There was a (relatively brief) period when I was buying bottled water semi-regularly while in the city and, once I'd noticed them in 7-Eleven, I got in the habit of buying the 'Thankyou' ones because of the claim on their labels that profits went towards international development projects to improve lives (with individual tracking code number on each bottle to prove it); it also didn't hurt that they were Australian. A little while later, I noticed they'd expanded to muesli bars and cereal - and was impressed that they were being stocked by Woolworths - and added those to my shopping rotation too.
I've learned from reading Chapter One, by Thankyou (co-)founder Daniel Flynn, that the organisation is a genuine for-purpose social enterprise, set up as a charitable trust and with all of its profits going towards projects aimed at combating poverty. Also interesting to follow his account from idea to start-up to - at least at present - success, and what it took to get there (including some innovative approaches to campaigns targeting 7-Eleven, Coles and Woolworths through social media and other means), as well as their plans for scaling up their operations and impact including deliberate diversification of products before markets. It made me want to know more, as well as doing enough to make me believe that there might be something significant here in what they're doing and how they're doing it.
I received this as a gift (from Ray) but I also liked the angle on the book itself whereby purchasers choose how much to pay for it, and therefore the size of their contribution to Thankyou's purpose.
From the FAQ on their website:
How does Thankyou™ finance its operations?
Although we operate as a sustainable business, we’re different to most other companies in that we don’t have investors or shareholders. This is great for impact because it allows us to give 100% of profits to projects, but it also can be a challenge when it comes to growing the organisation. Because of this, a big part of what we do relies on our strategic partners, many of whom offer a range of services to us at a discounted rate. In addition, we have private donors who don’t invest but simply give towards growing the Thankyou business.
I've learned from reading Chapter One, by Thankyou (co-)founder Daniel Flynn, that the organisation is a genuine for-purpose social enterprise, set up as a charitable trust and with all of its profits going towards projects aimed at combating poverty. Also interesting to follow his account from idea to start-up to - at least at present - success, and what it took to get there (including some innovative approaches to campaigns targeting 7-Eleven, Coles and Woolworths through social media and other means), as well as their plans for scaling up their operations and impact including deliberate diversification of products before markets. It made me want to know more, as well as doing enough to make me believe that there might be something significant here in what they're doing and how they're doing it.
I received this as a gift (from Ray) but I also liked the angle on the book itself whereby purchasers choose how much to pay for it, and therefore the size of their contribution to Thankyou's purpose.
From the FAQ on their website:
How does Thankyou™ finance its operations?
Although we operate as a sustainable business, we’re different to most other companies in that we don’t have investors or shareholders. This is great for impact because it allows us to give 100% of profits to projects, but it also can be a challenge when it comes to growing the organisation. Because of this, a big part of what we do relies on our strategic partners, many of whom offer a range of services to us at a discounted rate. In addition, we have private donors who don’t invest but simply give towards growing the Thankyou business.
