• People – mobilizing millions of independent business owners through their world-wide initiative One by One® Campaign for Children, a campaign that engages local charity partners, local service and in-country giving priorities

•Product – leveraging Amway’s expertise in water and nutrition

•Performance – sustainable practices which include environmental impact, ethics, supply chain

With a decades-long track record of supporting venerated charities such as United Way, Easter Seals, US Dream Academy and Habitat for Humanity, Amway made the decision to add to their global impact by doing what they do best – empowering their people around the globe. Amway launched the Amway One by One® Campaign for Children in 2003. The One by One Campaign for Children rallies the resources of the entire Amway family to make a difference in the lives of children around the world. Through its vast network of international distributors, the company seeks to create local partnerships that improve the way children live, learn, achieve and play. Each market chooses causes that are most important based on what issues are most pressing in the region and also what their distributors are most passionate about.

Great things happen when a company tasks its clients to take responsibility in helping to change the world. For Amway, they saw that the campaign quickly began to make a significant impact not only on the charity but on the Amway independent business owners themselves. Herstein shared that Amway’s leaders did not anticipate the way their distributors would drive the program. As the program developed, Amway began to receive stories from Amway distributors about how they are building their businesses solely to support their favorite charities. “We didn't realize how passionate our distributors were about giving of their time, talent and resources”.

•11 million children impacted

•3.1 million volunteer hours donated

•$225 million in contributions received

And the giving tradition continues. Amway began to leverage another core strength which is expertise in water and nutrition. Todd Woodward, Amway VP for Corporate and Integrated Communications has said, “We used the scientific expertise of our team of more than nine hundred researchers, scientists, and technologists to develop solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems. Our NUTRILITE® Little Bits™ is a macronutrient powder designed to address chronic childhood malnutrition and help children grow and thrive during the critical first five years of life. We've also worked with partners to expand access to clean water to stop the rampant spread of water-borne diseases and are aggressively identifying how we can play a role in addressing critical global issues.”

Finally, as a privately held company Amway works to integrate sustainability goals into their products and processes. They are in a constant improvement process of evaluating and acting to improve corporate sustainability, environmental impact, ethics, supply chain.

Todd Woodward continues, “Many of our distributors have told us that our CSR efforts are the key motivator in building their Amway businesses. CSR also provides a meaningful differentiation for prospective employees and is a key factor in attracting talented employees. We have heard from a number of recent hires that they researched our giving efforts before deciding to join Amway.”

Multi-Level marketing companies are in a unique position to mobilize their independent business owners in the arena of social good and many do so effectively. What is important to note is that social good, philanthropy and giving back to the communities in which you do business is a lesson all businesses can learn and incorporate. Please contact me if I can help you and your company achieve your dreams of making a difference in the world!

Written by Andrea Barnes, CEO of the Giving Principles