Good morning bread friends.
This is a fun letter today because I get to do something that is out of character for me. Iβve learned that Iβm not naturally inclined to look back and celebrate successes. I really admire people who have the self-awareness to pause every so often and take stock of the progress that theyβve made or celebrate their own accomplishments. Iβm the type of person who is ambitious, and often accomplishes goals that I make for myselfβ¦ but then I just immediately make new goals for myself and begin plodding along towards those.
I learned this about myself from my first real job interview. My first job ever was when I was 15 and worked for a pizza place in the south suburbs of Chicagoβ¦ but Iβm talking about my first real job after college when I worked for Apple. During the final interview for this K-12 sales job at Apple, my future boss asked me how I learn from failures, and how I celebrate wins. The first part of the question was easy enough, but I remember being totally perplexed by the second part of the question. It has been 15 years since Barbara asked me that question and I still reflect on it. Celebrating wins is definitely something Iβm still actively trying to build a practice of doing.
Today Iβm excited to look back on 2021 and celebrate the success of Bread & Justice.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a newsletter that I titled, A 2021 Retrospective for Bread & Justice. In that piece, it was important to me to practice transparency around metrics such as our number of customers, newsletter subscribers, and loaves of bread that I made during this first year in business. Today, Iβm focussed on recapping the donations that we made to various nonprofits, and celebrating the financial generosity of this Bread & Justice community.
As you all know, Bread & Justice is a micro-bakery on a mission. With your help, we donate 100% of the profits from the sale of every loaf to an organization working towards a more just society. Each month we select a different nonprofit to support. Beyond bread sales, many people from this community choose to donate to Bread & Justice directly. This allows us to invest in growing our production capacity. With any donation made to us, we always share a portion of those donations with our monthly nonprofit partner.
Then going above and beyond all financial contributions that we are able to make to these amazing organizations each monthβ¦ members of this community have been inspired to come alongside us and contribute to our partner organizations directly. Iβm excited to summarize the totality of your generosity today. It was such a blessing this past year to read stories that people shared as they would write in to say that they were moved when they read in my newsletter about some organizationβ¦ and that they were inspired to direct their personal giving for the month to this cause.
In 2021, Bread & Justice directly donated a total of $6,468.33 to social justice nonprofits.
In addition to that, this community donated $14,963.33 in direct contributions to our partner nonprofits.
When I decided to start Bread & Justice as a philanthropic enterprise, I didnβt have any specific financial benchmarks that I was striving towards. But as I reflect on the fact that we collectively donated a total of $21,431.33 to social justice causes in 2021, Iβm honestly blown away. I feel both giddy and proud. This is such an amazing testament to the power of community. It is awesome that weβve built this community (both near & far) of people who believe in our individual and collective power to fight for a more just society β so much so that we are putting our money where our hearts are.
As I practice the skill of pausing to celebrate accomplishments, I hope each and every one of you who have contributed to the growth of Bread & Justice in 2021 takes a moment to celebrate your success too.
If you want to find a way to get in the game more directly, I have great news for you! Starting in February, there will be a couple of new spots opening for our monthly Bread Club subscription. As a member of Bread Club, you'll automatically have a loaf ready for you every Tuesday of that month. If you have questions or want to join Bread Club, please email me so that I can send you a link to join.
Or if you know you want to pre-order bread for pickup this Thursday, order now :)
Cheers,
Mo
2021 Giving Report
January
Second Harvest Food BankΒ &Β Feeding America
direct contribution - $465.33
community matching - $465.33
February
The Center for Black Excellence and Culture
direct contribution - $770
community matching - $1,740
March
Maydm, Inc.
direct contribution - $804
community matching - $1,688
April
NAACP
direct contribution - $1,085
community matching - $2,370
May
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
direct contribution - $701
community matching - $1402
June
Rooted
direct contribution - $403
community matching - $806
July
Family Health La Clinica
direct contribution - $401
community matching - $1,854
August
Boys and Girls Clubβs new skilled trade center
direct contribution - $435.00
community matching - $1305
September
Vacation π¨π½βπ³
October
Centro Hispano of Dane County
direct contribution - $368
community matching - $736
November
Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance
direct contribution - $520
community matching - $1,040
December
The Rainbow Project
direct contribution - $516
community matching - $1,557