What ‘charitable’ activities are we doing at our conference?

Some people have been asking what charitable activities we’re planning for Give-to-Profit LIVE, our ‘Business for Good‘ Conference in April 2019. That’s what I share in this blog.

Before I do, I’d like to put this into context by clarifying the scope of impact we’re intending to have at this event.

The three themes for the conference are inspiration, impact, and collaboration.

Some of the inspiration will come from our speakers who we’ve carefully selected will be sharing their wisdom, insights, and stories relating to business being a force for good. However, the ripple of inspiration will be much more than that. We know it will also permeate through conversations between participants during the event.

Collaboration is one of the topics we’ll be discussing and bringing to life throughout the event. The event itself is only made possible through the collaboration of our leadership team, our sponsors and strategic partners who are supporting us in many ways including sharing the word about the event.

In terms of impact, we are aiming to have a positive impact in several ways:

on those attending (in terms of how they feel and what they do differently on the day)
on the charities and social causes we’re supporting
on our sponsors and partners
on our team members; and
to minimise our environmental footprint.

This involves setting impact intentions in each of these areas–in our approach, planning, and delivery.

Charitable activities at the conference

Most people think of charitable giving as merely making donations or fundraising but there are so many more ways you can support charities and social causes, as I write about in my book Give-to-Profit: How to Grow Your Business by Supporting Charities and Social Causes. These include creating opportunities for attendees to share knowledge, volunteer, donate resources, give, and receive.

At Give-to-Profit LIVE there will be a range of business giving activities and opportunities. These include:

A charity wall – a place where attending charities and social enterprises will be encouraged to post requests for help and resources, and through which businesses and other attendees can pledge support.
Charitable mastermind – on the second day, some of the causes attending will have the opportunity to actually get help from businesses owners and entrepreneurs while at the event. This can be extremely powerful for all involved.
Engagement activities – throughout the event we’re planning a range of activities to help people connect and get to know each other. Some of these will include a charitable component that will make a difference in people’s lives on the day and long into the future.
Fundraising activities – we will also have a range of fun fundraising activities including a raffle and a marketplace selling fundraising products. I helped the organisers of a conference last year to raise over £10,000 without any big ‘pitch’ for money. Many attendees said the way we did this turned a good event into an exceptional one because it enabled them to connect to their heart, connect more with each other and to contribute in ways that made them feel good. To me, fundraising is about creative collaboration and never about putting pressure on people to donate. One of the reasons we’ll have funds to play with at the event is because of the generosity of our sponsors.
Impact suppliers – where possible we’ll be using suppliers that are ethical and sustainable. This will include the use of recycled goods, sourcing supplies from charities or social causes and exploring ways to minimise our environmental impact.
Re-cycling – we are considering having collection points for people to donate small goods such as old mobile phones and computers that can be donated or sold to support causes.
Entertainment – we’re also exploring options for engaging local community projects to creatively inject creative energy into the event
Speaker fees – where our speakers work for causes we will be making donations to those charities in gratitude for their time and the work they are doing.

You’ll be making a difference just by attending

Everyone who attends Give-to-Profit LIVE will be making a difference. By buying a ticket you will have enabled the event and our intended impact activities to go ahead. The scope of what you’ll get out of attending and your personal impact will depend on the level of participation at the event.

If you work for a charity or social cause and attend the event you’ll be able to ask for help, to receive help and expand your network of business supporters at the event. You may also win a donation to your cause.

P.S. Check out Give-to-Profit LIVE (a business for good conference) HERE.

Often described as one of the most authentic and inspiring souls you can meet, Alisoun is on a mission to improve the lives of a million people – by making it easy for businesses to be a profitable force for good, and through her support of causes that tackle poverty, education and social justice.

Alisoun’s keynote talks, training, mentoring, and best-selling books Give-to-Profit: How to Grow Your Business by Supporting Charities and Social Causes and Heartatude: The 9 Principles of Heart-Centered Success have favorably changed the good fortune of thousands of people worldwide. She loves doing humanitarian work, fundraising and living by the beach in Scotland.

Check out my TEDx Talk Isn’t Business an Opportunity to be Kind HERE.

Alisoun is also the founder of the Give-to-Profit Community and has written the following free resources:

Ebook: 101 Ways To Attract Great Clients, With Heart, Integrity & Social Impact (click here)
Ebook: 52 Ways to Raise Funds for Charities and Social Causes Through Your Business (click here)

You can connect with Alisoun here: