Business owners today will know that running your own business isn’t just about profit: it’s about having a mission, improving people’s lives, and making a difference in the world.
Increasingly, small businesses and sole traders are paving the way for a new model of responsible business – putting charity at the heart of their everyday work, by linking donations to their products, sales or services.
At Work for Good, we’ve got hundreds of examples of how to build charity giving into your work – but here are some of our favourites:
Evermore Candles
Sarah from luxury candle brand Evermore uses awareness days to build buzz around her products, raising awareness and donations for relevant environmental charities.
“As a brand, we are trying to take as many steps as we can to be kind to the environment. We’ve chosen to donate to WWF for Earth Hour, and to Friends of the Earth for World Environment Day. We’ll also be getting involved with World Recycling Week as well as donating to Cool Earth for Black Friday this year.”
Tomorrow
Indie clothing brand Tomorrow donate to a different cause for each of their unique T-shirt designs.
“Focusing on both the social and the environmental, Tomorrow aims to bring a new form of engagement to help tackle some of the issues we all face. The company operates on a 50/50 basis, meaning half of all profits are donated equally between the related charity and artist behind each design.”
Diamond Travel
Olein runs her own travel agency, Diamond Travel. “I donate £5 per booking over £500 to a charity of my customer’s choice as a thank you for booking with Diamond Travel.” So far Olein has donated to Mind, Binti International (who support girls in developing countries with period education), MS Society UK, and many other charities close to her customers’ hearts.
The Happy Chair
Small businesses might not be able to donate all the time, but when they can, it counts! The Happy Chair Company don’t just help the world by restoring and upcycling furniture and encouraging sustainable interior design – they also give to charity through the sales of certain products. The red chair above gave 15% of the final price to End Youth Homelessness!
Babysitters Of
Babysitting service Babysitters Of use their charity donations to help their babysitters feel more involved with the agency.
“We give 10% of one day’s revenue each month. This month, we gave 10% gained from sales on the 11th, and asked our ‘babysitter of the month’ to choose the recipient charity. She chose Battersea Dogs and Cats Home!”
Five businesses, five very different ways of giving back. But all of them are united by their determination to do something good in the world, despite their small size. Small business heroes, we salute you!
Want to start donating through your business? With Work for Good you can get it all set up in just a few clicks, for free! We take care of the legal admin for you — plus we’ll help you set your own donation targets, pay donations to the charities and promote your giving to your clients and customers. Visit the Work for Good website to find out more.
