January 20, 2024

How It All Began: Discovering Compassionate Action for Animals

Kedar Deshpande’s story with Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) began in 2007. He was a committed vegan when he moved to Minneapolis and began searching for a community that shared his values. “I had heard about CAA’s work in free food sampling and animal advocacy and made a donation because I love using food as a gateway to talking about animals,” Kedar shares. After connecting with CAA co-founder Unny Nambudiripad, Kedar quickly became very involved with the organization.

A Legacy of Volunteering and Leadership

Over the years, Kedar has taken on a variety of roles with CAA, including:

• Distributing educational leaflets
• Organizing potlucks and food sampling events
• Co-organizing the “Their Lives, Our Voices” animal advocacy conference
• Contributing to VegGuide.org, a global catalog of vegan-friendly restaurants started by CAA co-founder Dave Rolsky

Outside of CAA, Kedar was also involved in spearheading the opening of a vegan pop-up café in the Old Arizona building (now Eat Street Crossing).

Finding CAA’s Previous Office Space: A Historic Milestone

One of Kedar Deshpande’s most important contributions to Compassionate Action for Animals was helping the group find its first office outside the University of Minnesota campus. CAA had outgrown its small office in Coffman Memorial Union, so the board asked Kedar and co-founder Dave Rolsky to find a bigger, better space. They also wanted to help CAA expand its horizon beyond campus. Kedar and Dave focused on the Whittier/Uptown area because it was central and close to many volunteers and board members. 

“When I found the office on 1st Avenue South in 2009, it almost seemed too good to be true. It was large, well-maintained, and extremely cheap.” Kedar recalls. The historic building had charm and beauty, but it wasn’t without its quirks. “The only issue was a giant hole in the ceiling that gave a clear view to the sky; the landlord at the time allowed the fire department to run training drills jumping through the roof!”

Despite the initial challenges, the office became a vibrant hub for CAA’s operations and community events. The building fostered a sense of community, with friendly neighbors adding to the positive atmosphere. Kedar fondly remembers a Somali-American tenant who ran tutoring programs for kids in the space below. “There was always a lot of energy and community spirit in the building,” he shares.

When the office faced a break-in in 2010, the neighbor downstairs sprang into action, confronting the intruder and alerting CAA to the situation. Kedar appreciates the unique experiences and connections that the space provided. While he acknowledges the bittersweet nature of moving on to CAA’s new space in NE Minneapolis, he’s optimistic about the potential of the new office. “I’m excited by the size and scope of the new space and the opportunities it offers for hosting events and attracting new people.”

This pivotal moment in CAA’s history highlights Kedar’s dedication to the organization and his ability to turn challenges into opportunities.

Why Kedar Volunteers

Kedar’s passion for CAA’s mission is rooted in his love for engaging with people and creating meaningful change. “Meeting people, vegan or otherwise, was always a passion. I loved that CAA was talking to people and engaging with everyone, spreading knowledge about the mistreatment of animals while also opening people’s eyes and taste buds to great vegan foods,” he explains.

He also values CAA’s commitment to education and community-building, which he sees as essential to promoting plant-based eating and animal advocacy.

Making an Impact Beyond Volunteering

In addition to his hands-on contributions, Kedar has found creative ways to support CAA financially. In 2024, he secured a matching grant for his donations and an additional grant for his volunteer hours through his employer. This additional funding amplifies CAA’s efforts and sets an inspiring example for others to follow. 

Find out more about employer matching and see if your company participates in this or similar programs! 

Life Outside of CAA

When he’s not volunteering, Kedar enjoys community gardening in the Whittier neighborhood, biking, and exploring new vegan-friendly restaurants. His motivation comes from his belief that animals deserve protection and that plant-based eating is a powerful way to create change.

Join Kedar in Making a Difference

Kedar Deshpande’s journey with CAA shows how passion and dedication can make a significant impact. From organizing events to securing funding, his contributions have helped CAA grow and thrive.

If Kedar’s story inspires you, consider volunteering with CAA, donating, or exploring creative ways to support the organization, like securing a matching grant through your employer. Together, we can create a more compassionate world for animals, people, and the planet.

Past Volunteer Spotlights

If you would like to get to know some other volunteers, check out other recent volunteer profiles:

Volunteer Spotlight on Anna Larsson

Volunteer Spotlight on Alysia Nelson

Volunteer Spotlight on Tom Hoch

Volunteer Spotlight on Lexy Race

Volunteer Spotlight on Faustine Micheyls

Volunteer Spotlight on Grace Prins

Volunteer Spotlight on Kim Milligan

Volunteer Spotlight on Allison Gamble

The mutual benefits of volunteering for CAA

Volunteers are key to everything we do. They help us to accomplish far more than we can do with our small staff and amplify our impact for animals. In 2023, our staff engaged over 260 volunteers, contributing more than 740 hours, across 96 different activities — a savings of over $12,000 if we had hired them. Learn more about volunteer impact every year in our annual reports.

Equally important is that the volunteers themself benefit from enhanced skills in advocacy and leadership as well as a sense of community. This fits with our theory of change which includes the following cyclical steps: increasing awareness, building community, empowering advocates, and creating change. Volunteering touches on each of these areas.

See all volunteer opportunities here.

CAA’s Theory of Change

Our theory of change emphasizes a welcoming approach, which is recognized as most effective at creating change and models the empathy we want to promote.

The theory explains how we achieve our mission to encourage people to embrace their empathy for animals and move toward a plant-based diet. It also supports our vision of a world where all animals, human and nonhuman, can thrive. 

This change theory reflects how we grow our movement. Through our CAA programs, events, and activities, we facilitate a cyclical process of increasing awareness, building community, empowering advocates, and creating change. This process focuses on both individual and institutional change. 

What kind of change do we create? Our programs reduce consumption of animal products and improve the lives of farmed animals. In addition, they benefit the well-being of all Minnesotans.

Compassionate Action for Animals’ theory of change was initially developed in 2017 with an online survey sent to key stakeholders, two town hall meetings open to the community members, and a strategic planning meeting attended by staff, core volunteers, and board members.

Get Involved and Volunteer With CAA

If you believe in our mission and our theory of change, we encourage you to get involved too. Sign up for one of our upcoming volunteer opportunities. There are so many fun events and options to choose from. Whatever your talents may be, you can find a volunteer opportunity that’s right for you — from photography to cooking and serving food, helping with setup and cleanup at events, greeting guests, and so much more.

We thank you for all the ways that you speak up for animals and help our community!