Let the radical transformation begin!
Phil turned 22 this year. Like many 22 year olds, we felt a certain amount of pride in who we had become. Being a certified B Corp, a women-led business, a company with a clear mission to improve the impact of nonprofit organizations is no small feat. Our very survival is in part thanks to the microcosm of changemakers we are part of. We choose a path less taken, where people are put before profits, we strive for real impact over anecdotal benefits, we build a better world together.
Radical transformation to face the world’s current challenges is urgent. If a pandemic, climate crisis, or famine is not enough to trigger your fight response, then add femicide, poverty, and war to put some perspective on how serious our challenges really are.
Businesses and organizations in the nonprofit sector have a huge role to play in the collective action that is needed to make the world more liveable for everyone. Well-meaning intentions and symbolic gestures are no longer sufficient. We have to do more. As a small business, we had no way to truly measure the impact we were making or where exactly we needed to improve beyond what could be measured by traditional benchmarks.
We were missing an effective process to evaluate our actions against the greater goals for this planet. After months of research on best practices, we quickly concluded that there is no single, uniform methodology for measuring and reporting progress through the lens of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. We created a tailored social sector process for measuring and reporting our impact knowing that if every organization took action on the world’s to-do-list, we could create a true social sector synergy.
What kind of impact have we made so far?
Inclusive & accessible design
We are working on embedding principles that reflect the full range of human diversity in our products and services rather than a single, one-size-fits-all offering. By developing company guidelines & tip sheets for our production & marketing teams we are taking steps to transform our processes to be inclusive of people with different abilities. Our next action is to audit our website and other marketing assets to make sure they respect the principles of inclusive & accessible design.
5% of net profits donated to our local communities
There are so many incredible organizations and communities to support and we believe that moving resources in the direction of social change means supporting the efforts led by people most impacted by injustice. We researched and compiled a list of organizations led by underserved and underrepresented local communities that we can support. At the end of our fiscal year we decide as a team where to give 5% of Phil’s net profits.
Employee wellness
We decided to focus on the holistic well-being of individuals as people rather than just workers at Phil. We started offering a wellness stipend for employees to use at their discretion on anything that improves their health and happiness. As a team, we have participated in reflection sessions on increasing empathy in the workplace.
Home office sustainability
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we transitioned to remote work but it did not lessen our commitment to addressing the climate crisis. We continue our learning by identifying and sharing environmentally preferred vendors and practices for the home office and beyond. Change starts by understanding what is at stake and what actions can be taken individually and collectively.
Developing an impact strategy has given us an action plan as a small organization to do our part in creating an environmentally restorative, socially just, and economically inclusive future for all. We did the groundwork to align with the UN’s 2030 SDG Agenda because we wanted to prove and improve our impact.
I hope you join us in establishing clear outcomes and ongoing measurement to truly show the progress we were making as a sector. Start the conversation today. We encourage you to share this post with your Executive Director, Board of Directors, CEO, manager, colleague, or friend – we are challenging you to join us in this collective effort!
Read more about Phil’s impact strategy and get inspired!
