Keepin' it Real is Not Always Pretty

I’ve been working on organizing a fundraiser for our non profit organization the Sea delight Ocean Fund. The idea is to raise funds so that we can continue supporting marine conservation and education programs.

“Must protect the oceans and marine life.” I get it. But some people don’t understand this. To speak to them about the importance of marine conservation and the impact that human activities have in this delicate ecosystem is challenging. And asking them to buy a $100 ticket to support a cause they don’t know about is as difficult as building a city in Mars (yes, that bad).

A really good friend of mine (who didn’t know who Guy Harvey is) told me <and I quote>:

“just as I had no clue of who this guy was, most won’t unless they are into this specific marine life thing, you want to recruit way more people than that in order to raise some serious money  […] the guys’ book signed might be an added bonus, but […] is not going to be what will make me want to buy a $100 ticket.”

And these are exactly the people we need to recruit. Not because we can “raise some serious money” but because they are clueless and don’t know or care about marine conservation.

So it dawned on me, what drives these people to spend over $5 K at night club VIP section, but will be hesitant to buy a $100 ticket for a fundraiser for marine conservation? How do I successfully make the argument that marine conservation is important and not sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown <wah wah wah wah>?

Maybe the message needs to be simplified; diluted enough just so we can get our foot in the door. For example, we all love swimsuits and swimsuit magazine covers. What would happen if the covers of the future looked like this:

Would it hit closer to home?  Obviously I’m no graphic designer but I think it proves my point.

This is when I realized I needed to learn how connected we all are to the ocean. Thankfully, The Nature Conservancy had the perfect answer:

The air we breathe. Oceans are a critical player in the basic elements we need to survive. Ocean plants produce half of the world’s oxygen, then these amazing waters absorb nearly one-third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions. Oceans also regulate our weather and form the clouds that bring us fresh water.

The food on your plate. Besides seafood, oceans are connected to what you eat in many more ways. Ocean ingredients, like algae and kelp, are used in making peanut butter beer, soymilk and frozen foods. Plus, 36 percent of the world’s total fisheries catch each year is ground up into fishmeal and oil to feed farmed fish, chickens and pigs.

The items in your medicine cabinet. You’ll find ocean ingredients flowing out of your medicine cabinet in everything from shampoos and cosmetics to medicines that help fight cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, viruses and other diseases.

Jobs and the economy. One in six jobs in the United States is marine-related and more than $128 billion in GDP annually results from ocean tourism, recreation and living resources. Healthy marine habitats like reefs, barrier islands, mangroves and wetlands help protect coastal communities from the results of hurricanes and storm surges.

A shared resource. While many of us enjoy the spectacular recreational activities that oceans offer, for some people oceans are a lifeline for survival. Keeping oceans healthy keeps people healthy, and we each have a personal responsibility to protect our oceans.

You can read the full article at: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/oceanscoasts/explore/five-reasons-we-are-all-connected-to-oceans.xml

Protecting the ocean is more than saving turtles, dolphins, overfished species, etc. Protecting the oceans is protecting the way we ALL live and securing our livelihoods for the future.

At the end, I think this is the argument I must (successfully) make.