Can we really make a difference with our business?

When I started laying the foundation for Tier Level Digital Marketing, I attended a new conference called Thrive: Make Money Matter in Las Vegas, put together by Cole and Sanja Hatter. After the conference I attended a few groups to network with other entrepreneurs that Cole and Sanja hosted. The networking group really opened my eyes to two different ways of doing business: “for profit” or “for purpose." Was I starting a business to simply earn money, or was I starting a business to do, as the tag line in the conference said, “make money matter?” This year Tier Level is three years old and we have been looking for a way we can make an impact in other people’s lives, by offering a “hand-up” and not just another “hand-out.” 

We have a small team that works remotely out of Nicaragua and is an amazing addition to our organization. If you are not aware, Nicaragua has recently experienced a lot of political tension with many recent violent and even deadly protests taking place throughout the country. The tension between local political activists and the Nicaraguan government has had some very public confrontations and life for an ordinary person is becoming substantially more difficult daily. Currently, Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Americas and opportunities for work and business are increasingly becoming more difficult to find.

Recently, we had a friend in the country tell us the story of 14 children they were trying to raise money for to provide uniforms and transportation to school. We learned that the church in the States that had committed to provide the funds pulled out at the last minute. This put our friends in a precarious situation. School is ready to start, the order for the uniforms and shoes has already been made, and now there were no funds to help. 

In most countries children cannot attend school without uniforms and proper shoes. When we heard this our leadership team unanimously decided that we would cover all costs and fees to help these 14 children for the year. We also learned that the opportunity does not stop here and that there are hundreds of other children that we might be able to help in the future. Although we are still looking into the process and the best way to help more, we are going to start here, working to impact these 14 lives and their families.

One thing that has bothered me about charities in the past are the vast amounts of overhead that go to seemingly unexplained expenses. When I give to anything I want to know that when I send a single dollar or thousands of dollars that the funds, all the funds, go to the person or family in need. 

As we look forward we do not know how things will take shape, are we going to start something that meets this need or partner with someone already making this impact? We don’t know. But what we do know is that we are making an impact here, right now for these kids. A hand-up they need for a better life.

I share this with you because I want to say “thank you” to all our clients. Because you partner with us, you are a part of this opportunity to help change these lives. Without you we would have never been able to make this decision and, subsequently, this impact. 

Our team will be visiting these children in the next few months to make sure they are getting the adequate help they need. If there is anything missing, we can continue to step up and help. 

If you would like to learn more about working with these kids and even consider helping out with this new project I would love to talk to you one on one. Email me at [email protected] or message me directly. 

SEE BELOW, the 14 children. Please join us in thinking about them and praying for them by name.