MadTree Brewing Company’s Post

When I made the leap from high net worth fundraising to starting Green Heffa Farms, I assumed my friends and family would naturally be my biggest supporters. They’d show up, share posts, and buy products without hesitation. But the reality was different. I soon found that invitations to gatherings dried up, phone calls became less frequent, and people who I thought would cheer me on were surprisingly silent. My products weren't even in their tea cabinets. I admit, I questioned if I made the right decision. I could always return to environmental fundraising full time but that also meant returning to another possibly toxic environment which I felt was riskier for my wellbeing. Yet, as Green Heffa Farms' brand grew, something unexpected happened: my truest support started coming from strangers—people I’d never met who believed in my vision, shared my values, and wanted to see an environmentally-minded business that believes in equitable treatment of humans succeed. We began to be invited into different rooms and having bigger conversations. I began to realize that true support isn’t about proximity. It’s about alignment. It’s about showing up and being there even when it’s not convenient or socially expected. When you’re building something new, something that others don’t fully understand, respect, or even deem “risky,” it’s often strangers who become your advocates and turn into your strongest community. And it would be remiss not to mention that many of the less enlightened still think of farmers as uneducated, primitive labor and aren't aware of how magnificent it is for a Black woman to build a vertically scaled wellness brand without any investment dollars because she wants her community to have access to top quality herbs grown with their wellbeing in mind. I didn't know it when I started but my "grow slow so I don't owe" approach was a gift to my future self. And now that my hotline is blinging once again, I am very selective about which calls I answer. So if you’re out here, building a dream, and wondering why those closest to you are the quietest, know this: sometimes your people aren’t the ones you grew up with or shared countless moments with—they’re the ones you haven’t met yet. There are good people out here. I know because many of them who were once strangers are now our customers and partners. Keep building. Keep believing. Because when your name starts coming up in the right rooms, and your work speaks for itself, you’ll discover that support, though unexpected, is still very real. On another note: Aren't we farmer-fashionable in our Dovetail Workwear? It’s quality you can depend one. Learn more about this fave workwear brand and my role as a brand ambassador here: https://lnkd.in/e2h2JCZi Use CHANGEISGOOD to save 10% off your order at Green Heffa Farms. #Entrepreneurship #Farmer #CEO #GreenHeffaFarms #Herbs #Naturalwellness

The Dipping Spoon Mission is identifying and cultivating the next generation of Indigenous Youth to become Culinary Rockstars by creating access to inclusive and dynamic FoodSTEM programs rooted in Cultural Identity, Food Sovereignty, Food Science and Math.  We do this by offering shifting culture and offering monumental access to all the avenues which food touches, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math and for dessert, Public Policy, sprinkled with Equity.  Dipping Spoon Foundation is an Indigenous founded and led Nonprofit Hospitality Agency servicing the luxury needs of our future beneficiaries, Indigenous Youth. Our North Star is fueled by access, representation and cultural identity. We envision a global world where all Indigenous youth champion their culture, ancestral blueprint to rebel against institutional boundaries to become creative entrepreneurial culinary rockstars through Food, Science, Media, Design and Public Policy. To Champion Culture and Rebel Against Boundaries. 

Incredible brand showing how to have integrity, creativity, and brand authenticity. Brands like this make me feel good about buying from them because I know they’re not greenwashing or manipulating me into purchasing their goods. In my opinion this is the gold standard of an honestly run sustainable brand.

Season 2 of the OpenAI saga continues to deliver fascinating insights about the importance, and limitations, of corporate ownership structures! Grab some popcorn🍿   In season 1, when Sam Altman was fired and then re-hired by the non-profit board of OpenAI, we saw: 1- structure is necessary but not sufficient to protect a company's mission 2- who holds this governing power matters 3- government regulation might be necessary to manage the risks associated with AI   Ultimately, the non-profit governance structure held up last year which made me cautiously optimistic. My take at the time: https://lnkd.in/gtNxCx22   While it does seem like OpenAI is shifting away from non-profit control and capped investor returns simply to attract more capital, I wonder about the full story… It's definitely a huge disappointment to see the company revert to this standard corporate set-up. I also continue to be curious about what this will mean for Anthropic's plans to be controlled by a trust.   🤔If all publicity is good publicity, perhaps this gets a lot more investors and business leaders to really consider ownership structures as a key dimension of impact? What do you think? 🌟The good news? There are about a dozen different potential ownership structures that are designed to benefit stakeholders, not just shareholders. Learn more our report about Alternative Ownership Enterprises: https://lnkd.in/gg-mMgqr

Brewing with Purpose: How Social Responsibility Is Shaping the Craft Beer Industry Craft breweries are increasingly prioritizing social responsibility, aligning their business practices with environmental and community-focused initiatives. From supporting local charities to implementing sustainable brewing practices, breweries are leveraging their platform to make a positive impact. By brewing with purpose, these breweries are not only producing great beer but also contributing to the betterment of society. #CraftBeer #SocialResponsibility #Sustainability

GIVE BACK HACKS: 10 Practical and Simple Strategies for Company and Community Team Building Events Doing the Right Thing Builds Great Teams Community Meal Preparation and Delivery: Organize a team event where employees prepare meals together in a communal kitchen and then deliver them to local shelters or food banks. This hands-on activity not only feeds the hungry but also fosters teamwork and collaboration. Brown Bag Lunch Assembly: Host an event where teams assemble brown bag lunches containing sandwiches, fruit, and snacks. These lunches can be distributed to homeless individuals in parks, underpasses, and other areas where they congregate. Food Drive Competition: Encourage departments or teams to compete in collecting non-perishable food items. Set up a friendly competition to see who can gather the most donations, with the collected items going to local food banks. Volunteer at a Local Soup Kitchen: Arrange for team members to volunteer at a local soup kitchen. Participants can help with cooking, serving meals, and cleaning up, providing direct assistance to those in need while working together as a team. Corporate Garden Initiative: Start a corporate garden where employees can grow vegetables and herbs. The produce can be donated to local food banks or used to prepare meals for the less fortunate. Gardening can be a relaxing and bonding activity for team members. Cook-Off Fundraiser: Organize a company-wide cook-off where employees prepare their favorite dishes. Charge a small entry fee for participants and spectators, and donate the proceeds to a local charity focused on hunger relief. The event can also include a potluck dinner for all attendees. Food Packing Events: Partner with organizations like Feeding America or local food banks to host food packing events. Teams can work together to pack boxes of food that will be distributed to families in need. Holiday Meal Donation: During holiday seasons, organize an event where teams prepare and deliver festive meals to families in need. This can be particularly meaningful during Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other significant holidays. Lunch & Learn Sessions: Host educational sessions where team members learn about food insecurity and its impact on the community. Follow these sessions with a hands-on activity, such as assembling hygiene kits or snack packs for local shelters. Charity Run/Walk Event: Plan a charity run or walk where participants seek sponsorships or donations. The event promotes fitness and camaraderie while raising funds to support local food banks or hunger relief programs. Teams can also distribute healthy snacks to participants and spectators. FUN FACT: Successful people are consistently linked to community "give back" campaigns. By implementing these strategies, anyone can effectively engage & support their local communities in meaningful team-building activities that not only strengthen internal bonds but also make a positive impact on local communities.

Different ownership structures for corporations is a really important lever to increase equity and sustainability, yet few people talk about it (thanks Mads Oscar Haumann for your post). From cooperative models like MONDRAGON Corporation to community owned like Hepburn community wind, to NFP controlled like Tata Group or Novo Nordisk Foundation controlled companies. All offer ownership and control models that better balance and prioritise stakeholder interests and a pursue a purpose beyond short term profits. In Altiorem and Sara Anne Fossum’s report How can Business Throve in a Sustainable Economy, we identified alternative ownership structure as a key lever, along with other seldom discussed characteristics like business models which incentivise greater sufficiency rather than sales growth based on growing volumes of material throughput (hello #fastfashion, talking to you). Check it the report out below and join Altiorem to get access to our growing library of sustainable finance resources: https://lnkd.in/gJJCgXbb #changefinance4good

Volunteering and Operational Leadership Volunteering is another opportunity to unplug from day to day activities and expand one's purpose. United States offers so many of these in areas of one's passion. Since last year, I am happy for the opportunity to volunteer at a spiritual retreat in Graham, TX, a couple of times a year. My thoughts going in were geared on thinking about operational leadership not related to the retreat. There are between 90-100 participants in this retreat with 60-70 volunteers. Every aspect of the retreat from registration, parking, cleaning, dining, kitchen, decoration, store is done by volunteers. I was the lead for dining this time. The kitchen cooks amazing food with a variety of menu from Indian, Thai, Italian and Mexican cuisines. It's a job that requires one to be on the feet a lot ensuring all participants and volunteers are well fed. I always live by the principle anywhere where "Processes are meant for us. We are not meant for the processes." One of the things I am not fond of hearing at work without further questioning typically is "It is supposed to be done this way. Here is a playbook/framework/<insert the next buzzword here>". The goal of every process is to serve the customers of the process. One has to constantly keep an active watch on what can be continuously improved. Dining gave me the opportunity to look closely at what else can be streamlined beyond what the team had already done an awesome job at prior retreats. The opportunity also answered by own doubts on operational leadership. Every leader needs to constantly ask the fundamental question of "What can we do better?".

What does grassroots-led social innovation look like? ➡️ Food Hubs, now in 200 UK communities.💚 Community fridges are spaces that brings people together to share food, meet up, learn new skills and prevent fresh food from going to waste. There are 650+ all over the UK. Food Hubs are a way to extend the amazing work Community Fridges are already doing, by funding them to bring more activities to their community. 🥕 Over the last year we've funded 100 new Food Hubs, on top of the 100 from 2023! 🧑🍳 Over 9,000 people have taken part in Food Hub activities including cooking, growing, sharing, repairing. 🍅 Next year we hope to launch funding with a focus on sustainable diets. 🫑 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲? Read about vibrant kitchen gardens, e-cargo food bikes and more in the report below. And please get in touch if you want to chat about community grant funding (inc how we've made the process as simple and accessible as possible - meaning brilliant community groups spend more time telling us their ideas and less time on lengthy applications). -- Food Hubs is a project run by Hubbub, supported by Starbucks. Since 2023, Starbucks have donated £1.6m, helping to fund the creation of 200 Community Food Hubs in the UK. ++ P.S. Follow me - Alex Robinson - for insights on environmental change, leadership and more. I'm CEO of environmental charity Hubbub. We create campaigns with business, government and civil society that inspire environmental action. #environment #sustainability #food #community  

In the fast-paced world of restaurants, where profit margins are tight and competition is fierce, it's refreshing to encounter a restaurateur who prioritizes more than just the bottom line. I believe that, in every meeting, start by asking: "How can we make our food more accessible to a wider range of diners?" This could involve offering smaller portion options, exploring local sourcing to control costs, or introducing budget-friendly lunch specials. "What can we do to create a more inclusive environment for our team and guests?" This might involve fostering a diverse workforce, offering flexible scheduling options, or ensuring the restaurant is welcoming to people of all abilities. "How can we contribute positively to the community we serve?" This could involve partnering with local farms, supporting charities, or offering employee volunteer opportunities. It's rare to find someone who consistently focuses on these aspects before diving into financial discussions. This kind of leadership fosters a sense of purpose and creates a restaurant that's not just about serving food, but creating a positive impact.