When they asked the WE Charity Board of Directors to set up a volunteer travel program, the board politely declined. Because of the laws in Canada, a Board of Directors would have had to assume all risks and potential liability if something went wrong. For our Board of Directors, some of whom are notable philanthropists, it was too great a liability to assume. And according to Canadian law, if a participant pays for themselves or a family member to participate on an international volunteer trip (excluding the rare case when philanthropists provide scholarships for someone else), it is a “personal benefit,” rather than a charitable activity eligible for a tax receipt.

At that point in time, the designation “social enterprise” did not exist. So in 1999, the brothers incorporated a small company to run volunteer trips and leadership camps. They called it Leaders Today, and it was the precursor to ME to WE. Any profits at the end of the year were given to children as scholarships.

Today, ME to WE offers trips to eight destinations in our partner countries around the world, with experiences for individuals, youth, schools, families and companies.

Charities often lurch from crisis to crisis, desperately trying to help during humanitarian emergencies, but rarely staying long enough to empower people to help themselves for the long term. Another humanitarian disaster had caught the wave of goodwill and it was time for many to move on. Craig and Marc realized they needed a new model to support the long-term charitable goals of WE Charity, as well as crucial behind-the-scenes needs that few wanted to fund, such as administration, research and monitoring and evaluation activities.

The seeds of that new model lay in the trips that Leaders Today was operating.

In their search for a sustainable funding source for WE Charity, Craig and Marc were fortunate to be mentored by billionaire Jeff Skoll, eBay’s first president. Jeff encouraged the brothers to grow Leaders Today into a social enterprise, with a social mission at its heart, that would turn a profit in order to provide a long-term, predictable source of funding to WE Charity. ME to WE offers sustainable products and life-changing experiences that have forever changed the way consumers shop, travel and learn. And ME to WE helps sustain WE Charity. The funds ME to WE donates to WE Charity enable it to have an extremely low administration rate (around 10%) compared to other Canadian charities.

Craig and Mac have always served WE Charity as ambassadors and volunteers, never once receiving a salary from the charity. Before ME to WE, they’d been living on fellowships and scholarship money. ME to WE allowed Craig and Marc, for the first time, to earn a salary, which is fully paid through ME to WE. Read more about ME to WE and WE Charity’s relationship.

The mamas earned twice as much as before—without giving up their traditional way of life. Gathered under acacia trees with their young children in tow, the Maasai mamas bead using art forms passed down mother-to-daughter through generations. They turned their traditional handiwork into a way to build capital and start their own businesses.

ME to WE retail products, including ME to WE Artisans, also offer a Track Your Impact promise, to show consumers what their purchase provided to WE Charity. Through this model, consumers can see exactly what their dollars provided, and where the donation was delivered. For example, the purchase of a ME to WE bracelet might fund education for a child in Kenya for one year.