Anne’s favorite sustainability initiative: 1%Club

Every month, one of PRé’s people talks about their personal favorite sustainable initiative. This can be a product or a shop, a local initiative or a new website. This month, Anne Gaasbeek will tell you a little about 1%Club.

When my cousin left for Monrovia to set up a psychiatric hospital, I saw for the first time what the impact is of the help they offer, how valuable and tireless their work is and how much our contributions are needed.  This is often what I miss with the big NGOs: I don’t really see what my money is spent on and I don’t have any way to engage or to get regular updates.

1%Club

That’s why I love 1%Club. It’s a website for crowdfunding sustainability campaigns, similar to Kickstarter but specifically intended for sustainability initiatives. Its founders want to enable as many people as possible to make a positive change in the world. The best thing is that you can have direct contact with the people on the ground.

How Does It Work?

A person, perhaps a farmer in Zambia or the representative of a small foundation, puts a concrete campaign on the website and asks for contributions to make it happen. People can contribute money, but they can also offer help with, for example, designing a logo, fundraising or developing training materials.  You can get in touch with the campaigners directly by asking questions, and the campaigners keep you updated on how the money is spent.

Lots Of Diversity

The campaigns are really diverse: setting up water enterprises in Northern Cambodia, developing climate-smart agriculture in Zambia, starting a trauma program for children in India, but also sponsoring a school trip for Dutch children with learning disabilities. I like looking through the projects because I always see a campaign that appeals to me or where I can be of help in a relatively easy way.

What Can You Do?

Go look at the campaigns on 1%Club, find something that speaks to you and support it with your money or knowledge, or submit your own initiative and enable us to support you.


Other sustainable initiatives we like:

Anne Gaasbeek

Anne worked for PRé from 2012 to 2021. As a Senior Consultant and excellent program manager with a hands-on background in sustainability metrics, she helped a wide range of organizations, including SMEs, multinationals and policy-makers. By focusing on the user perspective, Anne helped develop better tools for both technical and non-technical users. Her areas of expertise include product social footprinting, impact measurement and valuation, measuring supply chain sustainability and sustainable business performance.

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