Eliza Muirhead, who not only has a great name, but was also featured here on Our Hen House a year and a half ago for a student film she made entitled Human|Animal (which “explored the sacrifice and risk involved in being an animal rights activist,” and “revealed the conditions in which many ‘factory’ animals are kept”), has clearly not spent the past 15 months twiddling her thumbs. Eliza, along with a few like-minded peers, has been working on Fair Projects, a comprehensive new resource for non-profits. Though based in Australia, the scope of its mission is worldwide. The website explains:
Our vision is to provide not-for profit organisations and progressive groups with professional quality services and products in media, marketing, fundraising and communications at a fair rate, in order to extend their causes and communicate their message to the largest audience possible.
Some of their current undertakings include Coalition Against Duck Shooting, The Animal Sanctuary, Orca Research Trust, Australian Wildlife Protection Council, and Sea Shepherd. As part of their “let’s-change-the-world!” mindset, the services they offer include video production (check out the recent video they made for the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses); photography (including documenting campaigns, producing online galleries, and helping to strategize distribution); and general communications (here’s where reaching the largest possible audience comes in).
Fair Projects sounds like a great addition to the growing movement of companies with heart, offering valuable services to social justice organizations. Among the things I love about them is their accessibility to all groups (they work within each group’s budget), and their commitment to providing the utmost quality in their final output.
Last weekend on our podcast, Kezia Jauron and Gary Smith from Evolotus (“Public Relations for a better world”) explained the power of using your skills and talents in communications to create a more just world. One of the most powerful contributions we can make to ending cruelty to animals is to spread the message of compassion far and wide. That requires an understanding of the media, including independent, self-produced, and, whenever we can manage it, mainstream. Fair Projects offers a refreshing way to maximize the attention that your campaign will receive. They are clearly full of heart and professionalism, and I, for one, will be keeping my eye on their happenings.
