A note from ProBrewer founders, Pat Hagerman and Mark Silva
Two weeks ago we launched theMJF $100,000 matching grant challenge by Brooklyn Brewery on ProBrewer. In this post we:
- Share campaign progress and goals
- Simple, fast, easy ways you can help
- Call to action: donate just $5 today to show how many of us support inclusion
- Why and Why Now?
Progress and Goals
Thanks to your generosity, we have already raised over $10,000 make that $30,000 in combined donations and matching funds with a number of other commitments on the way. That strikethrough is because Russian River Brewing Company just accepted the matching challenge and donated $10,000 for a combined impact of $20,000. And we are just as excited that Erica and Lee just donated $5 each generating $20 with the matching grant.
Got us thinking: what if just 2% of our 70,000 weekly visitors contributed just $5 this week? We call it “Take 5. Give 5. High 5.” In addition to raising enough to fund a full scholarship, 100s of donations says we take inclusivity seriously as a community and industry.
For this campaign we have three goals:
- Broad awareness, advocacy and action across the North American beer community defined by:
- Reach (via ProBrewer, Social Media, etc)
- Engagement (re-posts in stories, likes, mentions, etc)
- Donations** (more is as good as how much!)
- Action as measured by total number of donations and amount matched
- Impact–want to see how important access is? See theMJF recipient Enrique’s post here
As theMJF chairman, Garrett Oliver, says “The work we’re doing at th MJF is real and the effects are immediate. Siebel tells me that we have sent more Americans of color through their programs in the past year than they have had in the previous decade. That’s how big a difference it makes. With serious education under their belts, these folks are now positioned to be the leaders (and great brewers) of the future.
“We’re looking to make the beer industry into the sort of place we always said it was in the past, but never quite lived up to. But I know that it can, and with your help and the help of all of our friends, it will.”
Simple, Fast, Easy ways you can help
- Donate just $5 today – 1000s of small donations shout industry support for inclusion
- Follow The Michael Jackson Foundation on Instagram
- Use the Hashtag in posts, reels and stories: #100kchallengegrant
- Ask your brewery and social media team to promote all of the above
- If your brewery has programs to support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and want to donate more than $1000 please contact us directly: mark or pat at probrewer dot com so we can we can provide additional recognition and attention if desired
Call to Actions
We have less than two weeks left in this matching grant challenge. On Monday May 2 we will share the campaign proceeds with theMJF at THRIVE during CBC 2022. Every action with donations, tweets, posts and advocacy helps us achieve our goals. Will you:
- Repost this link on Instagram and Facebook?
- Give Inclusivity a High Five with a quick $5 donation to theMJF so we can advance more under represented talent in our industry?
- As the campaign builds, follow Probewer on Instagram and Twitter to repost/retweet and promote so we can drive urgency and action?
Why & Why Now
From our earliest days at ProBrewer, this Community has acted differently than any other industry. Perhaps ProBrewer had a part in this ethos by creating a place where we collaborated and solved problems togeter as a community. Most were about how to solve challenges in the brewing process, business, hiring or moment we were navigating. Over the past few years we recognize we have another challenge when it comes to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
As Robin Ottaway, President & Matching Grant Challenger said “I think a lot of us want to make a difference but don’t know where to start. I hope this matching grant challenges our fellow brewery owners to step up and take some doubly effective action.” Let’s start with our small corner of the world in beer and see how far an impact we can make.
At ProBrewer we are doing what we can to make a difference including sponsoring the THRIVE track at CBC 2022. During THRIVE we will present the Michael James Jackson Foundation with our combined contributions. It will be great to celebrate who we are and what we can do as a community.
Thats why we want you to follow your heart and each of the links above to shout your allyship and support for this important movement and cause.
Thank you. Your forever friends in beer,
Pat Hagerman and Mark Silva
Founders, ProBrewer