One Special Dame: Remembering Anita Roddick

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I first met Anita Roddick at a meeting of the Social Venture Network in the fall of 1991. I say “met,” more accurately: I encountered a human thrill ride. I was a newbie at that early gathering of progressive-minded entrepreneurs and, progressive though they were, they were also clubby, and the skepticism about whether nonprofit (and “radical!”) Mother Jones belonged in this business club was palpable. I girded myself for some power networking.

Anita, unquestionably the queen of the social venture movement, was standing behind a little table for The Body Shop at the “Product Expo,” and I approached to introduce myself. I was still several steps away when she spotted Mother Jones on my name tag and pounced. “Mother Jones! That’s the most bloody brilliant magazine!! It’s an inspiration! Tell me what you’re doing here.”

Profane charm, infectious enthusiasm, straight to the heart—in a few seconds Anita had given the new kid on the block instant credibility. It was just the beginning of her generosity to me and to Mother Jones. Anita’s wear-it-on-her-sleeve enthusiasm was one part of her effectiveness as a businesswoman and activist—it was hard to resist her energy, not that it would be smart to try.

Her commitment to the causes she cared about ran deep, and a few years and several rollicking collaborations later, she joined the board of Mother Jones‘ nonprofit parent. There are lots of stories from her years as part of the Mother Jones famly, and in the next few days, I’ll share some as part of our tribute to her. Anita’s (and husband Gordon’s) generosity, connections, and business smarts have helped MoJo through more ups and downs than the Cyclone. In that, we’re not alone—today there are dozens of causes acknowledging the significance of the Roddicks’ support—but we owe her a special debt. And we intend to pay it back in the only way that she would care about—with “bloody-brilliant,” kick-ass journalism.

Jay Harris
President & Publisher

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

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