"What percentage of sales do you give back to the communities?" A huge responsibility for The Orenda Tribe and a question (given its importance) that has been haunting me since I started this social entrepreneurship journey.
The Orenda Tribe's mission is a social one (Empowering Children Through Art) and we've been driven by the social cause since day one, even before we sold our first t-shirt.
As a startup with no track-record and no history of expenses and revenue, it was difficult to fix an amount from sales for giving back. Nevertheless, to commit to our mission, we have always put giving back before profit even if that meant putting in extra money to fund a giving back project and a consequent loss for the company.
Now, after more than two years of operation and experiences, we are glad to announce that we fixed our giving back structure!
For Every T-Shirt Sold The Orenda Tribe Will Empower A Child Through Art
This means that for every t-shirt sold The Orenda Tribe will enroll one child from its partner communities, communities where art is neglected such as refugee camps or other disadvantaged communities, into one of its art workshops that are tailored to empower children.
How Can An Art-Workshop Empower A Child?
We tailor our art-workshops in a way that raise awareness on different topics while allowing the children to voice their opinion and express it to other people through art.
We also try to focus on skills such as communications, problem-solving and confidence when we tailor our art activities.
And our approach is inclusive of the people of the communities that we work with.
This is a list of the projects that we've completed to date and we are enhancing the workshops with experience and time: Giving Back Art Workshops
Other Ways Of Giving Back
We also give back through the sales of other products. Whether it be to further spread art into areas where art is neglected, like distributing art supplies to a child in our partner communities for every notebook sold, or by empowering our partner communities by sourcing products from them, like the tote bag that we sourced from the women in Za'atari Refugee Camp.
Ethical & Sustainable Fashion
Every business decision made or action taken can have a repercussion on the community and the world that we live in. This is why we are putting effort into sourcing sustainable products, starting with the 100% organic cotton t-shirts, to the recycled packaging and up-cycled tote bags.
We are continuously searching the market in the aim of making all our products hopefully sustainable with time.
Integrating Social Responsibility Into Business Side
Although we fund art activities that empower children in disadvantaged communities, we also use art to empower children in privileged communities.
Being socially responsible doesn't stop at giving back, but it should be integrated into all aspects of the business. This is why even for our paid art-workshops that we run in different events, we touch on important topics and empower children through art.
We are glad to announce that we have empowered 2,168 children through our social art-workshops to date and we look forward to have a bigger impact!
Inspire Hope,
Zaid Souqi