The Washington Examiner explores the social enterprise model of business—organizations that create positive social impact by producing goods or services—with examples of successful social enterprises in the United States and Canada. In Canada, ME to WE social enterprise sells sustainable products and donates an average of 85 percent of its profits to WE Charity, helping create sustainable solutions to poverty. The remainder of profits are reinvested into the social enterprise, growing projects that include an artisan program and Fair Trade chocolate. ME to WE has been endorsed by many third party organizations such as Mission Measurement, B Lab and the Fairtrade Foundation.

WE Charity has opened WE College in Kenya’s rural Maasai Mara region, helping increase access to post-secondary education in areas where it was unavailable. WE College will provide scholarships for rural Kenyan students to train for careers in tourism, nursing, clinical medicine and entrepreneurial agriculture. Other notable WE Charity projects in Kenya include Baraka Hospital, voted best hospital in Kenya’s Narok County in 2015; and Kisaruni Girls High School, now one of the top high schools in Narok County. A Women’s Empowerment Centre provides local women with the chance to take part in programs on financial literacy and entrepreneurship. WE Charity is supported by a partnership with social enterprise ME to WE, which sells socially conscious products and experiences and donates half its profits to the charity.

ME to WE was selected as one of the winners of the 2019 Global Goodness Awards, which recognize companies that create sustainable and socially conscious products. All the winners chosen are companies making the world a better place through commitment to areas including environmentally friendly manufacturing, creating sustainable income for artisans and giving back to people in need. ME to WE, chosen as winner in the people’s choice category, is a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences, donating half their profits to support WE Charity. ME to WE products include fair trade products and accessories made by artisans.

There are more than 1.1 million public charities in the U.S., which calls for innovation to make charities stand out. Some of the world’s most innovative charities not only have low administration rates, they are also creating new revenue through the social enterprise business model. WE Charity started 20 years ago as an organization fighting child labour in developing countries, and now partners with ME to WE social enterprise, which sells sustainable products like handmade jewellery and Fairtrade chocolate, as well as trips for youth, schools and companies to visit the charity’s partner communities. ME to WE donates half its profits to WE Charity; the other half is to reinvested to grow ME to WE social enterprise, an innovative charitable partnership that allows for WE Charity to have a low administration rate of 10 percent. ME to WE also has a Track Your Impact program that lets consumers enter a code online to see exactly how their purchase gives back, such as products that support water projects in Ecuador or new schools in Kenya.

A new partnership between Lipton and WE is helping empower 80,000 small-scale tea farmers in Kericho County, Kenya, providing local female tea-farmers with training in financials, bookkeeping, entrepreneurship and business skills. Lipton’s partner company Unilever has worked with Kenyan tea growers in Kericho since 1924, and in 2009 ME to WE started ME to WE Artisans, a program that helps Kenyan women earn a sustainable income using traditional Maasai beading skills. ME to WE Artisans also includes a financial literacy training program for women. Read more to find out how the financial training program will benefit tea farmers in Kenya in years to come.

Today, more and more people are looking for ways to spend their dollars with companies and organizations that are socially responsible or that give back. Enter B Lab. Founded in 2006, the social enterprise certifies companies that provide value to society beyond the products or services they sell: for example, donating profits to charity, having an ethical and sustainable supply chain, and leaving positive social and ecological footprints. Qualifying companies and organizations are certified as “B Corps.” There are more than 1,400 certified B-Corps globally, including Canadian social enterprise ME to WE. Qualifying companies must go through a detailed vetting process to prove their company has measurable social impact.

Journalist Isabel Slone shares stories from a trip to Kenya with ME to WE, WE Charity and Call It Spring, where she taught a journalism workshop to students at Kisaruni Girls Secondary School. Opened in 2011 by WE Charity, Kisaruni offers full-scholarship high-school education for girls in rural Kenya. As part of Call It Spring’s partnership with WE Charity, they have committed to build 10 classrooms in Kenya that will help 400 students access education. A line of beaded friendship bracelets, exclusive to Call It Spring, called “Rafikis” will help raise funds for school supplies. Each $3 bracelet gives school supplies for one student.

Journalist Isabel Slone shares stories from a trip to Kenya with ME to WE, WE Charity and Call It Spring, where she taught a journalism workshop to students at Kisaruni Girls Secondary School. Opened in 2011 by WE Charity, Kisaruni offers full-scholarship high-school education for girls in rural Kenya. As part of Call It Spring’s partnership with WE Charity, they have committed to build 10 classrooms in Kenya that will help 400 students access education. A line of beaded friendship bracelets, exclusive to Call It Spring, called “Rafikis” will help raise funds for school supplies. Each $3 bracelet gives school supplies for one student.