*Thrive grantees, staff, board from 16+ countries.*

Meeting in Person

When working in an international organization, it's always a rare pleasure to meet in person. Recently Thrive CEO, board, staff, grantees, and accelerator members from 16 countries and 5 continents at AVA International Summit in Toronto!

First we met for, what has become, our annual Thrive Family Photo! Where we had food systems changemakers across across 5 continents - Brazil, China, Chile, Romania, Argentina, Canada, USA, Liberia, Uganda, Tanzania, Greece, Mexico, France, Lithuania, Asia-wide, and UK.

Including grantees and accelerator members: ACIA in Romania, VegOttowa, Animal Interseccional in Argentina, Plant-Based Canada, Education for Africa Animal Welfare in Tanzania, Uganda Vegan Society, Augalyn in Lithuania, AEVM in Mexico, Animal Alliance Asia, Vegan Life Greece, GenV Mexico, Tailored Foods in Liberia. As well as board members Lauren Kohler in USA, Marcela Borges from Brazil, Taylor Quinn from Canada/Liberia, Hannah Tookey from UK, and CEO Jessika Ava.

Reverse Pitch Session

We also piloted a new concept of flipping the typical grantor/grantee pitch dynamic and Thrive pitched to organizations rather than them pitching to us!
We wanted to share the Thrive Philanthropy grant and capacity opportunities with as many groups as possible and rather than having to navigate the anxiety that groups commonly feel when pitching to a grantmaker for the first time, we wanted to try something different, so Thrive CEO brought everyone into the same room and I did the pitch instead! This way we started the relationship on an even playing field and built trust and community in the process.

We pitched about Thrive Philanthropy, Thrive Africa, grants, training accelerators, and fiscal sponsorship, so that organizations can decide for themselves if Thrive is a good fit for them and if it's worth their time to invest in us or not.

28% of the Global Board Meets in Person!

Finally, 28% of Thrive Philanthropy global Board of Directors got the rare chance to meet in person! One day we aim to get the entire board in the same room, but working with a board from every continent except Antartica, 28% is also good!

With an organization like Thrive that supports the global movement to accelerate alternatives to factory farming across half the world's countries and growing, it's important to have an international board of directors. In total, we're 14 members from 7 countries.
Four members, plus Thrive’s CEO, got to meet in person including Marcela Borges from Brazil, Hannah Tookey from UK, Taylor Quinn from Canada, and Lauren Kohler from USA.