Groundswell

• SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Groundswell Fund announced that Yamani Yansá Hernandez, who brings over 25 years of experience in organization development, executive leadership, and reproductive and healing justice, will be its next CEO.
• Hernandez comes to Groundswell Fund having served as its interim CEO for the past year.
• "Yamani comes to Groundswell Fund at a critical time in our twenty-year history," said Kimberly Inez McGuire, Chair of Groundswell Fund's Board of Directors.
• Hernandez takes the helm as CEO at a time when Groundswell Fund is expected to exceed its Blueprint goal of moving $100 million to grassroots organizations by 2025.

• For the first time in more than a century, farmers are not all in the same political paddock.
• Farming has long defied gravity as an electoral force in New Zealand.
• Despite comprising less than 5% of the population, farmers have achieved an extraordinary level of political power.

The end of farmer power

• Under the old “first past the post” voting system, rural electorates held significant power due to left-leaning votes being concentrated in urban electorates.
• This meant the farming vote in key marginal rural seats could swing elections in favour of the National Party.
• No other country has seen such access to power granted to farmers.




Read more:
After the election, Christopher Luxon’s real test could come from his right – not the left

The old alliance crumbles

• The rising environmental challenge in farming has three times been met by classic old alliance strategies.
• In 2003, the alliance mounted the so-called “fart tax” protests to denounce investment in research identifying methane from livestock as a major greenhouse gas problem.
• This time, the alliance had new elements – being required to sit alongside leading Māori land users who were emerging from the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process.

Groundswell and political realignment

• For people focused specifically on the urgent need to develop new policy frameworks, Groundswell can seem confusing.
• Read more:
  The Groundswell protest claimed regulation and taxes are unfair to farmers – the economic numbers tell a different story

  But the key difference is Groundswell’s style of political engagement.

• It wants to radically break with the old political and institutional relationships it believes have betrayed the interests of grassroots farmers.
• Other key actors in He Waka Eke Noa began to withdraw, either under pressure from Groundswell or (like Andrew Hoggard) to pursue a more radical political path.

Change and consequences

• But there are still important consequences of a more radical style of politics taking root among some farmers.
• Any diminishing of those old alliance relationships will reduce the political reach of farmers.
• It was still the best mechanism for meaningful change in the sector.
• Those chafing at change might imagine they are trying to preserve an older world in which farmers were revered and privileged.

• The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International 2023 Annual Conference and Expo is headed to Kansas City, MO from June 24-27.
• WASHINGTON, June 6, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As the premier commercial real estate event for education networking and discovering technology solutions, there is something for everyone at BOMA 2023 .
• "The 2023 BOMA Conference provides the perfect opportunity for commercial real estate professionals to come together and learn what the industry's future holds.
• "In what has been an extremely productive and exciting year since our last Annual Conference, BOMA is excited to continue the momentum by hosting an incredible conference in Kansas City" said incoming BOMA International Chair Bob Six.

• NORWAY, Iowa, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Simply Organic , a leader in organic herbs, spices, flavors and seasonings, today announced this year's recipients of its Simply Organic Giving Fund Grant Program, donating a collective $150,000 to five organizations working to address systemic food insecurity across the U.S.
  For the 2023 granting period, the Simply Organic Giving Fund selected organizations that are spearheading resource programs and initiatives to empower underserved communities facing food insecurity, including refugees and immigrants, and families living in food deserts.
• Since the Fund pivoted to addressing the issue of food insecurity five years ago, this year marks $725,000 donated to frontline organizations.
• "Through our annual Simply Organic Giving Fund Grant Program, we live that commitment by assisting organizations dedicated to addressing food insecurity in underserved and marginalized communities.
• Emergency Food Network : Emergency Food Network's Mother Earth Farm provides organic produce to local food pantries in Pierce County, Washington.