A social enterprise platform for CSR, charity work and impact investing

While a robust global economy has spawned more consumers to have larger purchasing powers, there has also been a rise in the flow of money that goes into activities for the betterment of the society — a fact that renders a comfortable reminder of the generosity of mankind.

Although the practice of giving dates back to ancient history, the channels in which people and organisations contribute to the society have evolved over time. This evolution has allowed the emergence of some charitable ways for corporations to give back to the community. These include the practice of allotting a portion of a business’s profit to corporate social responsibility activities, impact investing and charity per se.

For each of these purposes, a broad range of platform exists. However, only one company so far has adopted an effective system that gives the opportunity for all three to be done on a single platform.

This company is named Exponential, Inc. (XPO²), a cause-related technology marketing firm founded by French-American entrepreneur Dom Einhorn. The company provides a contribution platform that allows charity groups and NGOs to raise funds in the easiest way possible.

Here are a few ways XPO² is serving as a multifaceted outlet to give back to communities:

1. Corporate social responsibility

Along with the growth of businesses is the realisation among corporate executives of the need to give back to the community whose support is the hero to their success stories.

Asset management firm BlackRock CEO Laurence D. Fink, through his annual letter, encourages other CEOs to adopt a different and more effective corporate principle — put social responsibility at the core of a firm’s priorities and revenues will follow suit. XPO2 Founder Dom Einhorn views the same.

“At its core, CSR gives companies better brand recognition through the positive work or projects they hold in communities,” he said in a Born2Invest opinion article.

“This gives the audience and potential clients a great outlook on the company as they are not only able to perform at their peak on their respective industries but also manage to give back to the community,” he added.

XPO² has offered this opportunity to cannabidiol leader PotNetwork Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:POTN). The partnership between the cannabis-focused and tech marketing firm has yielded a reforestation program in Kenya’s Ngong Hills Reserve to preserve the 1,200-hectare ecosystem.

2. Impact investing

Investopedia describes impact investing or thematic investing as a way to support an organisation, whether business-oriented or cause-driven, to achieve goals that are seen to yield positive results to the society.

Meanwhile, impact investing has also been growing more diversely and rapidly than ever during the past decade. In 2016, socially responsible investing, along with impact investing, totalled to US$8 trillion (AU$10.45 trillion) in assets under management, up 33 percent from 2014, according to Investopedia, citing a 2016 survey by the US Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

Take into account, however, that the figures only make up for managed assets and not the numerous other investment outlets out there such as “green” bonds and tech marketing firms like XPO2.

In this area, XPO² shows its genuine desire to give by allowing nonprofit fundraisers access to its platform and services at no cost — not even a cent. The free package for nonprofit groups and charities include complete digital marketing, fundraising, and e-commerce technologies.

3. Charity

Charity organisations have been growing along with the rise of the economy. But not everyone is genuine in their motives when it comes to raising money. Learning from the past, XPO² believes that some giant and established NGOs have been proven to waste away the millions that are poured into their coffers.

This is why the company selects potential partners based on the capability of the group to impact change, and not based on whether the charity is popular or not.

It is worthy to note that all the three charitable activities in this list are made possible only because of the company’s e-commerce advantage.

XPO² already has more than 1,200 merchants across the globe but is still poised to see exponential growth in the e-commerce industry. The firm expects to get a significant share of the US$4 trillion (AU$5.22 trillion) e-commerce sales projected in 2020. Its advantageous positioning in the market grants its deserving NGOs the opportunity to capitalize on the global e-commerce revolution.

Over 85 percent of e-commerce merchants are already using affiliate marketing programs.

On average, XPO²’s proprietary rewards-based crowdfunding platform saves consumers anywhere from 5 percent to 40 percent on each transaction. Trusted merchant partners can slash marketing costs by 10 percent to 40 percent, a high rate compared to other marketing channels and initiatives.

As such, XPO² users can enjoy the hassle-free shopping while also contributing to impactful nonprofit groups.

For this year, the company is striving to give support to more than 10,000 nongovernment organisations. These groups are meant to protect the natural environment, solidify relationships in communities, and impact positive change.

The company projects that by taking in even 1 percent of all global retail e-commerce transactions by 2020, its XPO² marketing and fundraising technology would help small to medium-sized nonprofit groups to meet their goals.

By offering a chunk of their revenues and services to vetted organisations that strive to provide the greatest net social impact, XPO² is establishing itself to be multi-gateway where corporate social responsibility, impact investing and charity work take place, making a difference with one each sale.

This company profile was sent for consideration to publish.