Dear Clients and Friends,
It’s the week of Thanksgiving, and we’re feeling grateful for our wonderful
MORWM community. Thank you for supporting us in our work and in our
charitable endeavors this year.
For our seventh annual Giving With Purpose list, we’re offering some
suggestions for gifting – with a twist. Much like MORWM and our family of
clients, these organizations go about their regular business with a mission and
a purpose. As always, many of these companies are certified B-Corps (like
MORWM) and several are also 1% for the Planet. They all give back to the
community in some way.
We keep thinking that we’re going to run out of new ideas for this list, but it
hasn’t happened yet! We think this is a good sign.
Here are our top ten picks for 2022:
Festive Farm Co. provides unique gifts, many of which are made in the USA. A portion of their proceeds go to supporting various charities like the American Cancer Society, the National Audubon Society and One Warm Coat.
Shout out to Judy, a long-time friend of MORWM, for telling us about Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve. They are a family-owned and operated company located in Ohio. “A product
is only as good as the ingredients used to make it. Our ingredients are USDA-certified organic, sustainably produced, cruelty-free, and ethically traded. We will always use the best ingredients to make the best safe and
effective skincare products available.”
While on vacation, Yellow Leaf’s cofounder discovered an amazingly comfortable hammock. He and his wife worked to build a network of weavers so that they could share
these hammocks with the world. “Each individual Yellow Leaf hammock is handwoven with the utmost precision and care by the expert craftswomen of the Mlabri
Tribe – ‘the people of the yellow leaves’ – in the hills of Northern Thailand. Turning women into breadwinners not only builds selfesteem but improves their standing in the community and enables them to pool resources and improve infrastructure.” Lounging with purpose. Nice.
Need a gift for friends or family in the Pacific Northwest? Check out Rogue Creamery’s organic cheese gift boxes. They were named the #1 Best Green Workplace in Oregon by Oregon Business Magazine. The company uses solar power and humane animal welfare practices.
Employees who use sustainable methods of commuting to work get a monthly bonus.
Stroopies are Lancaster, PA’s homegrown version of the Dutch stroopwafel. As if that isn’t cool enough, Stroopies’ mission is to “provide meaningful employment,” as well as daily English and life skills classes, to a community of female refugees who have found their way to Lancaster.
“Simply Straws offers solutions to
reduce single-use plastics through our
reusable straws, utensils, and drinkware...founded by a motherdaughter
duo with a passion to protect the nature we love, and make a positive change in the world. From roots as health and environmental advocates, Simply Straws was born in 2012. Our straws are handcrafted, with minimal environmental impact, and a big dose of love...together we can change the way the world sips and "PledgeAgainstPlasticStraws.”
Started by two sisters, this company sells rattan baskets, dolls, toys and slow-fashion clothing. Olli Ella employs ethical supply management while striving for minimal
environmental impact. Their products are made in ethically certified facilities all over the world. Most of their “makers” are women. Olli and Ella commit to a minimum monthly purchasing order, which provides these entrepreneurs with a steady cashflow.
For each Pencils with a Purpose pack
sold, the Good Pencil Company donates to a particular cause. The pack pictured here is the “Leftovers” pack – for each pack sold, the
equivalent of two meals is donated to the Utah Food Bank. The pencils are made with FSC-certified materials, and packs include a spruce tree seed so that you can plant a tree at home.
West Paw produces sustainably made
toys, treats, beds, leashes and collars
for your canine companion. Thoroughly used toys can be sent back to West Paw, where the materials will be recycled into new toys. West Paw upholds the triple bottom line ethos: “Beyond dogs, we care about people and the planet too. We're eco-friendly in our materials
and manufacturing choices and people-friendly in our business choices. It's not easy being dog's best friend, but, it's worth it.”
“Designed in California as a premium
tech alternative. Sustainable
materials. Plastic-free packaging.
None of the compromise.” Unlike
most tech accessories out there,
Nimble’s products are built to last.
Each purchase includes a pre-paid
shipping label that can be used to
send your old tech to Nimble's ewaste
partner for recylcing.
Notable gift alternatives
Do you have any loved ones who insist that they don’t need any more “stuff”?
The following organizations enable you to provide much needed goods and
services in someone’s honor.
Give the gift of food and water this holiday season. Heifer also enables you to
give whole or shared animal gifts: “Giving an animal gift at the holidays is like
giving someone a small business, providing wool, milk, eggs and more.”
I’m suddenly fighting the urge to donate an alpaca in honor of every single
one of my friends…
Through CMMB’s Gifts of Health program, you can give things like a
handwashing station, emergency food, or PPE for a healthcare worker.
Mazon has been feeding the hungry in America and Israel, regardless of faith
tradition, since its inception more than 37 years ago. Mazon’s site allows you
to donate in honor of someone and has great suggestions about how to
integrate giving in honor of an event or family celebration.
Rescue gifts include items like a year of school for two girls or a refugee
survival kit.
Hopefully this list inspired you to give a little more (or a little more
deliberately) this holiday season. If you saw something that you liked on this
list, we would absolutely love to hear your gifting story.
Happy and healthy holidays from everyone here at MOR Wealth Management!
Amy, Kirsten, and the whole MORWM team