Checking in with Better to Give

There is a long list of reasons for why I begged to join the UncommonGoods team, but mainly it was my curiosity about our roots as a founding B Corp and our commitment to a creative flagship donation program called Better to Give. (Although, it also didn’t hurt that it is located near top-notch taco joints and the best dim sum and soup dumplings New York City has to offer.) The Better to Give program epitomizes what we strive to do in all aspects of our business. Through the program, we show how to use business as a force for good, while offering all stakeholders an opportunity to express themselves through digital advocacy for organizations that align with our values and vision.

At the heart of the program, we have four core organizations that do good in ways that differ significantly (check ‘em out here). Each time you shop with us, you can choose one of these not-for-profit partners at checkout and we’ll donate a dollar to that organization on your behalf (but at no cost to you). Since launching Better to Give in 2001, we’ve donated over $1 million to our partners.

“Reach Out and Read is a nonprofit organization that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together.”

If you decide to share this digital advocacy effort on a social media platform, we double the contribution (which is a pretty cool way to spread the word about the organization, while letting friends know that you will be busy making your own dairy free cheese this weekend).

While we usually work with four Better to Give partners at a time, in late January we decided to add a fifth non-profit in response to the water crisis in Flint Michigan. The Flint Child Health and Development Fund focuses on assisting the greater Flint area in a way that will address both the short and long term issues facing their community and will use the contributions to help Flint through their current aid needs and beyond. So far this year, our contributions are as follows:

American Forests: $6,748
RAINN: $6,377
Women for Women International: $6,065
Reach Out and Read: $5,227
The Flint Child Health & Development Fund: $3,906

This June, we’ll be adding a new partner to our program, the International Rescue Committee, which is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1933. They’re currently at work in over 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities, fulfilling their mission to “help people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities” in the midst of humanitarian crisis, devastation, and disaster.

I’m excited to see what great work our partners have ahead of them, and as a leader of our Sustainability Steering Committee, I’m happy to work so closely with this program. I also personally look forward to considering which products might lead to my next Better to Give contribution. Knowing that each order is an opportunity for UncommonGoods to make a donation makes me feel good, as does buying my friends’ adorably weird baby gifts, brewing my own bourbon stout, and not having pistachio shells all over my kitchen table. I’m glad I’ve found a win-win situation, at the place I call my second home.