An Interview with Wendy Millet

Changing systems and supply chains to create impact.

Wendy Millet in her element

Like Rome, all paths seem to lead to The Nature Conservancy (TNC). I was lucky to work there as a major gift officer years ago, and luckier still to stay in touch with truly amazing colleagues, like Wendy Millet. I admire her confidence and ease with people, and she remains the only woman I know who played ice hockey. So badass! Wendy sees what’s possible at a systems level, and is working on something cool called regenerative agriculture.

Tell us about your social impact.

I joined TomKat Ranch in Pescadero a decade ago, after years at Stanford’s Woods Institute and TNC. I knew this was the perfect job for me. It combines my passions for conservation, ranching, and horseback riding. Working landscapes really resonate with me and I want to help figure out how we can do it differently. We just can’t raise enough money to buy all the land we want to protect.

Sustainable grazing practices are the foundation of this work. We created a learning lab to trial innovative land management practices and build programs focused on developing systems to address the unique challenges facing small/mid-sized grassfed protein producers. We come at our work from all angles – philanthropy, impact investing, thought leadership, and boots on the ground – and convene at the ranch to explore ways to change agriculture and food systems.

One example: getting real food into schools. 

During Covid we launched Growing the Table to address food insecurity. Why can’t women-owned, minority-owned, and small organic farms get federal contracts for school meals? We want to disrupt the dominant paradigm. The program ran 12 pilots across California to connect underserved farmers with local food pantries.

We also teach. Internships and apprenticeships focus on a wide range of topics, from cattle and goat grazing to biodiversity and soils science. 

And for fun, I run Gallop Ventures, a hands-on experiential equine coaching program.

Tell us about something funny, crazy or unexpected that happened in your world of Doing Good.

The Farm Bill is the biggest program supporting farmers, including SNAP and food scarcity, yet big producers don’t always raise food that is healthy for both people and the planet. Our goal is to change supply chains – to rethink how we grow and provide food, and to encourage farmers and ranchers to grow food in ways that positively impact the planet.

Schools have the chance to create big impact. For example, a school cafeteria director orders from a big company and a truck delivers it. It’s convenient. They’re busy cooking meals for kids all day, so don’t have time to explore re-sourcing. Beef2Institution works to change how procurement happens. Healthy land practices can create healthier foods.

Everything is connected! Food is also an entry door to big issues, like water and climate change.

If you could change one thing about the process, what would it be?

Make multi-year, sustained gifts! These are so helpful and so needed by nonprofits.

We also need informed philanthropists. I’m a fan of funding networks to learn about what’s going on in the field. Funders for Regenerative Agriculture is a network for climate-friendly ag. Others focus on land use and food justice, like Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems Funders and California Foodshed Funders. Recently I spoke at an Environmental Grantmakers conference.

Think of your favorite funder or donor. What makes them great?

I really love the Globetrotter Foundation. They ask grantees to do a 3-minute video instead of a written report, and then post them on their website. Easy and impactful.

Great models are created by people who actually do the work. I’m thinking of an ag tech startup that created ear tags for cows to track temperature and movement. Interesting idea. Yet someone on the ground could have predicted what happened when they tested it at TomKat: within 2 seconds, the cow shook it off. The designers spent so much time and money building a prototype; just getting out on the land would have helped them learn about the challenges their product would face.

Philanthropy can’t be top-down. Pull one thread and it’s connected to all the others. People on the ground have an intimate understanding of those connections. 

What is one thing you’d like all donors to know about a nonprofit’s world?

Running a nonprofit can be much harder than running a business. There are many masters and so many different metrics! Grant cycles, budgeting, accounting, and all the proposals and reporting requirements get piled on top of the actual work. It’s important to honor the intangibles that make this work very challenging.