Impactful integrated giving in everyday businesses soars past 302 million impacts

by Masami Sato

Here’s a great ‘what if?’ for you to consider: what if every time business is done, something GREAT happens in the world?

You might respond “That would be great! But HOW on earth could you do that?”

We are asked that ‘HOW’ question every day here at B1G1.

So … let’s explain it.

B1G1 is about three key things: IMPACT, HABIT, and CONNECTION.

  1. We believe that every act of kindness should lead to a tangible impact on the world.
  2. We also believe that we can only transform our world by creating impactful habits.
  3. And it’s really about the connections that unite us all - so that we can achieve sustainable collective prosperity together.

We are so grateful for all businesses in B1G1 who have practiced these three things with us over the past 15 years and created more than 302 million impacts. We are also enormously grateful for B1G1 Worthy Causes that are working on the ground to make the difference in so many ways.

So, let me share some of these impacts with you today.

What constitutes “300 million impacts”???

It’s not easy to understand what this big number means. So, here are some of the different types of impacts that constitute the 300+ million acts of kindness in B1G1.

  • 18,221,232 days of education were given
  • 4,015,811 education support tools were given
  • 482,307 trees were planted
  • 13,209,629 days of food were given
  • 5,181,385 meals were provided
  • 9,234,595 days of nutritional supplements were given
  • 5,181,385 meals were given
  • 1,857,818 days of medical support were given
  • 324,880 medical consultations or treatments were given
  • 1,527 essential medical tools were given
  • 2,259,915 bricks were given toward infrastructure
  • 1,385,679 days of access to housing
  • 712,184 days of shelter were given
  • 375,020 days of access to income-generating tools were given
  • 5,340,640 days of improved sanitation access were provided

…….and many, many more.

It’s important to note that these impacts are created by small-to-medium-sized businesses.

Our collaborators and supporters have shown us the true power of small. And with the help of API and automation apps, giving with B1G1  has become even easier for businesses. And so, they truly can ‘embed’ these micro-impacts into their business actions.

We also see that more companies are willing to take part in initiatives like Pledge 1% and 1% for the Planet, committing to use a portion of their resources to achieve collective good.

It’s an extraordinary time. And urgent actions are certainly needed for us to overcome the challenges ahead of us.


Impact behind the scenes and beyond

When we count these impacts, we only count the impacts based on the direct outcomes. We do not take into account the potential indirect benefit of the project work for now because those impacts are not quite guaranteed. And sometimes, they can be even more profound than the direct outcome of the project work.

For example, providing free lunches at schools encourages impoverished families to send their children to school (so the children get at least one full meal) instead of sending them to the field to work. And having access to wholesome lunches can help children concentrate on their studies too.

We can also look at a variety of tree-planting projects in B1G1. Normally, you’d think the purpose of planting trees is to protect the environment. But there can be an additional benefit to some of the tree planting activities. For example, when particular fruit trees are planted (such as mango trees) in the garden of a family, the fruits from the trees help cover the cost of education for their children.

When you help rescue leftover food from food and hospitality industries (we now have a few projects that work on this issue), you can distribute the food to many people in need while reducing the potential carbon emissions from the waste products.

When we improve the access to quality education for girls, so many positive changes can be seen in communities where those girls grow up. Educated girls are more likely to become financially independent and choose to educate their own children and manage the wellbeing of the family members. They are less likely to be trapped in the cycles of poverty. This improves the quality of lives in the community as a whole too.

We are also starting to see more and more exceptionally innovative projects in B1G1 with double and triple (and more) benefits.

There are projects that give financial literacy education to families as well as access to community-saving schemes to let villagers take ownership of their own wealth creation. Another project collects plastic waste from beaches and seas, and turns them into bricks to build disaster-resistant schools and buildings.

And the true power of this idea is that these things are being enabled every day by the everyday actions of businesses around the world.

Of course, there are so many important issues we need to solve.

But we are taking steps here at B1G1.

And we cannot thank you enough for the support and for the 300+ million impacts you have helped create.

Here’s to many more impacts!