Small businesses are making a big difference in a global initiative to make philanthropy part of our every day shopping experience.
The founder of B1G1 (also known as buy-one-give-one) Masami Sato, is finding it’s small operators who have the biggest power to change the world.
“We have worked with 2300 business and these businesses have created more than 157 million giving impacts so far,” said Ms Sato.
“We work with a lot of small businesses because small businesses have an amazing power to change things,” she said.
“When we look at this big world it’s so easy to feel very small and the things that we see and experience can often be overwhelming.”
“But what if all that’s missing is the connections to link people with meaningful impactful giving opportunities to make a difference and solve those problems?”
“For example, imagine a café giving access to lifesaving water for every single coffee that they sell, imagine an accountant giving a goat for every client they see and that goat could mean increased income for a family.”
“What if every time you bought or sold something, it made a difference?”
“Sixteen thousand children die every day from preventable causes, 700,000 people do not have access to clean water, 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation and these big numbers can be overwhelming.”
“When I became a mum, I realised my daughter could be any one of those children I saw living in poverty when I travelled.”
“I thought if I worked hard and was successful I could sell the business and start a soup kitchen, but I just became busier and busier.”
“Then one day an idea came to me what if instead of trying to do big things I gave a little bit every day,”
“I had a food company and decided that for every packet of food I sold I would feed a child.”
“So, the idea of B1G1 was born.”
“You can give two cents to give access to a playground to a child in Cambodia for one day or give access to a sewing machine to a woman in Bangladesh for 11 cents for a day.”
“We break down significant big impacts into tiny micro giving units so that any business big or small can say this is how we want to make a difference.”
“This shows the power of small and it’s really amazing what can be possible when we connect all these small dots together.”
“I think businesses are like bumble bees flying around collecting nectar, but I think sometimes can forget simple things like how to pollenate a flower.”
To see how your business could give back go to B1G1.
