The Coco Canary Monthly Newsletter
April 2021
Summary: A Social Justice Grounding, 2020 Impact List Nominee, Speaking at a Conference, Giving Project 2021, and more!
Welcome to Coco Canary!
If you’re new here, read this section! Otherwise, skip on down.
Hello from Molly O’Connor, the CEO, and founder of Coco Canary Consulting, LLC (CCC), an evaluation & communications firm.
We are based in St. Paul, MN, and we acknowledge that we are on stolen indigenous lands. Home to the Santee Dakota and Anishinaabe people. These people were the first stewards of the lands we occupy, and they are still here. We honor their connection to this land and their ongoing resilience in the face of violent colonialism.
You may ask, how do social justice and racial equity relate to evaluation or communication? Well, from our experience, we have seen evaluations designed and communications reported in ways that harm, undervalue, and take advantage of the communities being served. This is our current status quo, and it is not okay. It has to change. This is why we do our work differently because we want to be apart of the solution, not the problem.
Please visit Community Centric Fundraising for more information. It is a new movement that has inspired thousands (including Coco Canary) to do better. For extra credit, visit Consulting With a Racial Equity Lens too.
A Grounding: Justice for George Floyd
I wanted to name that the last few weeks in the Twin Cities have been a lot. The murder of Daunte Wright and the Chauvin trial created a visceral tension felt worldwide. If you did not hear, there was a small victory. The officer that murdered George Floyd was guilty on all charges. I will be honest that hearing the news gave me a sigh of relief, but I did not feel joy. Sure, we witnessed accountability in action, but for true justice, we need to keep pushing for abolition.
If you’re unsure what police abolition is or have concerns about how it can be realized, please feel free to contact me. I know exactly what you are feeling and where you’re coming from because I was there just over a year ago. I was a questioner of abolition and identified as a “reformist.” But now, I feel like I understand much more why dismantling the current policing system is necessary.
There is much more to say, but I will end there.
Sending love and in solidarity,
-Molly
Business Updates
1. Coco Canary Made The 2020 Impact List!
One of my goals when running a business was to make sure I was doing my best at making an impact in my community (doing as little to no harm as possible). And, well, I may only be a year in as a full-time consultant, but being included in the 2020 Impact List gives me hope that I’m in the right direction.
This list was put together by @Social Enterprise MSP and powered by the @BushFoundation. This annual list highlights 80+ Minnesota-based social enterprises, recognizing their commitment to positive social and environmental impact. I am unable to attend the showcase event (I’ll be in Portland, OR for a wedding, but feel free to join on May 6th at the Impact Showcase event where they will recognize businesses and nonprofits alike committed to social good.
More on the recognition event and the full list can be found here: bit.ly/2020ImpactList
2. Recently Co-Published In The EvaluATE blog
If you didn’t already know, an article I co-wrote with Anna Rebecca (“AR”) Lopez was recently published on EvaluATE, an Evaluation Resource Hub. The article is titled Explore how Community-Centric Fundraising to Start Transforming Your Evaluation Work. Here’s an excerpt:
“March 2020 was a tough month for all of us. We—Anna Rebecca (“AR”) and I (Molly)—were working as evaluators in the science and STEM museum space. Well, until the sector-wide layoffs. In March, we found ourselves without work. We were grieving the loss of our colleagues and work friends, but, to be completely honest, we also felt a sense of relief. This is because we were extremely burned out. And it wasn’t until we were given the gift of quiet reflection and healing that we recognized this relief stemmed from our departure from the nonprofit sector’s biggest problem: its white-dominant and white supremacy culture problem.”
Since it being published, I’ve received several emails, Linkedin messages, and even calls from folks who could relate to what AR and I said. I feel fortunate to be physically and mentally in a place where I feel safe enough and brave enough to write articles like this. And I hope this article inspires more folks to speak out, and more importantly, demand change!
EvaluATE is the evaluation hub for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. They serve evaluators, project leaders and staff, grant specialists, and college administrators as the go-to partner for all things evaluation. The EvaluATE team is based at The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI.
Other Business Updates
If you don’t recall, I am a part of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice 2021 Giving Project Cohort, a cross-race/class group of people who care about systems change work. In the last few months, I learned so much about my class and white privilege and how I can better support racial justice initiatives. One way is through equitable fundraising, and our first deadline to support BIPOC-led systems change work is May 13th. It would mean so much to me and my cohort if you would consider donating. Please visit this page to see our progress, and email me at moconnor@cococanary.com if you want to talk about donating or learning more about The Giving Project.
Presenting at the 2021 Visitor Studies Association Annual Conference
In July, AR and I will be presenting at the Visitor Studies Association (VSA) 2021 Annual Conference. Our presentation is titled Centering Community: A Radical Discussion for Change in Visitor Research and is similar to the presentation we gave in December at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. VSA’s theme is Reimagining and Rebuilding: Visitor Studies After a Year of Change. Perhaps I’ll share more about this presentation in May or June.
Presenting at the 2021 Visitor Studies Association Annual Conference
In July, AR and I will be presenting at the Visitor Studies Association (VSA) 2021 Annual Conference. Our presentation is titled Centering Community: A Radical Discussion for Change in Visitor Research and is similar to the presentation we gave in December at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. VSA’s theme is Reimagining and Rebuilding: Visitor Studies After a Year of Change. Perhaps I’ll share more about this presentation in May or June.
Personal Update
Spring Is Here! A Poem and A Rave-Esque Seed Starting Station
Spring – A poem written by Molly O’Connor
Spring reminds me of many things.
Minnesota Spring is a time where the frozen buds of the previous year turn Minnesota’s barren yet beautiful landscape into a colorful and diverse world. Maple, Oak, Hackberry, Basswood, and towering Cottonwood trees expel their flowering bodies and develop tiny, light green or light red leaves, as the Red Oak does. While standing beneath a Basswood in the early spring, looking up towards its adolescent and translucent leaves is a stunning light green color that marvels no other tree.
Before the forest is carpeted in False Lily-in-the-Valley and Wild Ginger, violets from the Viola Family burst from the ground in the not yet shaded woodland forest floor. They clasp their petals tight and then release their lower petal to allow the perfect landing pad for wandering pollinators. Dutchmen’s Breeches dot hillsides and lowland river valleys with minuscule flowers shaped as upside-down trousers. Even as the flowers dispel, the plant continues to stand out due to its intricately lacy and oblong leaves. While walking down ravines and entering the lowland, Virginia Waterleaf delicately brushes your boots, almost as if gesturing you along, inviting you to go deeper into the floodplain forest. Nestled in sunny patches, the bright purple Phlox flowers bring bursts of color to the expansive green ground cover. And as leaves begin to form and the forest canopy starts to close, the sunny forest floor disperses. In these shaded bits hide batches of Jack-in-the-Pulpit. If you’re lucky, you’ll be graced with the presence of a Queen Bumblebee collecting nectar from within the tubular base, safeguarded by the flower’s spathe.
After the frosts are long gone, and there has been a heavy amount of rain comes the forest’s most elusive and mysterious inhabitants: the morel mushroom. Often found beside or near the base of dead elm trees, these mushrooms are like gold in a goldmine. People hike high and low, for hours on end, to find even just one morel. And when you find a patch, these spots stay a secret, not even told to your most trustworthy confidant. There is nothing that smells more like spring than the smell of cooking morels in salted butter.
All of these things remind us that spring and life are fleeting. During those moments of observation, reflection, and ingestion, not to take them for granted. We only get one spring per year, so it’s essential to appreciate the adolescent light-green Basswood leaves; to feel the lower petal of a violet between your fingertips; to listen to the echoing vibrations of a Queen Bumblebee within a Jack-in-the-Pulpit; and, most importantly, to eat your hand-picked morel mushrooms with deliberation and intension.
Let’s Stay Connected!
To keep up to date with my business news, connect or follow me on Linkedin. Don’t forget to follow our newsletter (or share with others), as well! And, of course, if you know of anyone who may benefit from our services, send them our way. Referrals are what make the world go round.
Much love and in solidarity,
Molly O’Connor (she/her/hers)
CEO – Evaluation & Communications Specialist
direct: (612) 868-0364
email: moconnor@cococanary.com
website: cococanary.com
Black Lives Matter
Justice for Daunte Wright, Ma’Khia Bryant, Andrew Brown, and so many more
