In which I lose one job and gain another, or, changes at PEM HQ
I’m firing myself as executive director of Parents for Ethical Marketing.
If you’ve been following the progress of PEM, you know that my plan was to get nonprofit status so I could apply for grants and raise funds in order to have a real budget — including a salary.
But as for so many others right now, the economy has gotten in my way.
In our home, our primary source of income has been from twenty years’ of real estate investments. And reinvestments. And that’s not going so well right now. Among the obvious problems, like declining home values, we mistakenly thought that new home construction would be a good investment. And one of our many mortgage brokers turned out be corrupt. It’s not been a good year.
And as for my fundraising efforts? I really haven’t been surprised by the response. People have little money to donate now, and those that do are giving to charities with more critical missions. PEM is not going to be on the top of anyone’s giving list.
For these reasons I am returning to real world of work with a very real paycheck. I am very fortunate to have found a job that’s a good fit for me. I will miss working in my jammies but will enjoy the company of co-workers again.
So what does this all mean for PEM? Several things. I will not be able to commit so much time. For now, I am giving up the newsletter and the prospect of taking the show on the road to parents on any regular basis. The blog will remain, although posting will be more infrequent.
And what does this mean for you? If you’re on the mailing list, I hope you’ll stay. I will still send out action alerts when necessary. And perhaps a special edition newsletter now and then. Plus, I have things you could do. If you have any interest in writing posts or contributing your talents and time any other way, please drop me a line.
Otherwise, I hope you’ll continue reading Corporate Babysitter.
November 20th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
It’s strange reading this on the same day I’m dealing with some similar changes myself. Best of luck to you, and congrats on finding a new job. It’s hard out there!
November 20th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Aaron, thanks so much. I feel very lucky to have found a job. Hope all’s okay with you. Or, hope all will be okay with you.
November 20th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Lisa, I’m sorry to hear that … but glad you found something. Especially one that is a good fit for you. I hope you’re well.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
You’ve already done a great deal, Lisa!
Do your best to keep us on our toes though — we need you!
November 21st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
It’s such a shame but it’s been great up until now! Good luck with everything.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:46 am
Lisa, I’m sorry to read this, especially as I only just found your email now about the fundraising venture and I feel sooo guilty about somehow overlooking your email until now… and then to read about all this change. You do an amazing job here and I value whatever contributions you find time to continue to make here because you’re so damn wonderful at it, however I can certainly appreciate the need for steady incomes at this time. Hope the transition goes smoothly for you.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:38 am
[...] Parents for Ethical Marketing/Corporate Babysitter is ramping down a bit while the proprietor returns to the workaday world. [...]
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Thanks everyone for your kind words! They mean so much to me. I will do my best to stay in the blogosphere.
December 13th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Sorry to hear you’re having to change course temporarily as I think it’s an outstanding idea to continue moving upwards and onwards with nonprofit status and school programs (touring) but certainly VERY understandable and an intelligent choice to make for the time being. I hope you’ll be able to continue once times improve…..
However, just wanted to leave you with a suggestion -
Perhaps you could setup on the site here a “Wiki-style” newsletter that serves the same purpose and user interaction as blogging/newsgroup but allows members to fill its space with articles, resources and alerts per their ability to donate the time…..it needn’t be a formal effort on anyone’s part aside from providing the actual Wiki space but your readers would be, in effect, building the newsletter as they write and contribute – and all in newsletter format as you designed at the start. It is truly easy for all adults to use and master as evidenced by the success of Wikipedia (unlike using a traditional web page approach that requires you or someone else to translate the typed / digital articles and photos into a web program and then upload to your servers.) Wiki is built by everyone and can have the words and images uploaded at the same time in a very user-friendly fashion by your contributors. In a seemingly overly-simplistic “package, ” Wiki introduced a shifting paradigm on who and how the web and its resources could be built. Just a thought. :)
Good luck and thank you for your time and efforts!!
Yvette K.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
1. I’m sorry to hear it. 2. I’m super-glad you found a suitable job. 3. We’ll wait for your return.
December 25th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Hi! I’m sorry about your having to go back to work and having to take time away from PEM. However, i would love to write some here. I am SO passionate about this issue and actually stumbled across your blog as I was looking for ways I could make a difference. I mean, what do you do when you have such a conscience about such a horrible thing as marketers trying to take my child hostage? It’s ridiculous and makes this momma really really mad. Anyway, let me know how I can help. I definitely want to keep PEM going and working with others to hold corporations accountable.
http://stuffedbrownbear.blogspot.com
December 27th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Yvette, this is a terrific idea. Thanks for the suggestion and I will look into it.
Mama Bear, funny, I was looking at your blog before I even saw this comment from you! Thanks so much for your offer and I will be in touch.