Hello, I am coming to you from r/vegan where I've grown increasingly frustrated with the existing hyper-emotional, rhetorical, and black-and-white perspectives. Animal advocacy is really important to me, and I've considered dedicating my life to the cause in one way or another. My frustration with the vegan movement is that it tends to be extremely conformist and isolating, such that it repeatedly does more harm than good for the cause. There is a reason the "angry vegan" trope is so popular and so often mocked. Something else that frustrates me is the difficulty in finding safe and meaningful community within these spaces, where any questioning is met vitriol and shame-based argument (this is highly distressing to me), even if you are a vegan or aspiring vegan.

I am trying to find a space where I can build community with open-minded and compassionate vegans (or animal advocates), and also a space where we can explore different advocacy methods that are the most impactful. I think this might be a great space, but I am sad to see there is very little participation. Does anyone have interest in reviving the sub? We can discuss strategies to recruit more vocal participants!

High Impact Professionals is excited to announce that applications are open for the next round of our Impact Accelerator Program (IAP). 

The IAP is a free, cause area agnostic, 6-week program designed to equip experienced (mid-career/senior) impact-focused professionals not currently working at a high-impact organization with the knowledge and tools necessary to make a meaningful impact and empower them to start taking actionable steps right away. 

✅ The IAP is set up to help participants:

• identify paths to impact, 
• take concrete, impactful actions, and
• join a network of like-minded, experienced, and supportive impact-focused professionals.

🗓️ Important Dates

• Deadline to apply: Sunday, December 15 → Apply here
• Program duration: 6 weeks (week of February 10, 2025 – week of March 17, 2025)​

📋 Format

• Weekly individual work (2–3 hours). A mix of:
  • Learning: Reading resources on how to think about and prioritize different options for impact
  • Doing: Taking impactful actions, such as developing your own personalized impact plan and taking concrete steps to begin implementing it
• Virtual group sessions (1.5 hours of discussions and coaching)
  • Includes mastermind sessions where each member of the cohort has the opportunity to present their plans, obstacles, and uncertainties and get in-depth, tailored feedback
• 1-on-1 sessions with IAP facilitators
• Extracurricular sessions: The possibility of extra sessions on topics defined by the needs of the cohort (e.g., financial considerations, networking)
• Post-program support sessions: Access additional group sessions in the months following the program to maintain momentum and continue implementing your plan

🚀 Apply now

If you know anyone for whom the IAP could be a good fit, please share this information with them!

Any comments or questions? Please reach out to us via our website.

New research from Faunalytics shows how conservative political values in the United States can align with initiatives to help animals at both the state and national levels. The report identifies which animal causes are most likely to gain support from conservative lawmakers, and offers guidance on how to frame messaging to better influence cultural change and encourage pro-animal actions among conservatives.

Animal protection goals can align with many values important to U.S. conservatives, according to this new research, which included an analysis of 71 conservative values and issues. Faunalytics found that 22 of these values could help animal advocates frame animal issues in ways that resonate across political lines. Key values include health, economic fairness, freedom of speech, and family and community. 

When considering new legislation, Republican lawmakers are often most influenced by economic arguments, such as concerns over taxpayer money wasted on unnecessary animal research. However, conservative priorities like economic freedom and constitutional rights can sometimes conflict with animal protection efforts. While legislation supporting companion animals tends to gain the most support from Republicans, there has also been some backing for bills related to wild and farmed animals, suggesting potential for bipartisan progress.

Key findings and recommendations, including details on how to apply these findings, can be found in the full report: https://faunalytics.org/bridging-u-s-conservative-values-and-animal-protection/

Faunalytics is now hiring a research director! As one of the leaders of our organization, the Research Director is responsible for our Original Research and Research Support programs. Read our job posting to learn more about the position and how to apply. https://faunalytics.org/job-posting-research-director/ 

The nonprofit sector accounts for over 12 million U.S. jobs, and yet access to reliable compensation data is rather limited for social service organizations, especially for niche sectors like animal protection. To help ensure pay equity, new research from non-profit research organization Faunalytics explores salaries, benefits, and attitudes towards pay in the farmed animal protection movement. 

After reviewing nearly 400 jobs from 40 U.S. organizations, the study found that marginalized individuals working for farmed animal advocacy organizations (BIPOC, disabled, or LGBTQ2IA+ people) only earned 85 cents to the dollar as compared to non-marginalized employees. This pay gap was statistically significant, even when accounting for job level and years of experience. Marginalized people are more likely to want to leave the movement for better pay: 45% of them would be open to doing so, as compared to 29% of non-marginalized individuals. 

While this pay gap is not unique to farmed animal protection organizations, this groundbreaking study unearths the data necessary to make improvements for nonprofit employees. The report offers a detailed salary breakdown — which includes salary percentiles by job level and type, organizational revenue size, comparisons to other nonprofit sectors, and more — is a must-read for any leader looking for reliable benchmarks to make informed decisions for their staff.

“This study is critical to ensuring the animal protection movement can become more equitable,” says Dr. Andrea Polanco, lead author of the study, “we can’t create fair pay practices without first knowing how much we pay people in the movement.” The report comes complete with a cost-of-turnover calculator which can be used by non-profit leaders to estimate how expensive it is to replace employees, some of whom might leave jobs for higher pay. Polanco adds that she hopes this report will encourage funders and executive directors to support animal nonprofits in creating salaries on par with the whole nonprofit sector. 

High Impact Professionals is excited to announce that applications are open for the next round of our Impact Accelerator Program (IAP). 

The IAP is a free, cause area agnostic, 6-week program designed to equip experienced (mid-career/senior) impact-focused professionals not currently working at a high-impact organization with the knowledge and tools necessary to make a meaningful impact and empower them to start taking actionable steps right away. 

✅ The IAP is set up to help participants:

• identify paths to impact, 
• take concrete, impactful actions, and
• join a network of like-minded, experienced, and supportive impact-focused professionals.

🗓️ Important Dates

• Deadline to apply: Thursday, September 5 → Apply here
• Program duration: 6 weeks (week of October 28 – week of December 2, 2024)​

📋 Format

• Weekly individual work (2–3 hours). A mix of:
  • Learning: Reading resources on how to think about and prioritize different options for impact
  • Doing: Taking impactful actions, such as developing your own personalized impact plan and taking concrete steps to begin implementing it
• Virtual group sessions (1.5 hours of discussions and coaching)
  • Includes mastermind sessions where each member of the cohort has the opportunity to present their plans, obstacles, and uncertainties and get in-depth, tailored feedback
• 1-on-1 sessions with IAP facilitators
• Extracurricular sessions: The possibility of extra sessions on topics defined by the needs of the cohort (e.g., financial considerations, networking)
• Post-program support sessions: Access additional group sessions in the months following the program to maintain momentum and continue implementing your plan

🚀 Apply now

If you know anyone for whom the IAP could be a good fit, please share this information with them!

Any comments or questions? Please reach out to us via our website.