So you think that you know PETA, huh? Most of you know us for our eye-catching protests, eyewitness investigations, and work with compassionate celebrities, but there are other ways we help animals that may surprise you. That’s why we’ve created “PETA: A Force for Change“—an exciting six-part series that will give you a peek behind the scenes to show you some of the more unique things that we do to help animals. Let’s get started with Part One, shall we?

Unless you’re the CEO or another executive of one of the many unfortunate companies that we target through our shareholder resolution campaign, you may not know that we often take the fight to the boardroom. A great way to influence companies is from within, so we use donated shares of a stock or purchase the minimum amounts of stock in companies that support cruelty to animals, including SeaWorld and Bed Bath & Beyond. As a shareholder, PETA can attend and speak at annual meetings, share information on animal issues, and submit resolutions that call on the companies to adopt better animal-welfare standards.

Thanks to our generous supporters, we have submitted more shareholder resolutions than any other nonprofit organization anywhere in the country, for any cause. About half of our resolutions won’t actually come to a vote, because companies will often negotiate with us in order to avoid having our statements read at their annual meetings.

We’ve also won major victories for animals by using this tactic. Companies including Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Burger King, Safeway, Denny’s, and Winn-Dixie have improved their welfare standards for the animals who are killed for their food, and Dow Chemical, Exxon, DuPont and other multi-national companies are moving away from crude and cruel animal testing in part because of PETA’s lifesaving shareholder activism. Speaking out at these meetings not only helps us win our campaigns against these companies but also shows consumers and shareholders that, while profit remains a priority, profit at the expense of human decency is a hollow reward.

So now that you know about PETA’s shareholder resolution campaign, check it out for yourself and find out how to sponsor a resolution, donate a stock, or attend an annual meeting.

Photo by Marcus Oleniuk

While you do that, we’ll be over here making sure that Canada Goose—the latest company that we own stock in—knows that we’re not down with it killing birds for their feathers and coyotes for their fur.

As you can see, helping to better the lives of animals is a long-term investment, and there are a variety of ways PETA does that. That brings us back to our “PETA: A Force for Change” series. Check back next week for the second installment. Spoiler alert: It will bring you great relief.