Over and over I have seen that when people feel they are all working together to help others, office morale is high, and negative office politics don’t tend to develop. This creates wonderful working conditions and helps attract and retain loyal employees.
Giving doesn’t just make it easy to attract great employees; it also means you can attract great partners as well. After all, it’s hard to start any business alone; you will always benefit from finding other people to lend you their name, their expertise, and even their company’s resources. You’ll quickly find that businesses want to partner with other businesses that are doing something good—and they root for you to succeed, because they admire your giving goals.
From our very first year, TOMS has been able to attract many different partners. We worked with Microsoft and AOL on One Day Without Shoes (ODWS), Threadless also participated by designing an ODWS T-shirt contest; Facebook, on our holiday campaigns; YouTube, in getting our story out there; and Teen Vogue, which created a Style Your Sole contest—just to name a few of the many organizations that have worked with us. A few others: Ralph Lauren, Digg’s Kevin Rose, charity: water’s Scott Harrison, and Element skateboards’ Johnny Schillereff.
Moreover, very large companies seldom have giving programs that resonate with the public—too often, they look like tax write-offs or publicity gimmicks. But by partnering with smaller companies or nonprofits that are more hands-on, these large companies are able to help people better understand their brand’s giving efforts while also raising employee morale.
They need us as much as we need them, and that’s what makes these partnerships so great. For example, Saks Fifth Avenue gave charity: water every window on Fifth Avenue and raised $300,000 by selling charity: water bracelets and T-shirts. This was great for charity: water but also helped Saks’ image and created much enthusiasm among Saks employees.
Similarly, Gap partnered with Lauren Bush’s FEED to make three shoulder bags; five dollars from each sale went directly to FEED. The bag also came with a DonorsChoose code so that the money would be given to a school of the buyer’s choice.
Another example: GOOD magazine, “the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good,” partnered with Starbucks to create the GOOD Sheet, an info-graphic that highlighted such hot-button issues as education, healthcare, and carbon emissions.
And another: Frito-Lay North America (a division of PepsiCo) formed a partnership with TerraCycle to take used Frito-Lay packages and turn them into quality goods. The program encourages consumers and local community groups to earn money by collecting the used packaging and at the same time redirect packaging from landfills. This program feeds right into TerraCycle’s purpose and also allows Frito-Lay to get more out of their giving.
Just as TOMS outsources technology because we are not a technology company, these large companies partner with cause-related organizations because it’s not their core competency. Both companies benefit from the arrangement—and, more important, it exponentially increases the amount of good that gets accomplished.
This is even true for TOMS. While our roots are in Shoe Drops, our global shoe giving is now accomplished through humanitarian organizations with deep roots in the communities in which they operate. They serve children in a holistic way, through health, education, clean water, and more. And they integrate our shoes into their programs for even greater impact. Their ongoing presence means we can get shoes to kids again and again as they grow. Shoe Drops are still a means for us to visit these organizations and help place shoes on kids’ feet, but these partnerships have made our global giving possible, as well as more powerful.
Despite the fact that making giving an essential part of business is a win-win, it hasn’t always been in favor. In the past, many prominent economists and gurus have spoken out against corporate giving. The influential American economist Milton Friedman is often quoted as saying that the only social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Period.
That was the reigning philosophy in mid-twentieth-century America, but such thinking is out of date and out of gas. Social and economic priorities are merging. Companies realize that a profits-only focus risks alienating customers and partners. They also know that if they want to attract the best talent, they have to pay attention to having a positive social impact; remember the 2006 Cone study showing that 80 percent of respondents said they wanted to work for a company that cares about its impact on society. Likewise, a 2008 study from Stanford University business school found that 97 percent of the students polled would forgo financial benefits to work for a company that had a better reputation for corporate social responsibility.
Most large corporations, from Prudential to IBM, from 3M to Sears, have programs that give back to the community, many for obvious reasons: Apple donates hundreds of computers to schools, which helps education as well as creating a market for Apple products. American Express funds Travel and Tourism Academies in secondary schools—the more people there are trained to help those who travel, the more people will travel using American Express cards. Home-improvement retailer Home Depot has partnered with the child-oriented nonprofit KaBOOM! to build 1,000 playgrounds in 1,000 days, putting $25 million into the initiative and getting almost 100,000 Home Depot employees to volunteer in some way. Kroger supermarkets give local nonprofits cards that allow users to buy groceries at 5 percent off the retail price. The nonprofits then sell these cards and retain the difference.
Other companies have created programs that are less obviously connected to their brand but are instead based on a sense of doing what is right—and that helps to create a strong sense of customer loyalty. For example, shoe company Timberland allows full-time employees to take a week off from the office to work with its own service initiative called Path of Service. Each employee can pick whichever project he or she wishes and is paid a regular weekly salary. As a result, Timberland has a very high employee retention rate.
As you can see, I highly recommend that anyone starting a business incorporate giving into its essence. But you don’t have to be starting something to make a difference. Sometimes, in fact, having an impact can spring from the efforts of wonderful people taking the initiative within an existing company. For example, here’s a story from bestselling author and consultant Tim Sanders about some thoughtful employees at the Canadian bank CIBC, which he described in his manifesto on corporate responsibility, Saving the World at Work.
In 1997, the community-relations group of CIBC’s Edmonton, Alberta, branch signed on to sponsor the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s annual Run for the Cure fund-raiser. The sponsorship program offered a modest amount of financial support and encouraged CIBC employees to participate, by either running in the event or pledging money to those who did.
For the next three years, hundreds of tellers from Edmonton to Toronto decided that they wanted to give as much as they could; they signed up to run for the fund-raiser, organized teams at each of the branch locations to strategize how to raise more money, and participated in corporate promotions, putting up posters and wearing T-shirts and pink ribbons provided by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
By 2001, after thousands of CIBC employees had joined in, senior bank executives asked the brand-marketing group to research the impact of the company’s sponsorship. The resulting data suggested that it was driving the bank’s popularity with customers, especially women, and that a side benefit was a boost in employee retention.
Because of these efforts and their results, bank executives then reclassified the program as strategic to the company, moving it from their community-affairs department to the powerful and well-funded brand-marketing group. They also approved an additional three million dollars in sponsorship money to promote the event through television, print, and Web advertisements. Today, Race for the Cure is the largest breast cancer fund-raising event in North America—all because CIBC employees got together to make sure that their company gave back to its community.
In 2010 they raised a record $33 million.
Even if you’re not going to start a company that matters, you can still start something small that can be built into something that matters in a very big way.
Whoever you are and whatever you do, giving is important. Start now. Start by helping other people—anyone you can. Do something simple. You don’t have to start a business or big initiative right away—you can begin just by changing your mindset. Commit to seeing the world through the lens of how you can initiate meaningful change.
I founded my first company when I was nineteen years old, but none of my early companies, or even my free time, had anything to do with charity or giving. That wasn’t part of my worldview then.
But when I began to realize what I should—and what I could—do, everything changed. I made a life choice and switched to this mode of interaction with the world. It was a very difficult decision to make when starting something new; I could have waited until the business was mature and then created some tax write-offs. But it was an important decision to move forward early, because if you wait a long time before you act, you won’t gain all of the benefits mentioned in this chapter. Needless to say, I’m glad I made that decision.
Don’t make giving an afterthought. If it resonates with you, figure out how to responsibly make it a part of what you are creating. Here are some more tips to help you incorporate giving into your organization:
Money is wonderful, and necessary, but there are plenty of other ways to become involved besides making financial donations. And while I would never downplay the importance of money, remember that the more you’re actively involved in your giving, the more fulfilling it will be for you, and the more it will become a part of your everyday life. When you give only money, you often don’t know where it goes, and you seldom see its results.
Everyone has some talent that they can donate to others. If you’re a dentist, offer to do pro bono teeth cleanings for families that couldn’t otherwise afford your services. If you’re a writer, offer to write up publicity and promotion pieces for a nonprofit that needs help. Scott Harrison has an accountant who has raised many hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity: water because he works with many wealthy clients; as their accountant, he knows exactly how much they can afford to write off at the end of the year!
The Official TOMS Couple, Sara and Jordan Maslyn, share a smooch on their wedding day.
Let others know about your giving as often as you can, whether it’s through marketing campaigns, vacations, relationships, dates, etc. Soon you will find yourself surrounded with like-minded people. For instance, TOMS received this great story on Valentine’s Day of a couple whose marriage was inspired by TOMS.
When we were in Virginia on vacation this past summer (from our home in CA), our delightful 22-year-old bearded, tattooed Web-designer son and our family were eating burgers at a little retro diner in Williamsburg. We were approached by a (brave!) girl. “My friend wanted me to give you her number” is what she told our son.
Yes, this cute and stylish 20-year-old thought our son was cute … but what clinched it was that he was wearing TOMS! Because he was fashionable AND socially conscious, she could NOT let this opportunity pass by! He called her. They dated cross-country (interrupted briefly by his six-week trip to help orphans in Kenya). They are now planning their Virginia wedding and they want everyone in the wedding party (bride, groom, attendants, flower girls—parents???) to wear TOMS!
The story went right up on our blog!
THOUGHTFUL GIVING
Giving is a wonderful act—but giving responsibly is essential to having true impact. Here are some tips on thoughtful giving from two people who know a great deal about the subject: Candice Wolfswinkel, TOMS’ Chief Giving Officer, and Jessica Shortall, TOMS’ Director of Giving.
1. Always listen to the people and organizations you wish to help. In other words, don’t give based on your needs. Give based on the needs of the organization and people you wish to serve. Design your product, offer your service, donate your money, or volunteer your time based on what the organization you wish to help needs, not on what you want to give. Commit to always listening and always learning.
2. Don’t create a situation in which your gift contains hidden costs to the recipient. Ask questions about the entire cost of delivering your gift and, if you can, cover as many of these costs as possible.
For example, if you were to give someone, say, shoes, perhaps all they’d end up with is a big pile of shoes—organizations have to pay for transportation (trucks, cars, and even donkeys!), temporary storage, meals for volunteers who are helping out, and so on. If you’re giving your time as a volunteer, figure out your host organization’s financial obligations; this could mean housing, transportation, food, or time.
3. Put as few restrictions as possible on your gift (within the constraints of giving responsibly of course!). If you trust the organization, trust that they will use your resources in the most effective way possible.
4. When you give, keep your requirements for reporting simple and straightforward. At TOMS, we’d never ask one of our giving partners to send us a photo and the name of every child who receives shoes—they have too much work to do to spend all day taking photos! Understand that what you are giving is one part of a complex set of services that most nonprofit organizations are delivering. Ask your giving partners what information other donors are requiring for reporting to try to save them time on formatting and presentation, while still making sure you receive the critical information you need to complete your own mission.
5. Keep seeking feedback to improve your giving. Poverty, health initiatives, climate change, disaster relief: No cause is easy to solve, and no one will get it perfect on the first try. Ask for feedback on how your gift of time, money, or resources is or is not working, and then go back to point #1. Listen and don’t be afraid to make changes.
Start giving now, so you can enjoy the benefits throughout your life. In the old model, you waited until you turned sixty-five and retired before thinking about giving. There’s no need to wait anymore. Give until you’re sixty-five, and then give some more. If you find ways to make giving core to your business—or to your recreation or profession or even your existing job—you don’t have to deliver a lump sum to your favorite charity at some hazy point in the future: You can give every day of your life in the increments that make the most sense to you.
If you look at all the terrible troubles the world faces, you may feel helpless to do anything. So simplify things and just think about one issue, even one person. For example, a microloan website like Kiva.org allows you to help banks make loans to individuals for a specific project, such as to someone in Uganda who needs a goat for a small business. You can help that enterprise to sustain itself—and someday you’ll also get your money back. Changing just one person’s life can be a wonderful blessing.
Create selfless ways for people to help. For instance, Scott Harrison created a Birthday Campaign, in which participants forgo presents and a party by asking friends to donate their age in money to charity: water. This campaign has been enormously successful, and some people with a great many friends—such as marketing guru Seth Godin—have been able to raise as much as $50,000 in one day (not because he’s that old, but because he has that many friends).
No matter what you are giving—money, time, or even shoes—the people and organizations working on the front lines probably know more about how to use those resources effectively. Ask questions, truly listen, and then tailor your gift so that it is even more impactful.
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
—MAHATMA GANDHI
I would like to share with you a letter I recently received from a young man named Tyler Eltringham, the founder of OneShot, a wonderful organization that helps people receive meningitis vaccinations, both in America and in Africa.
Dear Blake,
A few months prior to starting my freshm
an year in college at Arizona State University, I discovered TOMS Shoes. A close friend of mine had shown me her pair of TOMS and then explained the concept of One for One. The shoes could have been the most hideous pieces of apparel on the planet and I still would have purchased multiple pairs, knowing how it was helping an individual elsewhere. But I really liked them!
My first pair were black canvas, and for the first two months I owned them I must have worn them every single day, because my friends told me it seemed like the shoes had become my second skin. The next semester, I purchased another pair as a “Congratulations, you made it through another semester of school!” present to myself; this became somewhat of a tradition, and now every semester I buy another pair.
A little background: I’m not the traditional college student. When I was five years old my parents got divorced; my mom and I packed our bags and moved from Pennsylvania to Arizona to start a brand-new life. Growing up, I always pushed myself into leadership roles, whether that meant barking out orders to stuffed animals on my playground as I led them into a fierce war, or soaking up the opportunities that Student Council had to offer.
Flash-forward to high school: My mom, who is also my best friend, fell very ill with pancreatitis and grand mal epilepsy. My stepdad had to quit his job to take care of her full-time, and our financial situation darkened. For three years we battled poverty and on-and-off homelessness, but the entire time my mom never gave up hope for my future. For instance, she once went without her pain medication for weeks to save up enough money to ensure I had a good Christmas. That image of selflessness still buckles my knees.