On Friday, October 10, 2014, Mongabay held its first-ever fundraiser in Menlo Park, CA to celebrate its 15th birthday. The event was attended by more than 80 people who came from as far away as Brazil to hear about the inspiration behind the site and where it’s headed in the future.
The event featured contributions from CAN, a project that started out of UCSC Agroecology Dept work with direct coffee trade; TCHO, a craft chocolate manufacturer from the Bay Area; Mama Ganache, a artisan chocolate (organic, fair trade) company started by Tom Neuhaus, the founder of Project Hope and Fairness; Runa, an herbal tea company that sources Guayusa from communities in South America; La Bodequita, a Cuban restaurant in Palo Alto; Rosewood, a Menlo Park luxury hotel; Tin Pot Ice Cream, a small batch ice cream and baked goods shop in Palo Alto; The Chocolate GarageVersant Vineyards; Little City Mercantile, a jewelry-maker in Santa Cruz, California; Rancho Gordo, a specialty producer of heirloom beans; Lemur International Inc, a maker of organic vanilla and essential oils; Amanda Giurlani, floral designer; and Solazyme, a biotech firm that produces sustainable, high-performance oils and ingredients derived from microalgae. Thank you to all the donors, especially Solazyme, which kindly made a generous financial donation.
If you weren’t able to make the event but would like to help support Mongabay’s efforts to boost environmental awareness and improve natural resources accountability through timely and accurate news reporting and education initiatives, you can donate here.