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Melissa Martin
Melissa will present at 36th World Vegetarian Congress the following talk: -
Changing with the Times: The New Face of Vegetarian Organizations (The following is a list which compares outdated strategies by organizations to the Vegetarian Solutions' model. I will be using these specific examples and strategies in the presentation): 1. Newsletters online instead of mailing informational monthly newsletters to members 2. Inclusive approach with a focus on helping mainstream reduce meat consumption instead of having an exclusive group focused on member benefits 3. Collaboration with environmental, animal rights, health, religious groups (working "for" common goals instead of fighting "against" opposite views) 4.
Use a community calendar to share information/events instead of having 5. Dinner meetings held in local restaurants instead of potluck dinners 6. Minimum number of Board members for more efficiency in decision-making 7. Targeting leaders to help spread the message to their clients/members instead of targeting the masses yourself 8. Honing in on volunteers' individualized skills instead of overwhelming them with tasks for which they have no passion or prior knowledge 9. Tracking progress via the internet in order to continue doing things which are successful and not repeating what is not yielding the best results 10. Focusing on past successes to build better relations with sponsors instead of begging for support 11. Sponsorship versus membership 12. Helping to change policies and practices from the inside instead of protesting from the outside 13. Polishing your image to better market your organization 14. Reducing operational costs 15. Making the most of your resources Vegetarian
Solutions |
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Melissa
Martin is Executive Director of Vegetarian Solutions, a non-profit organization
based in Atlanta, Georgia. She co-founded Vegetarian Solutions in 2000,
which now receives over 62,000 hits per month on the web site and is
invited
to community events such as health and environmental fairs to distribute
information about vegetarianism. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese and
English and translated Vegan Outreach's pamphlet "Why Vegan"
into Spanish, which is now being distributed internationally.