Why YouCaring Became a B Corp?

In 2011, Brock and Naomi Ketcher wanted to make it easier for people facing a hardship or challenge to get the financial support they needed – for free. Inspired by Kiva and Donors Choose, they founded YouCaring as a for-profit business around a simple non-profit premise: donors should have a choice about how much money YouCaring makes.

Here we are five years later, and five million donors strong, to show you that it can be done.

B Corporations? exist to change the conversation on what it means to be a “business.” They commit to higher standards for their social and environmental impact, and they legally require shareholders to factor these standards into decision-making. B Corps? keep “business as a force for good” at the forefront of everything they do, and infuse it into their practices and policies.

From the beginning, YouCaring has been fueled by a desire to achieve maximum social impact, and becoming a B Corp? was a natural extension of our values and our mission. We are  honored to join the ranks of companies we have long admired, such as Patagonia, Kickstarter, Etsy, and Ben & Jerry’s – among more than 1600 others – who are all proud Certified B Corps.

For YouCaring, becoming a B Corp? means standing behind three promises: a Promise to our Team, a Promise to our Community, and a Promise to our World. We’d like to share them with you here.

Promise to Our Team

We promise to help you find, live, and fulfill your Passion & Purpose. To empower you. To trust you. To challenge you, respectfully, to be the best you can possibly be. To provide opportunities for you to learn and grow. To foster unity among the team. To provide you space to give back to causes you care about. To lead with compassion.

Promise to Our Community

We promise to treat you with empathy, compassion, and respect. To support you through adversity and foster a sense of community. To create a safe environment in which it is okay to ask for and offer help – and to honor your courage for doing so.

Promise to Our World

We promise to show the world that no one has to face hardship alone. To foster compassion. To create a global, giving community on a scale unseen in human history. To prove that everyone can be a philanthropist and make a difference – all it takes is a dollar and a kind word.

I’d like to thank everyone – on our Team, in our Community, and throughout our World – who have made YouCaring possible. And I’m excited about what lies ahead.