Social Entrepreneurship vs Non Profit

Buy The Change is part of an amazing trend in the world of business.  This trend, social entrepreneurship, is based on business practices focused on making a long term, positive social impact.  Because profits are not the main goal of our company, we can make decisions that allow growth while considering the best possible influence and outcomes for everyone involved.  From the women who make the products we sell, to the NGO's and/or microloan programs that helped them set up their businesses, to the fair trade wholesalers we use to help us source the best products, everyone's best interest is considered.  We choose only to do business with people and organizations that follow fair trade practices and function as social entrepreneurs themselves.

We take care to offer products you, our customers want to own.  We want to be the go to place when you need a gift for yourself or someone else.  The idea of buying fair trade products, that you will probably never use, as a donation to a non-profit is becoming obsolete.  Social entrepreneurship is replacing this old dynamic.

Because we are legally a "for profit" business, we can use the profits we make by selling fairly traded products to expand our reach and influence in raising awareness about the issues facing women and girls around the developing world.  We don't have to fund raise to do an awareness campaign or support a new group of artisans.  As we grow and independent consultants begin holding Buy The Change shows shows all over the country, we will have added even another level to our plan for social change by creating jobs for women here in the United States.

Don't get me wrong,  we believe in the work being done by non-profit organizations all over the world.  We just don't believe that a company has to be a non-profit to be firmly committed to making a difference and creating lasting change.  We are in the process of creating the Buy The Change Foundation which will be a 501(c)3 organization.  The foundation will be responsible for supporting special projects that are larger than the scope of what we can do while trying to establish and grow our company.

We don't believe in limits or living life from a place of "we can't".  If there is something we can do to further our mission and be an agent of change for women and girls around the world, we will figure out a way to get it done.