In light of Giving Tuesday, I wanted to share The American Edit’s approach to charitable giving – and to also share some of my favorite charitable products!
Obviously, I realize that purchasing American made is discretionary – given my efforts to show the best designed, highest quality products, price points on this site tend to be somewhat high. And I believe in buying better, but buying less, and support many of the brands I share, but I’m not fooling myself into thinking that what I post here is accessible for all (including me!). But I do believe that if you are fortunate enough to consume products that fulfill more than your basic needs, you are responsible for knowing what you buy and doing the best you can with the dollars you spend.
Similarly, I believe I am responsible for doing my best not only in my purchasing and my actions, but also with the money TAE makes via agency projects and affiliate income. As stated in the disclosure, TAE does utilize affiliate links, which means that a small commission may be received if you purchase a product from a contextual link within this site or related social channels. I didn’t realize how this had worked till I was a blogger – when I found out, I wished I’d known so I could have thoughtfully supported bloggers I followed as opposed to my last indiscriminate click.
When I left my corporate career, I realized that I had to hold myself to the same standards and values that I had loved and respected in my previous employer. Namely, charitable giving. Many Minnesota companies, including my former employer, are a part of the Keystone Program and give away 2-5% of earnings to charitable organizations each year. When I started TAE, I pledged to do the same and am proud to donate 5% of all earnings each year. For me, it was important to do this from the beginning – to build the idea of giving back into the foundation of my company. TAE is still incredibly small, I know I’m not solving all of the problems with this donation, but sometimes the idea of giving back ends up being a more powerful motivator to grow my business than revenue alone.
Though personally I believe in giving locally, nationally, and internationally – and giving time as well as money – it is important to me that TAE’s donated dollars are kept in America. Deciding where and how to donate money may be even more difficult than deciding where and how to spend money, but this year I’ve chosen to donate to Feeding America. At the end of the day, we all have to eat. Every dollar donated allows Feeding America to secure and distribute 20 meals in virtually every community in America and the charity is highly rated by all accreditation organizations. Going forward, as this business (hopefully!) grows, I hope to learn more about smaller organizations that make sense for TAE to support.
I also want to make it easier for YOU to support charitable and philanthropic brands that make products in American so I have added a Charitable categorization to The A-List. Go the the A-list, dig a little deeper, category: charitable. Please share more American made charitable products in the comments!
Thank you today and every day for your support!
[image by Melissa Oholendt, styled by Wit & Delight Studio for Be the Match]
