National Post (National Edition)
Entrepreneurs keep the spirit of giving alive
NEEDS ON THE RISE AS OVERALL DONATIONS FALL
Going local for Nuba Restaurant Group Inc. in Vancouver isn't so much about the food they serve. It's been a champion of supporting charity efforts in its area since opening the first of its four Lebanese restaurants 17 years ago.
Nuba's charitable efforts range from partnering with local businesses to support humanitarian causes, to offering free catering services for fundraisers, to donating and delivering free meal kits to homeless and women's shelters.
“We've always been involved in charitable events in the city and gone out of our way to connect to the community at a grassroots level,” said Darragh McFeely, director of operations. “We try to support everyone we can, even if it's just a gift certificate for an auction.”
Nuba is currently donating two high-energy individual meals to nearby Wish Vancouver, a women's dropin centre for marginalized and vulnerable sex-trade workers, for every family meal kit sold to customers.
Local businesses play an extremely important role in charitable giving, said Marina Glogovac, chief executive of CanadaHelps, a charity that advocates for small and medium-sized charities across Canada, and their support is especially critical at a time when overall donations are declining while community needs are rising.
“COVID has had a horrible impact on charities,” she said. “Reports show that 40 per cent of Canadians are giving less. Most of what they are giving is to bigger charities, despite the fact that 95 per cent of charities in Canada are small with less than 10 staff and far fewer volunteers.”
Small businesses, Glogovac said, are uniquely positioned to raise awareness for local charities such as food banks, shelters, hospices, hospitals and childcare services, among others, since they often have a personal connection with the recipients in their area and they can join forces with business peers and customers.
The need in Vancouver is something residents witness every day, McFeely said.
“We've seen with our own eyes how the homeless community is affected by COVID,” he said. “People are being forced out of their homes and there aren't many cash handouts out there, as people aren't going out of their bubbles.”
It's important, McFeely said, for local businesses to get involved in their communities because they provide a much-needed link between charities and their clients.
“If anything, we're getting more local with our efforts,” he said.
There are numerous ways businesses can partner with local charities, from sponsoring competitions and collecting gift cards, to setting up food, toy or clothing donations at their locations and offering in-kind services such as free food and clothing deliveries to organizations in need.
They can also donate a small percentage of every sale to a local fundraiser, but donating time can be just as important.
Making an effort to support those in need has been part of the fabric of Nathon Kong's Montreal-based bespoke fashion design business since he founded it in 2015.
“Helping others has been part of our DNA since the beginning,” he said. “It's something everyone should do. At the same time, I don't want to ask people to donate or burden them with requests.”
Kong had little cash to spare when he started his business, so he applied his creative efforts to supporting Les Impatients, a local non-profit organization that delivers therapeutic creative workshops to mental health patients.
He creates fabric from the resulting artistic works, which is then used in the lining of his suits, as well as to make scarves and, more recently, masks. Ten per cent of all proceeds from the sale of those items are given back to the community to raise awareness for mental health.
Kong's commitment goes even further: He commissions the mask-sewing work to local seamstresses who have lost their jobs during the pandemic, paying them double their normal wages.
Over the past four years, his small business of six employees has raised $50,000 for Les Impatients.
“If you count other artists I have collaborated with, we have raised another $30,000 for other local charities such as Maison Flora Tristan, a local shelter for victims of domestic violence,” Kong said. “I believe that every decision I make, I am making a difference.”
Frédéric Palardy, director general at Les Impatients, said the impact of the partnership with Kong has been incredible.
Kong's suits and accessories have raised funds and at the same time captured the attention of high-profile individuals, including some provincial politicians who wore his masks at a June press conference in support of mental health.
Such visibility is more important than ever, Palardy said, since mental health issues are on the rise.
“Unfortunately, mental health everywhere will be worse,” he said.
Glogovac at CanadaHelps is equally concerned that many local charities may not survive another three to six months given the increased demands being placed on them and declining funds.
“That's why it's more important than ever to make this holiday season a success,” she said.