Our founders
Thom Norman
Co-Founder and Director of Outreach
My cats Luna and Sirius mean the world to me. And when I think about pigs, cows, and chickens, I can't help but imagine how I'd feel if my beloved pets (let’s be real, family) suffered the same fate as those unlucky animals. That's why I left my job as a lawyer to help put an end to factory farming, which eventually led me to co-create FarmKind.
Most people know that factory farming is wrong, but many don't think there’s anything they can do about it. FarmKind offers a solution to this hopeless feeling by connecting compassionate people like yourself with charities doing their best to end animal suffering.
Aidan Alexander
Co-Founder and Director of Platform
It took me seven years to meaningfully change my diet. During that journey, I discovered something surprising: Some charities can do 100x more good per dollar than others. I realized I could have been helping farmed animals through donation all that time, even though I was still eating burgers.
I co-founded FarmKind to make it easier for everyone who cares about animals to help them, regardless of where they are on their own journey. You don't need to disrupt your life to make a real difference! If you want to help farmed animals, I understand – and I'm here to support you."
Our team
Toni Vernelli
Head of Special Projects
Toni Vernelli - Head of Special Projects
Drew Housman
Head of Community Engagement
Drew Housman - Head of Community Engagement
Polina Povarova
Head of Growth
Polina Povarova - Head of Growth
Our advisors
Melanie Joy, PhD
Harvard-educated psychologist specializing in the psychology of social transformation and relationships. Award-winning author of seven books, including the bestselling "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows" and "How to End Injustice Everywhere." She is the eighth recipient of the Ahimsa Award — previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. She is the founding president of the charitable organization, Beyond Carnism.
Louise Pfeiffer
Regional Director for The Life You Can Save, the organization founded by philosopher Peter Singer to recommend impactful charities addressing global challenges such as poverty alleviation, climate change, and animal welfare. The Life You Can Save has inspired over $100 million in donations to high-impact charities. Previously, Louise was president of Australia's Animal Justice Party.
Matthew Coleman PhD
Executive Director of Giving Multiplier, an award-winning donation platform created by psychology researchers at Harvard University which has raised over $4 million for charity.
Elizabeth Novogratz
Author and the founder of Species Unite, a non-profit media platform and community of over 125,000 newsletter subscribers with a shared love of animals, wildlife and the environment. As a writer, producer, founder, and creative, Elizabeth works to change the story for animals everywhere.
Sebastian Schwieker
Founder of Effektiv Spenden, a website that helps donors in Germany and Switzerland to identify and support highly impactful charities. Since 2019, they have raised over €80 million for some of the world's leading charities.
Melanie Joy, PhD
Harvard-educated psychologist specializing in the psychology of social transformation and relationships. Award-winning author of seven books, including the bestselling "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows" and "How to End Injustice Everywhere." She is the eighth recipient of the Ahimsa Award — previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. She is the founding president of the charitable organization, Beyond Carnism.
Louise Pfeiffer
Regional Director for The Life You Can Save, the organization founded by philosopher Peter Singer to recommend impactful charities addressing global challenges such as poverty alleviation, climate change, and animal welfare. The Life You Can Save has inspired over $100 million in donations to high-impact charities. Previously, Louise was president of Australia's Animal Justice Party.
Matthew Coleman PhD
Executive Director of Giving Multiplier, an award-winning donation platform created by psychology researchers at Harvard University which has raised over $4 million for charity.
Elizabeth Novogratz
Author and the founder of Species Unite, a non-profit media platform and community of over 125,000 newsletter subscribers with a shared love of animals, wildlife and the environment. As a writer, producer, founder, and creative, Elizabeth works to change the story for animals everywhere.
Sebastian Schwieker
Founder of Effektiv Spenden, a website that helps donors in Germany and Switzerland to identify and support highly impactful charities. Since 2019, they have raised over €80 million for some of the world's leading charities.
Community impact
Thanks to the generosity of communities across YouTube, Substack, and other platforms, we've collectively [helped X animals/raised $Y] for charities working to fix factory farming. We're grateful to the creators who introduced their audiences to this work and to everyone who chose to take action.
Mithuna (Looking Glass Universe)
$X raised
Bentham’s Bulldog
$X raised
Scott Alexander
>$10,000 raised
If you’d like to use your platform to help animals, get in touch at hello@farmkind.giving
Transparency
Transparency is a core value at FarmKind, so we want to be as open as possible about our intentions, process, and funding.
Our operations
100% of donations on our platform go to users' chosen destination. We do not take a cut or charge any fees. To make this possible, our operational costs are independently funded by philanthropic grants. Our funders to date include:
A detailed breakdown of our funding sources over time can be found here.
Our beginnings and status
FarmKind was incubated in 2024 as part of the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program and operates through a fiscal sponsorship with Players Philanthropy Fund (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178, www.ppf.org/pp), a Maryland charitable trust with federal tax-exempt status as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Donations through our platform
A detailed breakdown of donations made through our platform can be found here. It includes details on how many donors and donations we had, how much they gave and to which charities on a monthly basis.
