DIRECT SELLING GIVES BACK TO THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY
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cross the United States and around the world, a direct selling presence brings more to a community than just a business opportunity. It brings a commitment to good citizenship—a pledge to give back to those communities where direct sellers live and work and to respond to the needs of others in times of a national or global crisis. Philanthropy is a hallmark of the direct selling industry. Charitable initiatives have their roots in the values of company founders. Some companies start their own charitable foundations: the USANA Foundation, Herbalife Nutrition Foundation, and Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation are a few examples. Others create, develop, and support ongoing partnerships with charities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as The Avon Company’s longtime partnership with Feed the Children to help end childhood hunger, Natura’s continuing work to protect the Amazon, and PM International’s contributions to the relief, development, and advocacy organization World Vision. Our companies, representatives, and customers have a long track record of stepping up in times of crisis. Direct sellers were among the first to donate to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, the aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey, and the fires in the western US and Australia. Many companies aided in efforts to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Amway turned its manufacturing facilities into production lines for hand sanitizers. Recently, companies such as Young Living, dōTERRA, MONAT, Sunrider, 4Life, and Southwestern contributed to the relief efforts in Ukraine. Direct selling has a presence today in more than 100 countries. Its economic impact from the last few years can be measured in the record sales—$179.3 billion in 2020—number of sellers, and number of customers. Not as easily measured is the tremendous impact direct selling makes on people everywhere whose
Nearly 70 percent of the companies that participated in the WFDSA’s 2020 Direct Selling Worldwide Corporate Philanthropy Survey focus their charitable initiatives on children’s causes, with another 25 percent supporting causes for women. lives have been positively affected by the generosity of the industry. Corporate Giving In its 2020 Direct Selling Worldwide Corporate Philanthropy Survey, the World Federation of Direct Selling Association (WFDSA) confirmed that 1 in 4 direct selling companies was founded with philanthropy as a major tenet of their vision, and 9 in 10 direct selling companies partnered with charities or NGOs. As for donations: • Nine in ten make cash donations • One-half make in-kind donations • 62% contribute through cause-related marketing (selling products with a portion of proceeds going to a charity) • 53% contribute though volunteerism • 44% give through sponsorships • 35% contribute through matching fund programs Nearly 70 percent of the companies that participated in the WFDSA’s survey focus their charitable initiatives dsa-dsj.org
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