Klara Schmidt
An exclusive interview with Charlotte and James Monico, match funders of our End of Year Fundraising Appeal.
Today, we shine a spotlight on Charlotte and James Monico, the generous match funders for our End Of Year Fundraising Campaign. Both are philanthropists who have pledged to commit a meaningful percentage of their wealth to charitable causes.
Their journey to support animal protection is rooted in gratitude for their past successes and a shared vision of a world where animals live comfortable, natural lives, free from suffering.
Read on to find out about their motivations and commitment to our mission to end the abuse of animals raised for food.
Why did you pledge to commit a meaningful percentage of your current or future wealth to charity? We both feel tremendously grateful for the opportunities we’ve had and the successes we’ve worked toward in business earlier in our careers. We’ve allocated our time, treasure, and talents differently—toward creating more social good and social impact, and making a pledge to do the most good possible is truly a privilege.
It’s been a very rewarding experience to have joined the Founders Pledge community and committed our philanthropy to highly impactful and worthwhile causes like The Humane League UK.
When did your interest in animal protection begin? Since childhood, really. There has always been a regard for the lives of farmed animals. Their lives are meaningful, intrinsically, not just because of their instrumental value to consumers.
Charlotte deeply understood this since she grew up on a farm that raised high-welfare animals. The idea of animals being mistreated, suffering unnecessarily, and having no voice of their own or advocates on their behalf deeply troubles us.
What inspired you to start supporting The Humane League UK? We’re both members of Founders Pledge and value the research and recommendations of the team. They identify some of the world’s most pressing problems, the highest impact interventions to solve those problems, and then organisations doing the actual work to solve them.
It’ll be exciting to see our contribution double and feel a growing community of donors from last year join us in year two alongside new friends committed to ending unnecessary animal suffering.
The Humane League is one of the most cost-effective animal advocacy organisations in the world, and we value its track record of success in pushing companies to improve welfare standards and its commitment to openness, evidence, and impact. Now that we have met some of the team, we are even more inspired by their work and commitment to ending unnecessary animal suffering.
How do you hope the world will become a kinder place for animals? We don’t hold any strong belief that there is a single solution, but we do know that we can be a small part of what drives changes through our lifestyle changes, donations, or public advocacy. We hope to help with this second end-of-year campaign and to encourage all those who participated last year to renew and upgrade their support and for new donors to consider joining us this year.
Why have you chosen to match fund our end-of-year appeal for the second year running? We’re inspired by The Humane League UK’s successes in corporate pressure campaigning and the progress of its legal challenges undertaken here in the UK. We both believe that with more donor support, there will be less suffering for animals ahead. We chose to match funds for a second year to be a catalyst for immense good.
It’ll be exciting to see our contribution double and feel a growing community of donors from last year join us in year two alongside new friends committed to ending unnecessary animal suffering.
What would you say to anyone considering donating to The Humane League UK and our end-of-year appeal?
We’d ask, if not now, then when? To paraphrase Sean (Gifford, Managing Director of The Humane League UK), we’re advocating for the lives of one billion thinking and feeling chickens forced to endure the cruelest practice in modern farming.
Their lives hang in the balance, and supporting The Humane League UK today is a uniquely exciting time to give and be a part of animal welfare history here in the UK.
We would like to thank James and Charlotte Monico for, not only supporting our end of year campaign for the second year running, but also taking the time to share their personal motivations for giving.
We’d also like to express our gratitude to Founders Pledge and their community of entrepreneurs, who commit to donating a portion of their wealth to good causes, for their continued support.
If you'd like to maximise your impact for farmed animals and be a part of animal welfare history, consider making a donation to our End of Year appeal.
While contributions are currently no longer being doubled, your donation can still make a world of difference to countless individuals suffering on factory farms. Together, we can create a brighter future for animals.
