We Don’t Just Talk About Purpose – We Actually Do It
When we work with businesses and organisations, we take care to help them avoid the trap of “purpose-washing” – those performative gestures that sound good in marketing materials but lack substance in reality. So when it comes to our commitment to social impact, we knew we needed to walk the walk, not just talk about it.
That’s why we’re announcing our commitment to the 1% Pledge. This global movement encourages companies to dedicate 1% of equity, profit, product, and/or employee time to charitable causes and community impact.
Understanding What We Actually Need to Contribute
True to our approach of understanding before acting, we didn’t just sign up to the 1% Pledge for the good optics. We took time to discover what a meaningful contribution actually looks like for NAMA, given our position and capabilities.
The 1% Pledge offers four pathways: equity, profit, product, and time. Rather than spreading ourselves thin across all four, we identified where we could create the most authentic impact right now. Our commitment focuses on time and product, areas where we can leverage our existing expertise and relationships to create genuine value.
Our Current Commitment in Action
Time: Our MD, Tabitha Fox, serves as a Charity Trustee (watch this space), bringing strategic marketing expertise directly to the governance level where it can positively influence long-term impact. This isn’t occasional volunteering; it’s sustained, strategic involvement in organisational leadership.
Product: We’re providing free PR services to a separate charity (watch this space), offering the kind of professional marketing support that many third-sector organisations struggle to access due to budget constraints.
These aren’t token gestures designed to tick boxes. They’re substantial commitments that align with our core mission of helping purpose-led organisations amplify their impact through strategic marketing expertise.
Why the 1% Pledge Fits Our Values
The beauty of the 1% Pledge model, pioneered by companies like Salesforce and Atlassian, is that it builds social responsibility into a company’s DNA from the start rather than treating it as an afterthought. This resonates deeply with how we work with our clients – we help them integrate authentic purpose into their core operations, not just their marketing messages.
For NAMA, joining the 1% Pledge isn’t about corporate social responsibility as a separate initiative. It’s about ensuring our business model itself contributes to the ecosystem of purpose-led organisations we serve. When we strengthen the third sector through direct involvement, we’re investing in the very communities that make our work meaningful.
Authentic Action Over Performative Gestures
We could have made a big announcement about donating money to charity or launching a flashy community programme. Instead, we’re committing the resource that’s most valuable in our sector: expert time and professional services. These contributions directly address the resource constraints and capability gaps that we see affecting the organisations we work with most.
This approach reflects our core belief that the most powerful marketing comes from authentic action rather than polished messaging. By contributing our expertise where it’s needed most, we’re demonstrating the values we help our clients communicate.
Building This Into Our Business Model
The 1% Pledge isn’t a one-off commitment; it’s a framework that will grow with us. As NAMA develops, we’ll continue to evaluate where our 1% can create the most meaningful impact. This might mean expanding into profit-sharing as we grow, or developing product donations that serve emerging social enterprises.
What won’t change is our thoughtful approach. We’ll always take time to understand what the third sector needs from us, rather than assuming we know what would be most helpful.
Ready to Discover Your Impact Potential?
If you’re running a purpose-led organisation and wondering how to communicate your values authentically without falling into purpose-washing territory, let’s start with an honest conversation. We help organisations discover what they need to amplify their impact; sometimes that includes integrating social responsibility into their core business model, just as we’ve done.
Because purpose-led organisations deserve marketing partners who share their commitment to authentic action over performative gestures.
Want to learn more about how NAMA helps purpose-led organisations communicate their values authentically? Get in touch for an honest conversation about your marketing challenges and aspirations.
