When we joined Pledge 1% a few years ago, we didn't know what our giving would look like. Would we donate our time, money or product or a little of each? As a creative agency, our only real 'product' is our human capital, so where do you start?
At first, donating money to local nonprofits seemed like the easiest way to get started, and in 2019, we were lucky to be able to go beyond the 1% minimum and donate 7% of our profits. But as time went on, we wanted to get more involved and find ways to physically show up for our community. And we did that through volunteering, internships, and mentoring.
We put in a couple of volunteer shifts at the SF Marin Foodbank. We joined the Marin Humane Advocacy Committee and became a board member of the animal sanctuary When Pigs Fly Ranch. We partnered with our client Pivotal and hosted their foster youth as interns the last two summers. And we became a sponsor of Griot, a Marin City theater company that amplifies brown and black culture through the arts.
Next up, we're doing a group volunteer shift with our client Habitat for Humanity at a community garden in Bayview Hunters Point in San Francisco. It's something we've wanted to do for a long time, but Covid put the kibosh on that. So we're stoked to regroup as a team to give back and get some dirt under our fingernails while doing it.
If you're thinking about how you can help this Giving Tuesday, don't be afraid to reach out to the people around you who could use your help, even if you don't know exactly what it looks like. One thing can lead to another, but you'll never know if you don't strike up the conversation. We hope our own experiences inspire some interesting ideas, but we're always happy to lend support and offer advice, so feel free to comment here!
