Deconstructing

CANADALAND article

Fiction versus Fact

When they go low,

we go factual

False

Claim

WE intentionally confuses

people (including children)

with a convoluted naming and

branding structure

● WE Charity was first known as “Free The Children”. As the charity scaled, it encountered several

challenges including brand confusion with other like-named non-profits (Feed The Children, Save

The Children etc.).

● When we looked towards continued global expansion and evolution, we sought a more

universally-recognized brand that spoke to our philosophy: Together, we can change the world.

● In 2015, we worked (pro-bono) with branding expert Stanley Hainsworth (who developed brands

like Lego, Nike and Starbucks) and his agency Tether to develop a transparent brand structure

● With the introduction of WE Charity and ME to WE Social Enterprises, Tether created a structure

that clearly shows the purpose of each entity, in the name.

FactWE Charity literally has the

word “charity” in the name.

“The WE brand was designed to ensure absolute clarity between entities in a way that

consumers would easily understand. We conducted multiple focus groups and

consumer research studies. Great care was taken to ensure distinction—the word

“charity” is even in the name of WE Charity. We took great pains to make sure that there

was a clear distinction between the WE Charity side and the ME to WE Social

Enterprises side to ensure clarity for regulatory purposes, for our own employees and

for potential donors, participants and consumers. The absolute attention to clarity is the

clearest example of transparency—to imply otherwise would not only be factually

incorrect, but bewildering, as to how someone could arrive at that conclusion”

Quote from Stanley Hainsworth, CEO Tether, on the WE and WE Charity brands.

False

Claim

ME to WE is simply a for-profit

organization and the entire

social enterprise business

model is nefarious.

• Tackling the world’s most significant challenges required us to think differently.

• ME to WE Social Enterprises was created in 2005 to support the sustainability and mission of WE Charity.

ME to WE sells socially responsible products to earn income to fund the charity.

• European countries such have fully embraced social entrepreneurship in the charitable sector. The Nobel

Peace Prize was awarded to social enterprise, Grameen Bank and its creator Muhammad Yunus.

• A minimum of 50% (and 80% in 2017) of its ME to WE’s profits are donated annually to WE Charity, and

any outstanding balance is reinvested to grow ME to WE’s social mission, such as most recently launching

Fairtrade chocolate sourcing in South America. To date, ME to WE has donated $20 million (in cash and

offsetting in-kind) to WE Charity.

• As a result WE Charity’s administrative rate is an industry leading of only 10%, ensuring a remarkable 90%of

WE Charity donations go directly to youth-serving programs.

• Our leadership in this area has been widely celebrated – the model won us an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of

the Year award and a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. ME to WE ranked in top 5% of Canadian B

Corp Certified organizations.

FactA social enterprise won

the Nobel Peace Prize

Various experts were engaged to build a strong system to govern the social enterprise

• WE Charity and ME to WE recognized that the social enterprise model was not commonplace in

the Canadian context. We have taken a number of unprecedented steps to ensure the model and

partnership structure has been assessed by independent experts.

• This includes modes of interactions and areas of financial engagement including financial

transfers, staff allocation and office space. These areas have been reviewed by a series of experts

and independent groups:

1. Provincial Guardian Trustee Sign off on Model

• The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (“PGT”) is a branch of the Ontario government’s

Ministry of the Attorney General which provides services that safeguard the legal, personal and

financial interests of certain private individuals and estates. As a matter of legal due diligence, WE

Charity and ME to WE underwent a full assessment from the PGT and were awarded an official

court order supporting the structure and relationship.

2. Evaluation and Endorsement from the Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

The Honourable Peter Cory, C.C., C.D.Q.C.LLD (retired), performed a comprehensive review of all

governance and operations of the charity and social enterprise and provided an unconditional

commendation and formal recognition of the financial diligence demonstrated by both ME to WE and

WE Charity.

3. Model Proposed and Structured by two top law firms

To help create a sound corporate structure, governance model and reporting requirements for the

partnership, WE Charity and ME to WE engaged two of Canada’s top law firms, Torys and Miller

Thomson, who offered pro bono legal services in creating the governing documents of the

partnership.

4. On-Going Legal Advice from Miller Thomson LLP

Miller Thompson LLP has a national legal practice which specializes in charitable law and works with

non-profit organizations and businesses alike, as an internationally recognized law firm. Since the

inception of ME to WE, we have engaged with Miller Thomson, and continue to receive ongoing

confirmation of the legitimacy of the structure of our operations.

False

Claim

Allocation of resources between

ME to WE and WE Charity are a

concern

• Every decision we make is based on our mission to help end extreme poverty for children,

including the creation of ME to WE Social Enterprises to help fund the charity.

• WE Charity and ME to WE are separate and distinct entities and staff are either employed by WE

Charity or ME to WE.

• Employees’ job responsibilities, salaries and benefits align to the respective organization by which

they are employed.

• To enable better efficiency and effectiveness of both WE Charity and ME to WE, a few functions

support both entities (for example, roles in the HR and IT team)

• When an employee supports both entities, a formal reconciliation process takes place to annually

ensure staff time allocations are tracked and reconciled formally, and any discrepancy is allocated

to ME to WE for the benefit of WE Charity.

• In all cases, this process has shown that overwhelmingly, ME to WE staff support the work of WE

Charity (not the other way around).

FactME to WE’s purpose is to

support WE Charity

False

Claim

WE operates a negative

employee culture where staff

concerns and complaints are

dismissed by upper management

• WE is committed to continuously improving staff experience to ensure staff achieve fulfillment,

meaning and excellence for all team members

• We dedicate considerable funds and resources to soliciting staff feedback, and every year we

conduct an employee engagement survey run by an independent 3rd party. Our most recent staff

survey found:

• 98% of employees believe they are making a positive change in the world because of their work

• 91% of employees feel a personal connection to the work we do

• We take employee feedback very seriously. If any team members have any concerns at all related

to any aspect of staff experience, we operate an open door policy, and can also use the anonymous

portal on WE Connect, among many other means

• We regularly consult staff as required on upcoming plans and partnerships

FactEmployees are our largest, and

most important, stakeholders

“I take great care, alongside other senior leaders of the organization, to consult with and

educate staff throughout the process of developing corporate partnerships. With specific

reference to the partnership in question, I held three separate all-staff meetings to

present information on all aspects of this relationship, as well as the social outcomes we

would be creating, focused on innovation and STEM. To have someone incorrectly

state, that I shared that this partnership was “none of their business”, is simply untrue. I

made it everyone’s business, and proud of this fact.”

- Erin Barton, Chief Development Officer

False

Claim

WE Charity and ME to WE are

hypocritical, and support products

that are made with child labour

• WE Charity and ME to WE work everyday to end child labour by addressing what we know to be its root

cause - extreme poverty.

• In the early years of WE Charity, our work was ignored or dismissed by the corporate community. Now, we

have a seat at the table and the opportunity to advocate for and help hold accountable the delivery of

stronger and transparent business practices.

• A sincere assessment of the issue recognizes that almost every large company involved in global sourcing

may have or had some issues in their supply chain at one point in time. Given this reality, WE believes that

the true assessment of a company’s commitment on the issue of child labour is a two-fold assessment:

• Is the company continuously seeking improvements in its supply chain, especially via third-party

verification and audits?

• Is the company tackling the root cause of child labour by helping end extreme poverty?

• Partnerships fund our WE Villages development model, eliminating the cause of child labour. For example,

Unilever is recognized as one of the world’s most socially-responsibility companies, and enables WE Charity

to provide financial literacy training to women in the tea fields, empowering them to better their families.

FactProgress is better than perfection; WE Charity and ME to WE partner with the corporate sector at the right time

and with the right intention

False

Claim

Corporations are inappropriately

partnering with WE Charity to

directly market their products and

services through schools

• WE Charity works carefully with our educational partners to align our programs and resources to

education guidelines, and do not promote the direct selling of partner products or services.

• The organization consistently solicits feedback and invites conversation with youth and other

stakeholders such as educators, administrators and school boards.

• WE engages corporate partners to support programming and only activates causes (never

products) such as cyberbullying, diversity and inclusion, food security and mental well-being, to

achieve significant social good.

• This support ensures our programs remains free and accessible, with an average of 63% of

WE Schools in the US classified as Title I Eligible (low-income schools with free or reduced lunch).

Although Canada doesn’t have a similar classification system, we are proud to support all young

people who want to better the world.

FactYoung people are always at the heart

of our decision making

“WE Charity consistently delivers world-class programming, and always engages

companies responsibly – they have never once activated a product of a partner within

schools. WE Charity always engages companies responsibly, and any statements to the

contrary would be factually incorrect”

Gerry Connelly, Former Director of Education, Toronto District School Board and

WE Charity Board Member

False

Claim

WE Day’s purpose is to market

products from corporations to kids

• WE Day is an unparalleled celebration of young people committed to making a difference

• This past year, 200,000 students attended WE Day and left inspired to create change both locally

and globally.

• WE Day makes every effort to ensure that content featured on-stage is highly relevant to students

and educators, and reflects inspiring messages and calls-to-action for social change

• In the cases where corporate partnerships are activated as part of the WE Day show, a partner’s

cause or issue (that is relevant to youth) is featured (opposed to specific products or

services).

• WE Day would not be possible without the support (cash and in-kind contributions) of corporate

sponsors. Partners cover the costs of WE Day, which includes production costs.

• General funds donated to WE Charity do not fund WE Day, which is only funded by specific

corporate partners and patrons.

FactWE Day promotes social causes

not products

False

Claim

Partnership decisions

are simply based on

funding and ignore

ethics

• Transforming the lives of families and communities around the world not only takes time – it takes

collaboration and critical resources.

• WE Charity supports corporations seeking to strengthen their positive social responsibility

commitments, and we provide our expertise to help them achieve their business and social goals.

• The ethical behaviour of prospect companies is consistently weighed using a variety of factors

including the mission/vision of the organization, alignment of values, corporate social responsibility

efforts, brand reputation, relevance of causes supported by proposed partner with young people

and previous charitable affiliations and sound practices (environmental, community relations and

labour).

• We take our vetting process seriously and have actively declined/halted pursuit of partnerships

because they do not align with our values or meet our established partnership assessment criteria.

FactWE Charity aligns with UNSDG 17 which

encourages multi-sector partnerships