This year I’ve been fortunate enough to do plenty of travelling with my keynote speaking. I’ve visited six different countries and shared the stage with some incredible speakers. But the one that stands out the most for me would have to be the Buy1Give1 conference I attended in Bali in July. In fact, it was probably the most amazing conference I’ve ever spoken at, not only because of the location and company that I kept there but also having the opportunity to work so closely with such an amazing organisation.
Buy1Give1
If you haven’t already heard of Buy1Give1 (also known as B1G1), then here’s a little info to catch you up. Although many people think of them as a charity, they’re actually a global giving initiative. The idea of B1G1 is to raise money for other charities as opposed to for themselves. And it’s the way that B1G1 go about doing this that makes them so special. They allow everyday businesses to embed a giving culture into what they do each day. For every transaction that a business makes, they can then give to a cause that they believe in through B1G1. The money that B1G1 businesses give goes straight to where it’s needed – whether that be for medicine, food, shelter or water – without being eaten up by administrative costs.
How I got involved
Like a lot of companies, I always wanted my business to give something back but was under the mistaken belief that we were too small to make a real difference. I thought it was only companies making huge profits that could afford to give away 100k here and there. That was until I met a Paul Dunn at a conference in Brisbane two-and-a-half years ago. Paul’s the chairman of B1G1 and delivered what is now an inspiring TEDx talk, The power of small, in particular, the power that small and medium businesses have to do make big, positive impacts in the world. I signed up there on the spot and have been really proud to have been a part of B1G1 ever since.
Details and stats
So, here are a few reasons why Paul was so easily able to convince me to join. One of the appealing aspects of B1G1 is that 100% of a business’ giving goes directly to the people who need it. By paying a joining fee, you cover all the administrative costs, meaning that every one of your business’ transactions thereafter goes toward making genuine impacts. B1G1’s mission is to make positive differences all over the world by involving as many businesses as possible. The size of the company doesn’t matter because the impact you and your business create is more important than the dollar value.
For example, a coffee shop could provide someone with life-saving water for every hot drink they sell. Likewise, a business conference could educate a child for every audience member they have.
To date, B1G1 is involved in over 800 projects in 28 countries and with the help of the businesses that support them have created more than 85 million impacts. My team and I alone have already generated 400,000 impacts, and we aim to hit one million in the near future.
Conference
The Bali conference in July was a celebration of ten years since B1G1’s inception – the year when Paul Dunn and Masami Sato got together and decided to launch the organisation. It included some top speakers from all over the world including Daniel Priestley – co-founder of Dent Global and author of multiple bestselling books – and Tim Wade – multi-award winning business coach and consultant. These guys also shared the stage with young and inspiring people who imbibe B1G1’s philosophy by combining a positive
entrepreneurial attitude with a genuine desire to help others. All in all, it was a fantastic example of how businesses can adopt a philanthropic culture, as well as an acknowledgement as to just how far B1G1 has come, the impacts they’ve made and the exciting direction they’re going in.
Benefit for you, your business and the world
First and foremost, the aim of B1G1 is to allow businesses, no matter what size, to give something back and provide genuine help to those who need it. But beyond that, I’ve found that being involved in the organisation has been beneficial for entrepreneurs and their businesses. Imbuing your business with a giving philosophy can be a great way of building relationships within a team. It’s also a brilliant way to strengthen connections with clients. Some our clients have joined B1G1 after seeing the amazing results that we and many other businesses are achieving, both globally and in our own companies.
Go and check out their website and see what your business can do for the world.
