The more you drink, the better you’ll feel.
That may sound counterintuitive, but we’re not talking about how you’ll feel physically (yes, you’ll still be hungover), we’re talking about partaking in routine social activities, like sipping a cocktail, and simultaneously having a positive impact on your community.
Boozing for benevolence, if you will.
That’s the premise of social philanthropy – a rapidly growing business trend in Canada that integrates social purpose into your everyday life.
In the past, philanthropy has often been regarded as an act reserved for the extremely privileged with surplus time and money. The sort of thing you dedicate yourself to once you’ve hit the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs—Self Actualization.
This notion is now being turned on its head, and we’re all for the new way of giving back, based entirely on consumer choice.
Social philanthropy makes it easy to give back to the community, where almost anyone, regardless of time or disposable income, is able to passively do good by choosing to support socially philanthropic businesses. Inadvertently, your choice to purchase a good or service from a socially philanthropic business allows you to support your community.
Case in point, the Whisky Wisemen.
A Vancouver-based not-for-profit, the Whisky Wisemen host a monthly #socialwhisky event at Shebeen and donate a portion of each bill back to charity. All guests have to do is show up and order cocktails; there’s no fee to attend, and the first ounce of whisky is on the house. After that, 10% of every drink purchased by guests is given to charity. They’ve also created a signature cocktail, The Wiseman, which sees a full $1 from each drink sold go to charity. This effort is driven by supporting bars around Vancouver, who carry the cocktail on their regular menus.
The beautiful thing about the Whisky Wisemen is that they get the masses to passively do good by leveraging what people love, and what’s more, are already doing – socializing, sharing a cocktail, and meeting good people.
This is the premise of the rising trend of social philanthropy.
At the end of the day, we all have a choice as consumers. The trend of social philanthropy is growing and becoming increasingly important for businesses to pay attention to. If you have a choice, it makes sense to buy your goods and services from businesses who give a portion of the bill back. This model encourages consumers to buy more, to feel good while doing it, and to spread the word to friends while ultimately creating a mutually beneficial synergy between business and consumer that also fuels the economy in a positive way.
So grab your friends, grab a drink (or three) and enjoy.
Slainte!
#NOTABLE
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