ME to WE is a social enterprise founded in 2009 to provide economic opportunity in WE Village communities and a sustainable source of funding for WE Charity.
Since its founding, ME to WE grew into a global force for positive change in local communities.
When ME to WE first launched, the concept of social enterprise was still a novel idea in Canada. There were certainly some prior examples already, like Grameen Bank, Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
However, Canadian business and tax laws still made it difficult to earn a profit while supporting a charitable cause. That’s because Canadian CRA regulations limit the ability of charities to engage in commerce. To meet those CRA guidelines, a separate legal entity was launched called ME to WE Social Enterprise.
ME to WE also called in independent analysis, asking many experts and legal groups to review the organization’s structure to make sure that ME to WE met the highest standards of transparency in finances and governance.
Jason Saul, CEO of Mission Measurement, conducted a review of ME to WE, and concluded: “What I found most impressive is the ME to WE business model: the organization is designed to be financially self-sufficient by using market-based strategies to advance important social outcomes. I think that ME to WE should serve as an exemplar for how to generate economic value by advancing a social mission.”
That transparency and external review continued with the review of ME to WE’s business structure by legal experts including the former Prime Minister John Turner and former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Peter Cory. Auditors have confirmed that no dividends have ever been paid by ME to WE Social Enterprise. ME to WE’s practices and sourcing were also independently reviewed by BCorp and Fairtrade Foundation.
In its actual work, ME to WE supported the work of WE Charity in many ways, including:
Annual donations averaging over 90% of its profits to WE Charity.
Creating empowering jobs in underserved rural WE Village regions around the world in eco-travel, artisans products, and Fairtrade consumables, helping families lift themselves out of poverty.
Providing services to assist the charity, like hosting WE Charity donors who visited charity projects, as well as youth service trip scholarships. That resulted in tens of millions of dollars given directly to WE Charity.
