The “Living the Food Charter” blog series is a “30 minutes or less” assignment we gave ourselves to help connect the LA Community Food Charter to our daily lives. Please excuse the casualness with which they are composed. We hope you enjoy!
Here we are in the ‘giving season’. Can we all make financial gifts? Should we? Why should we? I think about these questions every year. I have worked in the nonprofit sector for 30 years (yikes!). I know why it is important; every single gift, be it $5.00 or $500, REALLY does make a difference. Not only does it help to support great programs and projects but it enables staff to be paid a livable or fair wage; one of the GFCLA’s stated values in the L-A Community Food Charter under Local and Sustainable Agriculture.
It also gives organizations the opportunity to identify those that care about their work. Knowing who cares about the work of your organization and creating a relationship with that person can help an organization do its work even better. The ability to hear how others perceive your work and to learn about what the impact of that work might be on their lives is critically important. Making a financial gift also tells the organization that you believe in what they are doing; we all need to know we have people behind us. So, in this season of giving find an organization that is doing the work that you care about; write them a note, send them a few dollars and be partners in helping them make a difference. Thank you!
Author Bio:
Deborah Morrill Burd has served on the Good Food Council of Lewiston-Auburn since 2012. She is currently the Grants Manager for St. Mary’s Health System’s Development Office in Lewiston, Maine. She is responsible for building and maintaining the system’s grant seeking, writing, and research program. She is a founding member of the Maine Women’s Agricultural Network and GrowSmart Maine and has formerly served as a trustee of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, on the board of CEI, the Spannocchia Foundation and the Center for Wisdom’s Women. Currently, Deb is on the board of the Maine Women’s Lobby, the Friends of Lewiston Public Library and on the Steering Committee of the Maine Food Strategy. Deb worked previously as the Executive Director of the Maine based Western Mountains Alliance and more recently as the Executive Director of the New York based National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. Deb lives in Lewiston and is a graduate of the University of Maine with a background in education.