A Big Picture View of Our Economy

Bear with the oversimplification for this illustration.......Lots of money exchanges hands each day, actually the numbers are staggering. In America Alone $46 Billion dollars a day is exchanged between investors, producers of goods and consumers. That totals $16.8 Trillion dollars a year in the US Alone!

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Vast amounts of money is present in our economy and being exchanged at staggering rates each day.....yet so many people around the world remain poor, many without enough basic needs to survive. The cause of such inequality is complex and not easily solved, but the solution to meet at least basic needs is right under our very noses. A "river" of money is flowing everyday. 

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A River Metaphor- A Diversion Technique

Picture a river running just outside your door, constantly flowing, never stopping. If you were to insert a tiny pipe into that river and divert a small portion of water, the overall flow of the river would remain virtually unchanged. If you were to place a bucket under the pipe, it would fill up over and over again as long as the river continued to run. Instead of redistribution, think of it as diversion, an intentional choice. 

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Divergent Savings Programs

Some banks use this same idea for unique and "painless" savings plans. As we make a purchase using our debit card, the total price is rounded up to the next whole number. The difference is then redirected into a savings account attached to the debit account. The result is somewhat remarkable. Before long many people are surprised to find a steadily growing balance. The process is quite simple and remarkably "painless" to your wallet. Most people actually never "feel" the diversion of money because it is in reality pennies on the dollar with each transaction. Most of us loose more change in our sofa cushions each day than we would in each transaction. ​

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Examples of Save as you go programs (Follow The Links to Discover More):

Bank of America: Keep The Change

Wells Fargo: Way2Save

Mobile Aps such as: ACORN (Invest Spare Change) & DIDGIT

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The Power of such Diversion techniques is the impact of tiny, consistent inputs over time. 

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Here is some simple math to illustrate:

Lets say that you make on average 5 purchases a day (most of us far exceed this!). On average lets say the the difference that gets rounded and diverted to savings is $0.30 Cents. That would be a total of $1.50 per day. Multiple that by 365 days. The result would be $547.50 diverted into savings. Few if any of us would notice $1.50 being diverted from our checking accounts, to be honest we waste more than that on unnecessary purchases each day. The reality is that though such tiny amounts are hardly noticeable on a daily bases, the accumulation of those incremental amounts gain momentum with time.

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Here is the startling truth about savings. 57% of Americans save less than $1000 per year, while 35% saved $0. The reality is that the average american does not have habits that support saving and even more importantly giving. While most of us consider ourselves generous, the reality is that just over half (61%) of Americans give to charitable organizations (including churches). Unfortunately, saving and Giving is simply not built into the DNA of our day to day money habits.

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What is the Answer?.......Intentional......Consistent.......and Incremental.....repeated habits can result in huge impact especially when aggregated beyond just a single individual or family.  

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This simple "Diversion Giving Technique" is at the heart of the

Products That Do Good Philosophy. 

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Divergent Giving Case Studies

A quick survey online of this "giving technique" will reveal the philosophy already hard at work by many companies today. Below is a list of companies who use this diversion giving technique on one or more products/services and the resulting impact. (Follow the links to visit the company pages)

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Starbucks Ethos Water

$0.5-0.10 cents are donated from the sale of each bottle of water. Since its inception, Ethos has donated over $12.3 Million to clean water and hygiene programs around the world. 

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Toms

Toms is a shoe company that originally gave a pair of shoes for each pair sold (1 for 1). The company has expanded its giving focus to include sight, water, safe births and bullying prevention. As a result over 2 Million children have been given shoes, a 41% increase in maternal healthcare education at shoe donation sites, student enrollment has increased by 1000 students in Liberia. What began as a simple idea has spread worldwide with long term and wide ranging impacts. 

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Box Lunch

Box Lunch donates 1 meal for every $10 spent at thier stores. To date over $20 Million Meals have been donated in their goal to irradiate hunger in the US. 

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Project 7

The company sells Candy (Gum and Gummy Candy). A portion of each sale is donated to 7 different charitable programs depending on the product purchased. On the Project 7 Mission page the company sums up the Products That Do Good Philosophy perfectly:

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"Little purchases when added up, can pull many people together and make life

changing impacts every day of the week."

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This simple yet hugely impactful philosophy has resulted in 4.3 Million Trees being planted, 4 Million meals donated in the US, 1.2 Million hours of education, 1.5 Million hours of shelter for people in need, 1.4 Million Months of clean water, 35,000 students enrolled in anti-bullying programs, and 116 Thousand Malaria Treatments. What else can be said.....it works! 

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Conscious Step

Conscious Step is a Sock Company. With each purchase a portion of the sale is given to 11 charitable areas ranging from HIV treatment, to food distribution, malaria irradiation, disaster relief, clean water, and animal rescue.  The result is astounding: 82,202 Books donated, 27, 387 days of HIV/Aids Treatment, 58,020 Trees planted, 26,748 meals provided, 80,775 months of clean water, 2,860 tropical Rain-forest trees protected. 

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The philosophy is simple and effective. Each company continues to make a profit, the consumer receives a product and the world ends up better with each purchase. 

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While the idea is simple, the benefits to the companies are wide ranging and often deeply profound. Companies who practice "divergent giving philosophies" accomplish the following:

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• Wide Ranging Impact World wide

• Development and differentiation of their company Brand

• Brand Loalty

• Increased Employee Engagement and Buy-in

• Increased Market Share

• Improved Visibility and Marketability to consumers and potential employees

• Increased sense of individual and company purpose

• Important End of Year Tax Incentives

• Increased understanding and sensitivity for Generosity 

• Broadening worldviews and understanding of interconnections between people and the earth