Nonprofits and Food Production

I’ve decided that I would like to write my paper about Nonprofits and the food industry.  Inspired by recently watching the movie “Food, Inc” and becoming absolutely enamored with the whole loc-a-vore movement in Eugene, I feel that this paper would be an excellent way to explore the ways in which nonprofits could be set in place to help our nation become healtheir and more sustainable in our food production.

While the primary focus of this essay will be about exploring nonprofits that deal with food and how they are contributing to feeding the population, I will also want to explore how food related nonprofits could be used to create sustainable communities.  In continuing the theme of my blog, I believe that nonprofits can be set in place to develop local sustainable food companies that can decrease are dependence for imports, and create a healthier and safer living environment.

I’ve just thought of this idea, and there are a lot of details that need to be worked out, so after I meet Sarah I will hopefully have a better grasp of this project.

Until next time!

(sources)

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html

http://www.foodcrisisinamerica.com/

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_4654.shtml

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/the_food_crisis_1.html

http://justcauseit.com/blogs/skye-kilaen/rising-food-prices-mean-nonprofits-get-creative

Designing Our Future

Before every great story there is a great vision that preceeds the action.  Before every great product, there is designer working his magic behind the scenes.  In addition, before every potentially sustainable city, there are creative minds dreaming up new ways for our population to live.  Art is everywhere, whether we choose to admit it or not, and I believe that nonprofit groups that work for the arts serve an amazing purpose for the community and our world at large.

A book I’ve been reading in my spare time is called “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel H. Pink.  A particular quote that jumps out at me is when Pink writes: “I think designers are the alchemists of the future.”  What’s an Alchemist, you’re wondering?  In a nutshell, Alchemists are artists who seek to create the mythical “Great Work” which is transmuting base metals into gold.  This, of course, is symbology, as the highest alchemy refers to the great work of turning a normal human soul into an enlightened being.

I made SOMETHING out of NOTHING!

This transmutation of basically “something” out of “nothing” is Art.  Creating things is an artistic endevour, and one that our materialistic capitalist consumer based economy is quite good at.  So what does all this talk of alchemy have to do with nonprofits and the future?  Everything, I would argue.  Some people are born artists, while some people have absolutely no idea to their potential.  With art being cut of of schools, as I discussed previously, we can see that our art ‘instinct’ is being surpressed.

Thankfully, there are wonderful organizations that encourage people to create art and explore the possibilities of their minds.  The point is that art is an important, vital, and essential aspect of being a human.  O’Niel writes: “One study, for example, showed that arts organizations in San Francisco drew more costomers in 1985 than the combined attendance of the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, the Oakland Raiders, the Oakland Athletics, and the Golden State Warriors (159).”  That’s pretty impressive, and a testament to the power that art has.

The point is that art needs to be cultivated into the minds of our youth, and not surpressed for economic reasons.  More so now than ever, creative expression and understanding are going to be vital in our progress as a species.  For example, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but the world is running out of gas… FAST, and we are going to have to creatively reason our way out of this mess.

We can think back to what Pink wrote about Alchemists, and their impact on the future.  They create gold out of basically nothing, and the situation we find ourselves in is very similar.  When all our fuel runs out, when we realize that globalized agrabusiness is destroying the planet, or we realistically think about economic development in a new way, creative people will lead us into the new world.  We will have to tell our statistical left brain to make way for our creative consciousness to raise up into the world and solve these problems.

Nonprofits that support the arts understand the need for art, and keep the torch of creativity alive through government funding when schools cop out.  It is essential that we support nonprofits for the arts to assist our family and friends into a creative awakening to give our species the help it needs to solve these grand dillemas.  Because right now, we need this creativity more than ever.

The Future of Education

Public education, as part of the non-profit sector, is extremelly important for our country and the individual community.  Where would we be without it?  It is plain to see what happens to communities who’s education programs are underfunded, be it through increased crime rates or higher levels of poverty.  Public education is something that is vital to shaping a solid community, and if we are to progress towards a better future, policy will have to be set in place to give more funding to education programs.

As a philosophy major, I tend to look at things from an inquisitive perspective.  I view education like the foundation of a building, and we all know that without the proper foundation, a building is bound to fall.  Education has the potential to build a solid base for an individual to thrive in his or her community and become a productive member of society.  For this reason, it is vital that we approach an education cirriculum, as well as the funding of the specific program, from a perspective that allows us to produce well rounded students who may thrive in all positive aspects of society.

Restricting education funding in a community is similar to a species going extinct in nature.  If one species dies out, it effects the food supply of another, which in turn effects the livelyhood of another species, and the domino effect continues.  The entire ecosystem gets thrown off balance from the absence of one vital piece of the puzzle, and  the education system is the same way.  Take education away from children, and that leads to bad choices.  Bad choices lead to unsafe communities full of poverty and drug use, and the downward spiral continues.

Policy must be in place to assure that this doesn’t happen.  There is no solid way to compensate for a lack of education in terms of mitigating resources to offset the damage done to a community by the lack of an education.  Education is key for thriving communities, and all children must be able to have the right to experience a well rounded education.

Education is Vital for an Active Mind

It is not just your basic math, science, and reading cirriculum which must be set in place, but that of a wholesome education which nourishes all aspects of the mind.  I’m mainly refering here to art and music, which school boards seem to cut first when the funds start running dry.  It is so unfortunate that this is the case, because without creativity, the motivation to excell seems to dwindle away, at least in my perspective.  We need only to look at schools which have cut programs like these to see the effects on students and their community.

Of course, you can’t mention education without also talking about the private sector.  Private education is a possible solution to helping communities thrive towards a better future, but unfortunately the cost of attending these schools can sometimes be very high.  An interesting aspect of private education is how many institutions are associated with religion.  I was surprised to hear professor Choquette talk about how the attendance of these schools is decreasing in tandem to that of a decreased attendance to church.

Is this good or bad?  In my opinion I feel that it can be positive, as I do not support schools with a religious undertone.  I also think that it shows another interesting aspect of this issue;  people are not interested in paying for a specialized education when the option for public education, and should be in place.  I feel that more funding needs to be place on creating a better education system for our youth that is accessible to everybody.  If we do this, we can work towards a better future by starting from the ground up, and in reality, all change has to start from the ground level.

Religion and Social Services

Communities in both a local perspective and global perspective are often faced with class struggle, and a large distinction between those who have much, and those who have very little.  The charity work of religious organizations, as well as the benefit provided by social services, are essential tools in the United States for assisting those who are in need.  Organizations, when managed properly, are absolutely vital in bringing us to a more positive future, and require our donations to stay healthy and beneficial to all communities.

Religion is absolutely huge in the United States, with around 375,000 different religious organizations (according to the textbook Nonprofit Nation).  All of these religions are elgible for tax exempt status, with many of them doing humanitarian work on both a national and global level.  Religion, being identified as a nonprofit, has an amazing potential to create positive global change through contributions from members and supporters.

I found it interesting that religious organizations, unlike traditional nonprofits, are not required to submit financial reports to the IRS.  It makes me wonder if some religious organizations would abuse their tax exempt status because they don’t have to submit this report.  Either way, lets hope that this isn’t the case!  With so much support and revenue with religious organizations in the United States, much humanitarian work has been done around the world in the name of religious beliefs.

With over 170 million members, it is interesting to see how important religious organizations are to the United States.  I can only hope that those in charge of these religions take their position very seriously and continue to give more and more to charitable donations.  With such support, it is a positive sign for the future that religion has the potential to create a great positive change in the world.  I hope that this charitable work does not get overshadowed with religious messages, and instead simply relies on the message that it is good to help those in need.

Next we have social services, which encapsualte a huge portion of the nonprofit sector.  Where would we be without organizations like the Red Cross, YMCA, or the Salvation Army?  The benefit that these organizations give to the community is immeasurable, and one that cannot be taken for granted.

Social service organizations are vital to creating a better future, because they provide an essential need to those who are needing support.  Where a business would charge for something like sporting activities, the YMCA provides it for free.  This is of great value because these organizations understand these specific services as not luxury for those who can afford it, but vital for building strong communities, and strengthening the bonds within.

I feel that more people need to realize that these nonprofit organizations are essential for all communities, and not just the lower class.  While it is true that there are alternatives to things like the YMCA, which can be paid for at higher costs, the community bonding associated with these organizations is essential in that they do not discriminate to who can participate.  It is important that we all feel a sense of community and dignity with how we treat each other if we are to come to a better future with less inequality among those who have much, and those who have little.

Just like churces and their charitable work for the communities, social service organizations provide an equally valid and important service.  It is this act of providing for those in need that comes from the heart, and needs continued support from doners.  Social services are a very good method of providing for communities, and they most definetly lead to a better future if handled correctly.

Introduction Post

Welcome to Nonprofit Future! This blog is associated with PPPM 280: Introduction to Nonprofit Sector.

Nonprofits can lead to a better future for the planet!

Why Nonprofit Future you ask? Whenever I take a class or read something, I always tend think about how the topic I’m learning will affect the future. And I always wonder if that change will be positive or negative. And it seems to me that the nonprofit sector is a good way to bring us to a future that will benefit everyone. How we can get to this positive future through nonprofits is what I will be exploring.

Hi, I'm Tristan!

To introduce myself, my name is Tristan Gruener, and I am a senior at the University of Oregon. I am a philosophy major who is minoring in PPPM (Planning Public Policy and Management). To me, philosophy and PPPM go hand in hand, because I feel that if we are to make changes that will contribute positively to the future, we should have a little philosophical grounding on what exactly is good for people. I have no experience in any nonprofit organizations yet, but I hope to someday. I feel that nonprofits, if organized properly with an excellent vision, can help the world grow in a positive way that will greatly benefit society. In this class I hope to learn how nonprofits work, and how they are working towards making the world a better place. I also hope to learn how policy is set in place to ensure that nonprofits have the ability to flourish with a well defined vision.

Professor Choquette said it best when he said that “Businesses are started with your head, and Nonprofits are started with your heart.” I was somewhat aware of this, but I was surprised by the sheer amount of nonprofits that exist. It was stated in class that for about every 330 people there is a nonprofit! I had no idea it was that high. While it’s true that many of these nonprofits only exist on paper for the tax exempt status, it is very promising to me that the number of overall nonprofits is on the high side, and not the low one.

Another interesting thing that I learned was that nonprofits are kept in check by the IRS. The reason for this is that a lot of people try to setup fake nonprofits in order to avoid paying taxes. The job of the IRS is keep tabs on all these nonprofits and make sure that everything is in order to make sure that people aren’t abusing this system.

The United States is, by the way, the only country to have such a dedicated system of nonprofit organizations. This is very interesting to me because it makes me feel that all the groundwork in is place for the United State to become a more powerful humanitarian nation, which is something that I hope the United States becomes in the future.

In addition, another interesting thing that I read in the book Nonprofit Nation is that a major resource for nonprofits is volunteer work. This ties back into what professor Choquette said about nonprofits being started with the heart instead of the head. I feel this because I believe that people want to help their community, and world at large. Nonprofits, thanks to the system in place, allows individuals a way to channel that helping energy towards a great cause that is appropriately managed by the board of directors of a specific nonprofit.

I’m looking towards a positive future, and so far the things that I’ve learned about nonprofits makes me believe that even better things are to come if more of us focus on being productive with our heads instead of our hearts. I’m excited to report back to you my thoughts on the information that I learn in this class, and how a future with the vision of many nonprofit organizations will help the world for the better.

See ya next time!