Message from the Board of Directors
Thanks, and appreciation to all donors and participants for their support and efforts over the years that have been provided to such an innovative concept as the Full Belly Project. It is with great regret that the Full Belly Project’s Board of Directors announces the dissolution of the organization. This decision came two years after the present Board of Directors extensively reviewed the current and historical operations of this organization when the organization’s Founder, Jock Brandis, announced his intention to retire in July 2018. In this Board’s efforts to create intentional, sustainable programming and to grow the impact of the Full Belly Project, several insurmountable challenges emerged.
The mission of the Full Belly Project has been to design and distribute innovative, sustainable technologies with our local community that empower people all over the world to improve their own lives. The organization pursued this mission through the development of creative solutions that included the Universal Nut Sheller, the Rocker Water Pump, and the Soap Press. Our most recent efforts were focused on aflatoxin alleviation with groundnut farmers in Eastern Zambia. However, after an extensive review from an independent researcher alongside this Board of Directors, it became apparent that despite producing and delivering numerous pieces of technology across the globe there was little documented evidence of significant impact in the recipient communities.
At the local level, the need for organizational changes in programming design and implementation illuminated staffing issues that led to the exit of the Executive Director. For the Board of Directors, this left us with a critical vacancy in staffing that could not be filled given the financial instability of the organization and the retirement of the Founder whose vision inspired much of the organization’s momentum. Further, this Board of Directors also concluded that the organization’s programming had largely been driven by the ideas of the Founder with no sustainable business model or succession planning developed by either the Founder or previous Boards of Directors.
Ultimately, these circumstances detailed above affected the long-term viability of the organization. Moreover, the current COVID-19 pandemic added to this financial instability and handicapped the Board’s ability to keep the organization afloat in numerous ways. As such, largely due to the hardships of fundraising and international travel during the pandemic, we were no longer able to continue with subsequent phases in our aflatoxin alleviation project in Zambia or to pursue new programming, to bring volunteers into the workshop, or to fill vacancies from the prior year’s personnel turnover.
Nevertheless, the Full Belly Project has left a significant impact on the local Wilmington community. This simple, yet innovative idea of generating appropriate, low-tech solutions for struggling agricultural communities and the possibility to be a part of this unique, local initiative that could have even the smallest positive impact on monumental issues in international development drew a wealth of local support and participation; especially in getting youth involved in and connected to world issues. The sense of purpose expressed by the Founder instilled that same sense in the organization as a whole. Thus, the local impact was the greater impact of this organization: connecting local individuals to global problems and solutions, which is inherent to the mission of the Full Belly Project.
Overall, in designing the future direction for the Full Belly Project, this Board of Directors wanted to expand the organization’s professional connections, develop intentional programming and overcome the challenges in the organization’s history while staying true to its original mission. Unfortunately, this proved untenable.
On behalf of the Full Belly Project, we generously thank you for your support over the years. At this time, we are furthering the legacy of the Full Belly Project through the distribution of our assets to non-profit organizations in the larger Wilmington community and others who work in the realms of international development and humanitarian relief. Specifically, we will be distributing monies to the United Way of the Cape Fear Area ($100,000), Feast Down East ($14,000), Water for Good ($5,000) and Mercy Corps ($5,000). Additionally, in partnership with the Cape Fear Community College Foundation, we have developed the Full Belly Project Technology, Innovation, Service and Agriculture (TISA) scholarship for continuing education in the amount of $10,000.