– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2019 –
VEGFUND CELEBRATES 10TH YEAR SUPPORTING VEGAN ADVOCATES
Vegan Grant-Making Organization Grows its Impact Around the World
Washington, DC: For 10 years, VegFund has been growing the vegan movement by providing the funding and tools activists need for successful vegan outreach activities and campaigns.
The story of VegFund begins with a provocative question. In 2008, Zia Terhune wrote to the Gainesville Sun asking why readers were not outraged by the horrific slaughter of billions of farm animals in the same way that they were outraged by Michael Vick and the horrors of dogfighting.
Zia also invited readers to a vegan community potluck so that they could experience for themselves that their food does not need to come from violence. A benefactor approached Zia about expanding her outreach, and in the next 10 years, Zia’s efforts, in fact, grew to a global scale.
Since its founding in 2009 as a nonprofit organization, VegFund continues to support food sampling events and has expanded to fund film screenings, festivals and fairs, learning events, online campaigns, and many forms of innovative outreach. VegFund has awarded $12,674,310 in grants to more than 3,000 grantees in 76 countries.
VegFund grantees have conducted 7,270 vegan outreach events, distributed 1,189,987 vegan food samples, and reached more than 15,000,000 people with a vegan message.
Grantee Mike Trabert, of Animal Equality, says: “VegFund’s support of our work has been absolutely critical. It’s helped us reach tens of thousands of people with our investigation footage. It’s helped people understand what we do, and it’s helped really empower activists all over the world as well as the eight countries that we are in. So, I just want to thank VegFund for their support. It’s been absolutely amazing.”
In recent years, Executive Director Leslie Barcus has expanded the VegFund team to further drive its goal of empowering vegan advocates worldwide.
Leslie says: “As VegFund’s first decade draws to a close, our staff offers thanks to every vegan activist who steps forward, in ways large and small, with hope and optimism in the fight for animals, the environment, and human health. We are profoundly grateful to our board members past and present, our funders, and all who have volunteered their ideas, time, and support to ready VegFund for its second decade.”
This year, in preparation for the next decade, VegFund welcomed its first Director of Development, Alison Miller.
Alison says: “We are so proud of our grantees. Their stories inspire us every day. Activists who reach out to their communities create a ripple effect that can change the whole paradigm. This is the goal of VegFund. A vegan world. An end to unnecessary animal suffering. A sustainable planet. A healthier human population.”
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About VegFund: VegFund exists to support vegan advocates in their efforts to inform the public about the benefits of vegan living. VegFund provides grant funding for food sampling, film screenings, vegfests and health fairs, conferences, learning events, and innovative outreach. VegFund also develops training for activists, curates the very best resources available on plant-based living and effective advocacy, and facilitates information sharing among activists in the vegan community.
For media inquiries, contact: Kari Hallenburg, Director of Communications, kari@vegfund.org.