100. How to Create a Give-Back Strategy for Your Brand

Mar 23

Summary

Supporting a favorite cause - and acknowledging that support - is an essential part of who you are and how you choose to show up. For some, an unlimited choice of causes to support can lead to overwhelm and an inability to pick just one. So, how do you create a give-back component in your business? How do you vet the companies and organizations? How do you ensure that your assistance has the desired effect? Erica and India share best practices and examples from both their individual and combined give-back activities.

In this discussion:

How to align your values with your give-back initiative
Debunking the “correct way to give” myth
The why behind Erica’s and India’s individual and combined support efforts
Actionable steps for advancing your give-back actions

Keep the Dialogue Going

One of our favorite features of becoming a member of Pause On The Play The Community is the onboarding process (yes, really!) because you get to pick a cause. Our algorithm allows you to connect with other people aligned with that same cause more easily.

To clarify, that’s not any one specific charity or non-profit. Instead, it’s the umbrella concerns like the environment or mental health. The algorithm allows folks to collaborate on the changes they want to see in the world.

Members enjoy the freedom to change their cause choices at any time, throwing their support behind multiple issues - just like Erica and India. Join us today over at Pause On The Play The Community.

Article

What causes matter to you?

Now that you’ve made a quick mental list, what are you doing in support of those causes? With so many organizations vying for attention, it’s the action piece that often trips people up. Erica and India have explored this phenomenon with members of the Pause On The Play The Community and to help banish analysis paralysis, they’ve dedicated this discussion to help you make better choices about what you support and how.

A Give-Back Primer

Pause On The Play The Community hosted a workshop focused on creating a transparent give-back component as part of a brand’s core values at the beginning of the year. The session also provided information about vetting causes, offering technical steps to better understand the organization or brand’s philosophy and program implementation. “It really did give you a way to know that, if you created a give-back component or you simply just donated, and you wanted to make sure that what you were doing was going to where you were actually told that it was going to go, that there was a way to do that,” Erica says.

All that preliminary work matters. If you’re lending your assistance to a specific objective, you must make sure you know who and what your choice supports.

India returns to the overwhelm she has seen come up for people choosing a cause. An area of interest - say, animal rights - is flooded with options. “There’s so many causes that help animals and nonprofits that are specifically designed to support animals,” she says, “it's like, how do you pick which one?” Adding to the confusion is the desire to aid more than a single cause coupled with the worry that doing so might somehow dilute their effectiveness. “What I see come up many times is in the multi-passionate type of a person or the person who wants to support multiple kinds of things, you know, feel like they have to pick just one, and I just don't think that that's true.”

Erica encourages readers to adopt a multipronged approach, to literally and figuratively spread their wealth. “I can say for myself, I don't support any one cause, and I actually prefer it to be that way because I think that there's a number of places that I want to utilize, you know, in this particular case, the collateral of my funds, my coins.”

In the spirit of education and transparency, Erica and India have compiled a shortlist of causes they support, both together and individually. “I think it's important to note that we actually do have some that intersect,” says Erica, “but some of our individual ones are very different.” Erica hopes that the variety of their individual choices encourages readers to choose what works best for them, to make decisions both together with and exclusive of their relationships. Additionally, she wants people to recognize that they don't have to pick just one cause to validate their support.

Erica and India note that people spend too much time searching for the “right way” to do all the things rather than committing to it. “Even if you choose to pick more than one, you get to decide what that looks like,” reminds India. “Maybe you change your cause each month. Maybe you do it quarterly. Like, that's your choice. There's no one way to have a give-back component in your business.”

“There's no right way,” agrees Erica, “but there is a wrong way, and it's just not to do it at all.”

“Thank you for saying that because I know we're going to go deeper in a second, but I do want to preface this with a lot of my give back is not necessarily financial give back,” India says. “Sometimes what we can do with our time is more valuable to our organization than our money.” Support, as referenced in this conversation, isn’t only about showing an organization the money.

Erica encourages readers to explore the many ways they can donate their time and energies through physical or virtual support if this season of your life finds you without the funds to provide financial assistance.“Basically, this is the currency that I have,” says Erica. “Your literal money is just one particular part of your currency. Your time, your energy, your voice, your impact… there's a number of types of currency that we all have to use.” Not having X amount of dollars doesn’t prevent you from creating a significant give-back component. “It's important to figure out what that looks like for you now and to allow it to be an evolving thing. “

India wholeheartedly agrees. “I mean, I'm going to say, even if you do have the money, sometimes what you can provide outside of money might be more valuable.”

Before they transition to the list, Erica reminds readers that they are in no way prioritizing one cause over another. Instead, the duo aims to highlight, educate, and offer resources. What you choose to support is wholly up to you. “Sometimes, just having these conversations can just bring a little more awareness of where you can put your support.”

Individual Support: Causes Of Note

The Trevor Project. Erica kicks off the list with a personal favorite that speaks to her allyship with LGBTQIA+ communities. “One of the reasons that this particular one has always stood out to me is because of the fact that when you're - I’m just going to put it like this - I remember very well [and] I'm not old enough to have forgotten that growing up can sometimes have some really shitty parts to it. You are going through figuring out who you are, your body, how you feel, how you look at the world.” she says, “and, then in the midst of that to then have to navigate your identity and how the world processes you and how you process yourself and how it can absolutely sometimes push some people to a place of feeling like this life just is not worth living.”

Supporting The Trevor Project’s mission is a no-brainer for her. “One of the important pieces is, again, being that a lot of LGBTQIA+ youth are at risk for suicide, it's something that they really do focus on with providing crisis services including, like, they have a Trevor lifeline, Trevor texts, Trevor chat.” These lifelines continue to be critical resources, especially during quarantine. “Unfortunately, mental health has been more of a need to be addressed; this is one of the things that they actually do support.” Erica also notes that The Trevor Project works to affect policy changes to protect LGBTQIA+ youth.

Charity Water. As one of the oldest causes on her radar, India has thoroughly supported the initiative’s work to advance worldwide access to clean water for quite some time. “Charity Water has been around for quite a while and, you know, even being a Black woman in America and having that lived experience, and growing up with a family that, you know, was definitely lower class, I still have privileges that people in other countries honestly don't have.”

After watching a docu-style campaign for the project, she knew she had to support it. “It took you through, you know, the story of how part of the reason that people can live through their lives being pretty sick in other countries is because they don't have access to clean water and, if we could just drill more wells, it could resolve the clean water issue.” But that’s not all. More wells can lead to substantial empowerment. “[It would] also free up women and girls who were typically the ones that would have to go get water and bring it back to the home to actually be able to do other things like go to school and get an education.”

Providing easy access to clean potable water is such a simple concept, but, as India notes, there are still people in this world who don’t have this fundamental human right. Unfortunately, you don’t even have to look abroad. “Hello, Flint, Michigan!” Erica says.

The National Association of Black Journalists. Erica credits her publicist Cher Hale at Ginkgo Public Relations for introducing her to this organization. “The reason it's important to me is because I think way too often, journalism is utilized as political capital, and it is tainted by whose opinion needs to sway you at this moment. ‘What do I need you to believe?’ And, to know that I can support Black journalists, which there are not enough of, and to be able to support them, particularly at a time like this, to where there are journalists that have lost their jobs, that they need additional training, including for programming and things like that, promoting media diversity, parity in newsrooms...these are things that are supporting them during the pandemic,” Erica points out, “but it actually is something that needs to be there, period.

The reality is there aren’t enough Black journalists to, as Erica explains, “actually have this story coming through the lens of the people that the stories are coming from versus always having to come through a white gaze. But, also, because there is not enough when it comes to scholarships, training in college and, starting in high school, to be able to get Black journalists to start younger.” She also notes that the organization’s mission also funnels more Black journalists into the industry. “So to me, this was kind of, like, a no-brainer once I learned about it. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, you absolutely get my support!’ because being able to have journalism that, again, speaks to the Black experience through the lens of the Black experience and it is supporting Black professionals, those that are delivering the facts and the stories. You check a whole lot of boxes for me.”

“What also comes up for me is I feel like there can be a lot of stereotypes around media and journalism and artistic careers,” India says, “even though, technically, that's not as artistic as maybe an art and design degree or something. But I don't necessarily feel like young individuals who want to go into journalism coming from Black and brown communities necessarily have the same amount of encouragement to do so at home because there's this stereotype that it's going to be hard to find a job, and you're not going to make any money. So, as somebody who took a few classes in the journalism program in my college process, I didn't see anybody that looked like me in those classes; it's pretty cool to hear that there is a nonprofit out there to support them.”

The organization also helps those who find themselves underemployed due to the pandemic. Additionally, Erica notes that Just having money earmarked exclusively for programming and training supports those already in the industry - and keeps them where they’re needed! - while scholarships and training prepare the next generation for work in the industry.

Safe House Project. Recently featured on Pause On The Play, episode 90, this organization works toward uniting communities to end domestic sex trafficking and restore hope, freedom, and a future to every survivor.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Many people have probably seen the national commercials,” India says of ASPCA’s advertising, “and I'll say that, like, the individual chapters are all run very differently.” She advises readers to get to know their local chapters. “I've just enjoyed supporting them by providing things like blankets and towels that I don't need anymore and stuff like that.” Items like these are often tossed out during a spring cleaning or household decluttering. They’re a boon to ASPCA shelters as they provide essential supplies that go toward caring for the animals.

There are other ways to support the ASPCA mission. “What a lot of people don't know is that you're able to foster animals; you don't have to adopt,” she says. “Because they’re a no-kill shelter, meaning -- it's kinda morbid to think about -- they don't kill off the animals. It's a really important part of their process, to raise awareness around adoption, but also fostering where you're just temporarily taking care of an animal.” India previously shared on social media that she’s participated in ASPCA’s Magic Mutt calendar shoot. India used her marketing and photography skillset to bring attention and money to their cause by highlighting hot, shirtless bodybuilder guys cradling cute animals.

The Intersection: Shared Causes

Children with Hair Loss. As you have probably guessed, this organization aligns with Erica’s history as a hairstylist. “Years ago, I used to do haircuts for Lock Of Love or Pantene,” she explains. “People would come in, and they would want to donate their hair, and there were always these parameters of how long your hair had to be. But what a lot of people didn't realize was what would happen once it was actually donated. And, so, somebody would come in and say, I want to cut my hair off eight, 10, 12 inches, however long it was, and they wouldn't always know what it went to.”

The organization’s model just made more sense to Erica than the others as it accepts donated hair in lengths far less daunting than the usual minimum of 8 inches - and in a far more inclusive range of textures. They then create wigs for children and adolescents up to 21 years of age who’d lost their hair for any reason - think deep burns, chemotherapy, alopecia. “They would donate the wigs that have been created free of charge, and they would also, free of charge, have a stylist like myself to actually help with the fitting and the cutting of the wig once the person had received it.”

Here’s where education is a crucial piece of that preliminary give back process. What Erica didn’t know before she began sending hair donations was the prevalence of shitty humans who would charge families for their services for wig fittings and stylings. Children with Hair Loss absolutely did not sanction the practice! “Apparently, there was an issue kind of, you know, with some people in the industry doing that,” Erica explains. “Of course, I'm not going to charge them!” Children with Hair Loss made it clear that stylists do not make money off of their cause. “So, for me, it was the ethics and the awareness that they had around that. It was the fact that this went to children, no matter why they had lost their hair and, as someone that is currently - and has been for a few years now - traversing through three different types of alopecia that does matter to me.”

India applauds the organization’s mission as well. “I think the reason what really stood out to me is when you're young, you know, other children don't understand that you have cancer. They don't understand that you have no control over the loss of your hair. So, I just kind of imagine, like, what that would feel like for young children to get picked on or treated differently because they were losing their hair, and it's by children who are not old enough to understand that difference.” She also acknowledges the access that Children with Hair Loss created to wigs featuring different hair textures. “They don't care if your hair has been colored treated, correct me if I'm wrong on any of that, Erica, but there are other organizations—”

“I'm pretty sure you're correct,” Erica says, “and yes, what you were going to say next is correct: some other organizations will not take it.”

Emotionally supporting children as they navigate the social stigma of hair loss is an added benefit of the duo’s involvement with the organization. “I remember, you know, very vividly with my daughter,” Erica says, “having this conversation very, very young and her, kind of saying, you know, ‘I'm beautiful!’ and I'd say ‘Why?’ One of the things that she would say was her hair, and I said, ‘you have beautiful hair’ and ‘tell me other reasons why you're beautiful.’ So we literally go through, you know, I'm smart, I'm helpful, I'm creative - all of these other things that are much more intangible, because, for me, it's important for her to understand that her beauty does not come from her hair, her skin, her eyes; these other very physical things. I try to really hone in to her what it is that makes her beautiful.” In that way, Erica says, she’s reinforcing the concept that there are qualities beyond the physical that make people beautiful.

“I love that!” India ays. “I think it's something that many people don't even think twice about to do with their kids, so I appreciate the example.”

TerraCycle. This innovative recycling company puts shady municipal efforts to shame. “TerraCycle is a wonderful organization. They take in difficult-to-recycle items, typically items that your curbside pickup won't even take,” India says, “and we partnered with TerraCycle years ago, as soon as we saw the opportunity to do so on what they call their beauty brigade.”

The initiative allows folks to recycle empty beauty and body product containers, everything from fragrance samples to single-use face mask packaging. “These are things that are really challenging to recycle because many of them don't come in a standard plastic or glass bottle, you know? Many of these things are coming in foil packets that you have to cut open to be able to try out that sample.”

TerraCycle repurposes many of the products they collect, melting some plastics down into pellets or pliable manufacturing materials. They even make tote bags from those foil packets, stitching together the familiar pouches (think: Capri Sun) into a durable, reusable item. “I've seen them make, like, super adorable, handbags and tote bags for your groceries out of those,” India notes, “because those are a little bit harder to break down and creating a new material.”

What both women love most about the company is the ease with which they can return their recyclables - straight from home. TerraCycle provides labels free of charge for shipping boxes of empty containers. As Erica points out, this is excellent news for anyone in the beauty industry. “First of all, most salons don’t recycle - and it's not always because they don't want to. It’s because they're in a location that there is no recycling service and, so, having this through TerraCycle means that I can literally have boxes of the products that I use - as well as what I personally use - be able to go back and actually be recycled and not just end up in yet another landfill, or not be recycled properly because there are sent through a process that can't actually break it down or do anything with it.”

India agrees, citing experiences she had in her days within the beauty industry as well. “Just one customer can produce 10 pounds - 10 whole pounds! - of beauty recycling on their skincare creams alone a year. She recalls one such customer bringing in 11.5 pounds to be recycled. That’s not at the extreme end of things, either, when you consider the products that even non-makeup wearers use: face wash, body wash, shampoo, deodorant... every bottle, stick, and tube adds up!

Erica concurs. “I mean, I can send 15 pounds in and within a few month’s time between salon and my household! Like, it's a lot, and to think of how much just could have piled up and gotten, you know, basically left in another landfill… If you think about that per person, that's a lot; that's a huge impact.” That’s not even considering the items that aren’t currently recycled on a wide scale basis - hello, toothpaste tubes! - that just go into the trash. Empty pans of eyeshadow and lipstick tubes, too; these are items that aren’t permissible in most normal city recycling programs.

It’s Your Turn To Give Back

This list represents causes that matter to Erica and India - both individually as well as the duo behind Pause On The Play The Community. “This really is a part of how we operate in life. It's a part of what we do and what matters to us. And it shows up in daily life,” Erica explains. “So often, we have this disconnection from understanding that this really does contribute to our personal narrative, and it's a part of, you know, what people may or may not know about what shapes, who you are.”

“I want to pause on that for a second, though,” India says, offering additional context to their choices. The list includes both nonprofits and, in the case of TerraCycle, a corporation with a strong mission to foster global stewardship.

“It is very much a cause that contributes to something that we all benefit from,” Erica says of TerraCycle’s inclusion in this conversation. “It's important to remember that causes are not just about you supporting someone else. In this case, TerraCycle's a great example of, you know, supporting something that actually is in support to everyone, right?” Choices extend beyond who you donate to or how you lend additional support; individual preferences touch many beyond your community.

Having a more holistic view toward what you support and why is the foundation from which your give-back actions originate. “It does really make you cognizant of ‘let me do my due diligence to see is this where I want to put my money,’” says Erica. Who is this money supporting? What overarching concept does this support? Is there another cause whose approach is more aligned with my values? These questions build that strong base.

“It’s been, you know...really empowering to hear how, in The Community, they do share things like this, and they do talk about, you know, their causes and places that they are donating and places that you may not have even known existed.” Now that’s proof of power in numbers!

“I agree completely,” says India, adding, “I want to leave them with taking a moment to figure out what causes they want to support. If you haven't already decided that, give yourself five minutes and just really think. What broad cause - it doesn't have to be the specific nonprofit - do you want to show up and support?” Then, explore the myriad ways you can infuse that spirit into supporting your chosen causes, whether your actions are financial, physical, virtual, or all of the above.