The group of people that assisted with writing the grant proposal or who are representatives of groups that played a key role in the grant proposal is called the Heart. This group consists of Marc Smith, Kaare Melby, Stefan Meyer, Karl Klinker, Honor Schauland, Lise Abazs, David Abazs, and Shannon Walz. The Heart’s role is to make the policies that will guide the big picture for the Finland Food Chain.

Honor Schauland is the Project Coordinator. She will facilitate communication between the Heart, the Finland Food Chain Brain, the Working Groups, and the broader community. She will hire project assistance as necessary, and in so doing, will negotiate contract rates. She will facilitate meetings unless it is determined by the group that outside facilitation is necessary. Kaare Melby is the Communications Assistant for Friends of Finland, and will thus assist the Coordinator in a similar role for the Finland Food Chain. Colby Abazs is assisting with taking minutes. Marc Smith has assisted with grant writing in the past and is likely to do so again.

The Finland Food Chain Brain is a group that is meant to be composed of a broad spectrum of the community, especially representatives of each of the Working Groups. The Brain’s role is to assess each Working Group’s project for viability and adherence to the overall policies and vision of the Finland Food Chain and to assign funding to viable projects.

The Working Groups represent the Hands. These are the folks working on the important things on the ground. Each project must send one or more representatives to participate in Brain meetings in order to be considered a viable project.

What constitutes a Viable Project? A Viable Project has a minimum of 3 people. It has a clearly defined outcome. It has a work plan that contributes to the overall vision. It has a budget that includes people power and material needs, and a plan for how to meet those material needs. Think about what knowledge or training you and your group need to make this happen. Keep this in mind as you make your budget. A viable project must keep meeting notes and other means of documenting your work. Reporting and knowledge sharing are required. Everything you create is community-owned. A designated spokesperson from your group must attend Food Chain Brain meetings to keep the larger group updated. We recommend groups that are stuck to come back to the Coordinator/Brain for assistance. We can coach you through it.