Hosting a webinar is a great way to engage your community and grow your Pod. Connecting with speakers such as well-known or local health professionals like physicians, dietitians, health coaches, etc. is a great way to engage your audience and spread the plant-based health message.

If you would like to co-host a webinar with PlantPure Communities, we can assist with the following:

• Provide access to our Zoom webinar video conferencing platform (up to 1,000 participants)

• Set up registration and confirmation emails

• Designate you as the point of contact for any questions before or after the webinar

• Co-host the event (includes: hosting a test run, starting and stopping the event, monitoring attendees and presenters, sharing slides, and providing a brief introduction/conclusion if needed)

• Access to Canva meme templates to share with your followers to promote the event

• Livestream the event on our PlantPure Communities Facebook Page with 12,000+ followers

PPC requests the following in exchange for webinar support:

• Provide details for the webinar registration:

- Title and Description - Potential Dates - Registration Questions - Expected event duration (no more than 2 hours in duration)

• Invite the presenter and include a PPC staff member in your email correspondence

• Share an outline of topics that will be covered by all speakers during the webinar

• Create a detailed agenda (we will provide you with a sample agenda)

• Allow PPC to raise funds for our Zoom webinar service and staff time

• Give PPC permission to post the recording on the PPC YouTube Channel and PPC FB page

• Include a question on the webinar registration page asking if the registrant wants to “opt-in” to the PPC mailing list

Ready to get started? Please contact podsupport@plantpurecommunities.org today!

While putting on a veg fest can be a lot of fun, there are some preliminary steps that may be necessary to enable your Pod to obtain necessary permits, enter into agreements, obtain funding, and pay expenses. This will help you evaluate if you need to form a legally recognized organization structure, such as a corporation or limited liability company, to be able to put on your event with your intended scope. While some of the suggestions may seem complicated, they can make things work much more smoothly in the long run.

Things to Consider:

• Scope of Event: Thoughtful, upfront, and realistic consideration of the event you are planning, including the size of the event, the type of venue, the services, products and speakers that may be involved, and whether you will have future functions after the event, are important in determining how to set up the organizational structure for your event.

  Small Event: If you are “testing the waters” in your community to see how much interest you can generate in the plant-based lifestyle, you may want to start off planning a small event at a donated venue with a few exhibitors, some food vending, and a few speakers. In this case, you may want to handle the arrangements for scheduling the venue, speakers and exhibitors using just your own identity and your own bank account. While informally handling arrangements may work, it could also lead to a lot of headaches with details of venue use being poorly coordinated, exhibitors or speakers not showing up, or miscommunications or mistakes regarding handling of money.

  Organizer: While an event can be put on using the Pod leader’s (PL) personal information to sign contracts, receive and disburse money, and prepare schedules, it is usually better for the PL to form a corporate entity and do transactions through that entity. In most states, forming a corporation can be done online by filling out a form and paying a registration fee. There are also online services that will incorporate your organization for an additional fee. Receiving your Certificate of Organization from your state’s Secretary of State’s office may be very quick or may take a few weeks, so plan ahead. Some venues, permitting authorities, and insurers specify that they will only deal with organizations that are corporations or limited liability companies. Forming one of these organizations involves selecting corporate officers (some states only require a President), filling out forms with your Secretary of State’s Offices, and paying a charge that usually ranges from $100 to $500 for administrative and filing fees, depending on your state. You can obtain your specific state's filing and fee information by visiting your Secretary of State's web site. It usually takes several weeks for your application to be processed, but expedited processing that takes just a few days is generally available for an extra fee.

• Bank Account: If the Pod does not incorporate, there will be a need to use a member's social security number or an EIN/Tax Identification Number and a "doing business as (DBA)" name to open a bank account in order for the Pod to handle income and expenses. It only takes a few minutes to get an EIN/TIN online and there is no charge.

• Donations: Donations to help cover event expenses can be a great help. Even though your Pod may not have applied for IRS tax exempt status, you can still ask for and receive donations as gifts, but the donors will not be able to to get a tax deduction write-off for their donation unless the receiving organization has tax exempt status or is sponsored by an organization that has tax exempt status. Nevertheless, when people give small donations, they often do not care about the tax deduction because they are wanting to help a cause, so small donations are generally not taxable as income and small groups running a nonprofit function generally do not have to report the donations to the IRS. There may be particular case-specific instances, however, where donations are considered taxable income (depending on use of the funds and other factors), so it is recommended that you keep specific records of donations received and consult a tax professional to be sure. If you decide to ask for donations, also check with your state charitable solicitation laws to see if there is a requirement that you register to solicit donations with the state. Most states require that organizations asking for donations fill out a registration form unless you are exempt. Depending on the state, small organization that raises less than $5,000 – $25,000 may be exempt.

• Nonprofit Incorporation: Although it is possible to operate as an unincorporated group using a DBA and receive non-tax-deductible donations, this is usually done "on the fly." This may be acceptable if the Pod is only planning to participate in one event. There are, however, several reasons that a Pod may choose to incorporate: i) It provides liability insulation for officers if there is a mishap at an event; ii) it allows the Pod to enter contracts without being personally liable on the contract, iii) it allows the Pod to transact business without using a member's social security number; and iv) it strengthens the group’s credibility. Incorporating is a relatively easy process and there are numerous resources online. Depending on the state, it will likely cost a few hundred dollars. In many states, a trip to the state’s Secretary of State Office will allow for the filling out and filing of the paperwork without incurring third party fees, but there will be a filing fee that must be paid to the state. Information required includes: i) the name of the organization; ii) an address for receiving official correspondence; iii) names of officers, and iv) other info the state may require.

• Federal Tax Exemption: If your Pod wants to be able to receive the nonprofit organization registration discount for a veg fest and other festivals and give receipts to donors that allow the donors to have a tax donation, there are at least two options:

  • Easiest - Find a Fiscal Sponsor: A Fiscal Sponsor is a nonprofit organization that already has IRS status as a tax exempt organization. The fiscal sponsor will handle your donations through its bank account and issue checks for your group's expenses. You operate your organization, but the money flows through the Fiscal Sponsor and donors receive a tax deduction even though your group has not received tax exemption. A Fiscal Sponsor is usually one of two types of organizations: 1) it can be a nonprofit that is aligned with your cause and will allow you to be sponsored with a small fee or without charge; or 2) there are nonprofit organizations whose entire purpose is to serve as a Fiscal Sponsor. This type of organization will charge an administrative fee.

  • Not easy, but best for long-term - Secure federal tax exempt certification from the IRS: Find initial instructions here: http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-501(c)(3)-Nonprofit-Organization. This is a fairly significant undertaking and will likely take 6 months or longer to secure tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, but the Pod can operate as a nonprofit in the interim once a Tax ID Number (EIN) is in hand. The tax exempt application may be submitted to the IRS after the group has incorporated in your state.

PlantPure Communities’ Water Pods aim to take action in their local communities by providing opportunities for education and outreach regarding the benefits of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle. Advocacy is accomplished through engaging the community in activities such as documentary film screenings, restaurant outreach to increase WFPB meal options, and working to bring healthy change to the menus of institutions such as schools, universities, and hospitals.

Water Pods may organize or participate in veg fests, festivals, conferences, or other large-scale gatherings. Networking with other Pods, participating in the Pod leader Facebook group, and connecting with a “sister Pod” in the PPC network is encouraged, as sister Pods support each other and share resources.

Water Pods may connect with groups on college campuses, participate in community or square foot gardening projects, or get involved with local food banks. Writing letters to the editor and a robust social media presence is common. Connecting with local groups advocating for healthy living, climate and environmental issues, and animal protection is typical for Water Pods.

Goal: Integrate the crucial role of dietary change in resolving the environmental crises into the broader environmental movement.

Intention: Leverage the potential of broad environmental movements to help bring about dietary change through the creation of allies in local, regional, national, and international environmental and climate-related groups.

Rationale: Environmentalists care about the ongoing habitability of our Earth, but they are often ignorant about the full extent of animal agriculture’s contribution to environmental destruction, including the climate crisis. When they become aware of these facts, especially of the fact that there is no solution to the climate crisis that does not include a global shift towards plant-based and plant-centered diets, they will be motivated to help with advocacy, education, and systems change related to diet change.

Process for Gaining Allies:

1. Join an environmental group. Good choices would include groups that are aware that diet has some impact, but are not yet focusing their work on diet. Possibilities include local chapters of national or international organizations such as 350 and Sierra Club, independent groups in your community, or activist networks with a national or international scope that do most of their organizing virtually. Or join an environmentally-focused Meetup or Facebook group.

2. Become a contributing member of the group. For example, join the leadership team, volunteer to help at an event, or offer pro bono professional support in your area of expertise.

3. Begin bringing information about diet-related environmental issues to the attention of the group. For example, share links to recent studies and reports that demonstrate the environmental harm of animal agriculture and the potential of plant-based and plant-strong diets to help mitigate environmental problems.

4. When you have gained credibility within the group and respect from the group’s members, take your advocacy to the next level. For example, offer to collaborate with the group on an event focused on the impact of dietary choices on climate. Ask the group members to help with advocacy, education, and systems change work related to diet and environment. Work for integration of the topic in the group’s advocacy and educational work with elected officials, the general public, and other targets of their work.

Tips for Interaction:

• Engage respectfully. For example, be gentle if pushing a strictly plant-based agenda and acknowledge the helpful impact of plant-strong as well as plant-based diets.

• Avoid getting into arguments. Rather than attempting to convince members of the group that their perspective is wrong, especially when you have not yet firmly established your credibility within the group, share your perspective in the form of an unarguable truth. For example, use “I-statements” such as “I am so passionate about this because of the recent studies that show that dietary change is a crucial part of any effective solution to the climate crisis.”

• Be positive and supportive. Offer regular appreciation to the members and the leaders for the good work they are doing in the world. Make supportive comments.

• Use quality data. Bring information from reputable sources such as peer-reviewed journals. It’s also fine to share information from the popular press, if it’s a reputable publication such as The Guardian, The New York Times, or The Washington Post. Sources to avoid include those likely to be assumed to be biased, such as Plant Based News or VegNews, though you can use those sources to find out about new studies, then cite the studies themselves. Use fairly current data, for example studies or reports published in the last five years, if possible.

Alternatives to Joining a Group: There are alternative ways to nurture environmentalists as allies. Here are a couple of possibilities:

• Befriend an influential environmentalist in your community and help that person to understand the crucial role of dietary change in environmental sustainability. Help them to integrate this information into their advocacy and educational efforts, for example by bringing them information from emerging science.

• Identify an environmental advisory or policy-making group, for instance in your workplace or local government. Advocate with this group for inclusion of diet-related policies. Create a list of possible policies or practices for this group to adopt or advocate for. For example, government bodies can adopt food procurement policies that favor plant-based foods, and groups that advise businesses regarding sustainability measures can encourage default-veg policies for company events.

Thanks to PPC Pod leaders for creating this document.

Goal: Guide Pod leaders to network with vegan and vegetarian groups.

Intention: The purpose of this activity is to create coalitions between PlantPure Communities Pods and existing plant-based groups in the same geographical area or community. Pod leaders may wish to extend this to reducetarian and flexitarian groups. Activists not linked to any specific organization could also be sought out.

Rationale: This initiative is not driven by the objective of attracting new Pod members but rather, Pod leaders who are passionate about promoting the benefits of a WFPB lifestyle can, from a social action perspective, create meaningful links with individual activists and other groups or organizations. The aim is to identify shared values and common ground, clarify any areas of misunderstanding, and create strong networks in order to spread the message of plant-based nutrition throughout the community.

Actions for Pod Leaders:

Identify appropriate groups/individuals/activists via searches on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and search engines etc.

Determine the potential for effective communication with the group, e.g. through a conversation with the group leader, introducing yourself on their social media group, joining the group, etc.

Reach out to identified groups through:

• Outreach on their social media platforms. It may be appropriate for Pod leaders to check the guidelines of groups selected for posts, and if they are unclear regarding promotions, to check in with group leaders to get permission before posting.

• Direct outreach to the organization's leader

• Inviting the vegan group's members to a Pod's meet-up or event/webinar with the aim of encouraging participation

• Attending one of their events to network

Determine collaborative strategies, for example:

• Invite groups/activists to attend your Pod events to address members to explain their goals and activities. Such events could also be used to provide a 2-way exchange of information.

• Invite groups/activists to become partners and organize joint events or campaigns.

Thanks to Pod leaders for creating this document.

{NAME OF POD} is inviting you to our forthcoming event, NAME/DESCRIPTION OF EVENT

When? DATE AND TIME

WHERE? VENUE/LOCATION

{NAME OF POD} is affiliated to the global movement, PlantPure Communities and advocates for and educates about the benefits of whole food plant-based (WFPB) nutrition. Science shows that this is our optimal diet and can prevent, treat, and in some cases, reverse disease. While PlantPure Communities’ members are passionate about promoting the benefits of a WFPB lifestyle, this is often motivated by concern for the fate of our planet and the creatures who share it with us.

We want to reach out to all our veggie/vegan friends in {LOCALITY/REGION}, in the hope of partnering with local groups/individuals who share a passion for spreading the plant-based message. Public awareness has never been so great concerning the disastrous effects on our planet of the intensive livestock industry and the limited time available to reverse the threat of climate change. The exploitation of animals (in particular farmed animals) has now become a cause for public concern (brought to a head by the current health crisis). We feel now is the time to join forces with all our allies and forge a way forward. Such local coalitions, replicated across the globe (PlantPure Communities is represented in more than 34 countries), can have a galvanizing effect on public perception, media interest and government policies. The pushback from vested interests cannot be underestimated but together, we can form a network equal in strength and determination. We invite you to celebrate our shared values and common ground and work with us in bringing about much needed change.

We hope to see you at our event. If you can’t make it, why not join {NAME OF POD} on Facebook or take a look at our website: {URL} and contact us. We would love to hear from you!

A great variety of activities can be offered during a veg fest event. By building a diverse program with interesting and engaging activities, you will attract more of the community to attend. Look at examples of what other veg fests have chosen to offer. Below is a list of common activities you will see on the program:

• Speakers and book signings

• Cooking demonstrations

• Door prizes and raffles

• Movie screenings (for guidance on screening PlantPure Nation, refer to the Action Sheet: PPN Film Screening)

• Yoga and other fitness sessions

• Kids activities

• Live Music

Once the schedule is finalized, print the program so it can be distributed to the attendees on the day of the event. Typically, attendees like to pick up a hard copy of the program at the event in order to check the schedule of activities, see a map of the venue, review information about sponsors, and read speakers’ bios. The program should also include a note of thanks, acknowledging key people involved in the event.

The PPC Mentor Program supports new and existing Pod leaders who are interested in being paired with other Pod leaders (Mentors) in order to work on strengthening their own Pods. If you are interested in working with a Mentor or becoming a Mentor, please complete one of the following forms:

Pod Leader Interested in Being a Mentor: Apply here.

Pod Leader Seeking a Mentor: Apply here.

Check out this Info Sheet to find out what being a Mentor may involve.

Organizing a veg fest can focus attention in the community on the benefits of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle by introducing this lifestyle to those unfamiliar with it while simultaneously supporting and inspiring those who already embrace it.

The PlantPure Nation documentary film was created and produced by Nelson Campbell, the son of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and founder of PlantPure Communities. The documentary covers important topics such as the health benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet and why this information is not well known, the connection between food deserts and the health of communities, and the importance of local farming.

Many Pods have found that screening the film creates a sense of community and purpose, and helps to provide context to Pod members for both the origins of the Pod program as well as how their Pod is a part of a larger grassroots movement. While the film is available on YouTube, it has been reported that it can be more impactful to screen the film with a larger group of people. In addition, folks have often scheduled educational Q & A sessions following the screening. More information about the film can be found here.

Accessing the PPN Film for a Screening

• There is no licensing fee to screen the film to a group of people

• To purchase a copy of the DVD: www.plantpurenation.com/collections/dvds

Setting up the Logistics for the Screening

• Reach out to people and organizations that may be interested in hosting or helping to organize a screening. For example, contact local vegan and MeetUp groups.

• Find a location for the screening, such as a church, community center, library, or local theater.

• Check to make sure the selected location has the necessary equipment to show the film. If not, look into renting or borrowing a projector, speakers, and a computer.

• Set the date and time for the screening: during the weekend is ideal as weeknights might be tight on time (the film is 95 mins).

Preparing for Screening

• Promote the screening.

  • Start getting the word out as soon as possible (ideally at least 3 months ahead) by sending out a Save-the-Date announcement.

  • Use Social Media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

  • Use printed materials such as flyers to post or hand out around town (at health food stores, libraries, churches, farmers markets, etc.)

  • Check out the “Host a Screening” webpage for memes you could use: www.plantpurecommunities.org/host-a-plantpure-nation-screening/

• Consider inviting a local plant-based advocate/expert for a post-screening Q&A session.

• Test equipment ahead of time to make sure everything works.

• Consider providing whole food, plant-based snacks.

• Arrive 45 minutes early with flyers and a sign-up sheet for your Pod.