breast cancer screening for low-income women. According to the reports, Komen made this decision back in December based on a new policy that prohibits them from granting money to organizations under investigation. Because Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-FL, is investigating whether government money was improperly spent on abortions, Komen said its decision to stop the funding was final.

The controversial news spread crazy fast over traditional news and social media platforms. In the meantime, Komen for the Cure remained curiously quiet for nearly a day. In doing so, they missed an opportunity to strategically respond to the public discourse–or at the very least, save face.

In her blog post today titled The Accidental Rebranding of Komen for the Cure, Kivi Leroux Miller said: “I believe we are witnessing the accidental rebranding of what is surely one of America’s biggest and most well-known, and even well-loved, nonprofit brands. Komen for the Cure, it seems, is no longer a breast cancer charity, but a pro-life breast cancer charity.”

This is a brand they may not have chosen, but one that is now choosing them.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of Life or Choice, there is a good lesson in this for all organizations. Every foundation and nonprofit needs a crisis communications plan–period. Not sure what a crisis communications plan includes? Find out in tomorrow’s post: Developing a Crisis Communications Plan.

Your opinion please! What do you think Komen for the Cure could have done differently to prevent this communications debacle? I’d love to hear your comments.

Fortune Cookie Tells It Like It Is

Here’s an inspiring clip of a 6 year old sharing her concept of a community she will create when she grows up–one that is based on a giving economy. Unstaged, unprepared, just straight from the heart…enjoy and Happy 2012.

Here are my Top 4 Picks for Charitable Chocolate this season. Enjoy!

1. In the market for straight-up chocolate bars? Buy fair-trade chocolate from companies that make sure small-scale farmers receive higher and more stable prices for their cocoa. My favorites include Equal Exchange (try the Organic Chocolate Caramel Crunch with Sea Salt – pure love) and Alter Eco Fair Trade (Organic Dark Quinoa Chocolate – can you say superfood?)

2. Need a last-minute holiday treat for your friends or clients? Baking for Good sells gourmet cookies and brownies, delivered all over the country. Here’s the kicker: 15% of the net proceeds from every purchase supports a charity you choose. That’s right. So not only are you able to sample from rich chocolate brownies,  oatmeal or chai sandwich cookies or (say it with me…) WHOOPIE PIES, you can do so for cause close to your heart. The company partners with a number of nonprofits serving the environment, the  arts, kids, health, human rights, hunger – you name it. (Speaking of hunger…they also offer vegan and gluten-free cookies as well – citrus, granola, peanut butter…mmm.)

3. There’s nothing like home sweet home, especially when it involves cookies. Dancing Deer Baking Company launched the Sweet Home Project – their way of helping to end family homelessness. Buy a Sweet Home gift or goodies, and the company (in partnership with One Family, Inc.) will donate 35% of the retail price directly to scholarships to homeless parents and their children, helping them find education, jobs and move into houses of their own. I like the “Sweet Home Pick,” which includes a Dark Chocolate House Cookie, Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake (serves 6-8) and 16 Molasses Clove Cookies ($39.95). Yum!

4. Everyday choices really make a difference, including what we choose to snack on. Instead of grabbing any old energy bar, you can now go for one that feeds your hunger as well as others’. For every Two Degrees bar you buy, the company donates a meal to a hungry child. Their mission is to empower consumers to help feed 200 million children through just two degrees of separation. (Wonder what Kevin Bacon would say about this…?) I love these bars – they come in Chocolate Peanut, Cherry Almond and Apple Pecan, are chock full of real fruits, nuts and whole grains. You can buy a box of 9 for $19.95, or buy them individually at stores like Whole Foods.

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Am I missing any cool, conscious companies that give people one more reason to eat chocolate? (…as if you need another reason.)  Let me hear from you! I look forward to your comments.

Happy holidays everyone – and happy chocolate.

There’s good news for school gardens out there. FoodCorps and the Whole Kids Foundation have teamed up to offer a School Garden Grant Program – providing $2,000 grants to support up to 1,000 school garden projects across the country.

Seeds, shovels, irrigation equipment, hoop house materials…what could your local school use to help its garden grow?

If you know of a school in need, act fast. The deadline is December 31st to apply. Click here to read all the details.

Haven’t heard of FoodCorps? Think of it along the lines of an AmeriCorp aimed at helping kids stay healthy. FoodCorps places motivated leaders in limited-resource communities for a year of public service, where they:

• Deliver hands-on nutrition education

• Build and tend school gardens

• Bring high-quality local food into public school cafeterias

As someone that grew up on tater tots, cardboard pizza and ice-cream sandwiches in our school’s cafeteria….I find it heartwarming to see that kids these days are given access to real food and the hands-on knowledge for how to grow it.

Good luck if you apply for a grant! Keep me posted.

How often do we take a moment to thank the water for showing up at all?

Yesterday I filmed an interview with British Pagan and religious scholar Graham Harvey, who wrote the book Animism: Respecting the Living World (2006). Animism is the view that all beings (human as well as non-human, that is…think animals, rocks, trees, mountains…and yes, water) are living beings. This worldview is very much alive and seems obvious to many native cultures, and yet somehow, we’ve forgotten.

There are small ways to give gratitude, and begin a much-needed process of remembering. All beings in nature, whether they have a heartbeat or not, are animate subjects, worthy of our acknowledgment and respect.

Try this: Tomorrow morning, take a walk outside (even if it’s raining). As you take a deep breath in, give your thanks to the clean air that’s so willing and available to share itself with you. As you exhale, remind yourself that your breath is giving life to the plants to the right and left of you, and the grass beneath your feet. Those plants are then regenerating the oxygen that you need to continue breathing.

You can continue to thank the birds that are flying above you, the crunch of the autumn leaves rustling on the sidewalk, the squirrels that scurry up the nearest tree. Thank them for being alive, for doing their part to help sustain the ecosystem. (All this might sound a little airy-fairy, but try it anyway. Think of it as actually being as down-to-earth as it gets.)

If you say your thanks out loud, that’s even better. (Don’t worry about getting strange looks from your neighbors.) Sure enough, you may notice that the breeze kicks up and starts rustling the trees, or the birds fly a little closer to you, or crow in your direction. Somehow, nature will respond to you giving thanks – just watch.

When you nurture and cherish what is right before you, it expands before your very eyes. In other words, what you appreciate appreciates.

This goes for water, soil, vegetables – even the Turkey you’re roasting and dressing for dinner. If we take time to recognize and honor all beings in nature (human and non-human), we can begin to see how inter-connected we really are. This is true prosperity.

Happy Thanksgiving.

What are some of the simple things you’re grateful for? How are you showing your gratitude today?

As some of you may know, I’m a big fan of food. Not just your average “I like to eat, and eat well…” type of fan, but as a Certified Natural Foods Chef (my full-time hobby), I spend a LOT of time thinking about food. Namely, how to get the freshest, most beautiful, health-focused real food to my table and the tables of others–but also how to do it in the least harmful, most sustainable way.

Here in the Bay Area, we are blessed to live in a land of rich soil and beautiful bounty. It’s easy to get mesmerized by the bright greens and reds and purples at the Farmer’s Market, the ripples of fresh kale or that first crunch of a Honeycrisp Apple. So much so, in fact, that it’s hard to think far beyond the short-term “What’s for dinner?”

But there’s a more important question to ask. And frankly, it’s one that none of us can afford to ignore.

“What will happen to our food?”

Our food supply system is badly broken. You’ve heard the alarming statistics, I’m sure. Some of the more recent ones I’ve read come from Mark Bittman’s blog (Bittman is an Opinion Columnist for the New York Times) in a letter he reprinted by George Faison. Among the most compelling:

• There are now nearly 5 million fewer American farmers since the 1930s
• The variety of crops produced around the world has diminished dramatically in the last 60 years
• 70 percent of the antibiotics used in this country are fed to the animals we eat (a practice that was banned in Europe). 70 percent!

In 1960, Americans spent 18 percent of our take home pay on food and 5 percent on health care. Now we spend 9 percent of our take home pay on food and upwards of 17 percent on health care. What’s wrong with this picture?

Now I don’t like being someone who rattles off a bunch of grim statistics without offering some stab at a solution. The truth is, food is a complex issue, and I don’t know what the answers are. But I want to learn.

Funders Coming to the Table

Thankfully, a growing number of funders have taken interest in our food system and its interconnectedness with health, environmental justice and community issues. Realizing this is not a problem only one foundation or group can solve, many have come together to leverage funds and learning around the issue. Here are a few examples:

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders

Started in 1991, SAFSF is an international network of grantmakers working to share learning and communication around sustainable agriculture and food systems. The group offers grantmakers opportunities to convene, collaborate and increase awareness of the issues as well as funding needs, including sustainable food production, food systems, environmental stewardship, diet and health and the viability of rural communities. They list many helpful resources on their website, including The Farm Bill Policy Primer for Funders (2011).

In addition to the national SAFSF network, a handful of regional initiatives have emerged, including:

Roots of Change

California-based Roots of Change leverages the resources of multiple donors who want to make an impact on the future of agriculture and healthy food. Through convening, online communication, contracts, fellowships and grants, the network includes participants focused on diverse issues, including ecology, finance or health; food production, farm worker rights, nutritious food access for schools and low-income communities. Core funders include The Clarence E. Heller Foundation, the Columbia Foundation, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Fresh Taste Initiative

Fresh Taste was started by a group of foundations in Chicago. They are particularly interested in supporting business ventures, such as food distributors that would serve local and regional networks of farmers. Funders include the Chicago Community Trust, the Lumpkin Family Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, and more.

Community Food Funders (a project of North Star Fund)

Just formed! In October 2011, North Star Fund, New York’s community foundation supporting grassroots groups leading the movement for equality, economic justice and peace, announced its formation of Community Food Funders (CFF), which will support the growth of an equitable, ecologically sound and sustainable food system in New York, New Jersey and southern Connecticut. The CFF steering committee includes grantmakers from The Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, North Star Fund, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and The New World Foundation.

In addition to these three listed, a number of other regional and local grantmakers have affinity groups related to food systems in their communities, including The Vermont Food Funders’ Network, The Delaware Valley Grantmakers’ Food Funders Affinity Group and the The Appalachia Funders’ Network.

It seems that more funders are ready to feed change. I hope this trend continues.  What funding groups or initiatives do you know about that I’m missing here? Drop me a line and let me know.

Want to know more? Here’s an interesting article written by Debra E. Blum in 2010: Food-and-Farm Philanthropy Locally and Nationally: Ready to Take Bold Steps to Effect Big Change.