We’re already maxing our impact til September!

Sponge March Impact Update

We couldn’t help getting swept away by the awesome organisations that asked for our help. So with our Double the Goodness grant maxed til September, we’ve paused allocations.

But that doesn’t mean our positive impact stops! Hell no! Not by a long shot. We’ve got 2 other impact initiatives steaming forward. And you’re a vital part!

Time for an impact update

We too have been learning and evolving. How could we not when friends like Timothy O’Brien drop by to share insights into impact?

Tim spoke at our latest impact initiative, our Humming Sessions. Its purpose is to bring in awesome thought leaders to teach us something that gets our teams humming. Your team and our team!

When our team’s are humming, they can really unleash their genius. Genius at work is one of our values!

Our 3 Impact Initiatives

I’ve got ahead of myself! Let’s go meta for a minute (but not the metaverse). Our purpose is to:

Help all brands be good for the world.

All the branding work we do with clients is to meet this intent. We create positive impact through the work we do in transforming brands for good. We need to measure these impact streams:

  • The transformation in our client’s team members due to the work
  • The impact our clients create as a result of becoming more impact driven

Outside of client work we have 3 impact initiatives that drive towards this purpose too. As a quick intro here they are:

Double the Goodness Grant. To help cash strapped impact organisations create greater impact with better branding.

Humming Sessions. To help our community’s teams get humming and unleashing their genius at work.

GoodNorth. To help accelerate the growth of the good business movement by connecting good people.

In a moment we will go deeper on these so you can see exactly what you are contributing to by being part of our tribe. And how you can get deeper involved.

Our Impact Struggle

Since 2015 we’ve been struggling with the same problems that many do with impact. Especially as a newbie. First it was working out the best way we can create impact given what we do.

Impact relevance is vital. I will explain why in a moment. While we started by sponsoring orphans, a good thing to do, our impact model has evolved over the years.

We now have impact initiatives we love, and make sense for what we do. But we also have a bigger challenge. How do we measure the impact we are helping to create?

The easy way is to put a dollar value on what we’re doing. And we have because it is easy. But it doesn’t help with the storytelling that is essential for it to resonate for you.

Double the Goodness Allocations

What does $62,471.33 of Double the Goodness Grant mean?

While that amount could buy a Tesla model 3, which would be cool, on its own the amount isn’t relatable. But the good things the grant has done are!

Here’s some of the good things that this grant has fueled:

  • 4 organisations now have brands that are world class and enable them to compete.
  • 3 organisations now have websites that are converting traffic to supporters and funders.
  • 4 organisations now have marketing strategies that are driving new revenue/funding
  • 32+ people now feel more aligned and energised at work.
  • 600+ people have now been able to find and engage with these organisations and get the help they need.

These good things are more tangible. But they are subjective, some are hard to measure, and there are too many. Which would you rave about co-creating?

Our task is to create a simple, overarching, tangible metric that we can track. One that we can share updates with you, as it increases, so you can feel good too. Here’s an idea in my head to illustrate the point. Imagine if it could be something super simple like:

Thanks to you we’re at 632 Lives Unleashed. Up 34 this month!

A life is easy to relate to. We all have one! Unleashed is what we are aiming for, but the word is a bit abstract and I am not sold on it, but you get the point. Open for ideas here if you have one.

If we had a simpler impact initiative that made sense for what we do at Sponge it could be easier. For instance if we were in Edutech and care about gender equality. It could be much simpler to quantify and share:

Thanks to you we’re at 632 Scholarships for Underprivileged Girls. Up 34 this month!

See what I mean? Underprivileged Girls with scholarships are something easy to get behind and share. It’s relevant to Edutech and gender equality. It’s not a meaningless number anymore.

You see the challenge, what is a meaningful metric that spans our impact initiatives? Is it lives unleashed or a variant of this? And how do you measure that?

Whatever we choose has primary indicators to measure it by. And even more importantly, it has to connect to our purpose and values.

This is a work in progress for us which you will hear more about. For now, here is a report on what we do know about our initiatives.

Double the Goodness Grant

Sponge Double the Goodness Grant

This is a Sponge grant funded by profits generated from our regular client projects. It is for cash strapped impact organisations who are struggling with their brand. They are typically NFPs, Social Enterprises, or early stage Profit for Purpose businesses.

Our intent is to tip the playing field in their favour with our pro branding & marketing help. When they look good and market right, they can reach more of the right people, and scale their impact.

Since we started the grant we have committed $62,471.33 to such projects. Our aim is to give $20,000 per year to worthy projects. And this year so far we have given $9,388.01 (and another $5,000 committed). In September we add $5K to the grant and will reopen applications.

We currently have 2 grant recipient projects underway:

Detour House Inc. An NFP providing crisis accommodation and care to women and girls in the heart of Sydney.

A big project! We’re helping with naming, branding, strategy and website. Got confirmation on names this morning, woohoo! Our intent is to help them build their funding network so they can help more women and girls flourish.

You’re welcome to support Detour House Inc further with donations directly.

Ocean Mind. An NFP that provides surf therapy for young people with mental health issues, social isolation and disabilities.

We’re helping with brand and marketing strategy and marketing support. Our intent is to expand their corp partnerships and awareness so they can expand their reach and help more kids.

You’re welcome to support Ocean Mind further with donations directly.

This month we have welcomed our latest grant project:

Scriibed. An early-stage, female founded social impact business. Its purpose is to give vulnerable women safe, secure and flexible employment.

We’re helping with brand strategy and brand identity. Our intent is to help them leverage their social impact to establish a govt and corp client base.

More on this one and how you can get involved in the coming months.

Humming Sessions

Sponge Humming Sessions

They are monthly lunch-and-learn sessions hosted for your team and our team so we all hum better!

We host it on Zoom on the last Thursday of each month (excluding holidays). Our intent is to bring in an amazing guest speaker to teach an important topic and inspire us. Introducing ideas that stimulate conversations that continue over the days and weeks that follow. Ultimately to have a positive and lasting impact on our businesses and the lives of our team members.

It’s free for our Sponge tribe! Guests are welcome to attend by purchasing a ticket at the advertised price.

We donate all funds from ticket sales to our current Double the Goodness NFP grantees. To date we have raised $527.50

We are at an early stage with this initiative with only 2 sessions done so far. With 25 attendees, the numbers are small but growing each time. And our goal is to have 1000s of awesome people attending these each month. That is some serious humming!

This month is B Corp month and we have a special session on navigating the B Corp Certification process.

You’re welcome to attend. Use IAMAWESOME at the checkout for a free ticket!

GoodNorth

GoodNorth

Goodnorth is a good business community united by the belief that business can be a force for good. The tribe is a mix of B Corps, Social Enterprises, NFPs, or purposeful people.

The impact intent of Goodnorth is multiple.

  • Accelerate the growth of good business >> education
  • Help create profound connections between the tribe. >> networking events
  • And foster real collaboration to solve the problems we care about. >> facilitated workshops

Our commitment for GoodNorth is 5% of our time to growing the movement. We do that by hosting monthly events, online or in-person (when able!). These events are to invite new people into the world of impact, and inspire all to be good for the world.

All purpose curious and purpose driven people are warmly welcomed at our events. There is one each month this year. Visit the GoodNorth website and join the mailing list to be kept informed as the events are announced. Or checkout our Sponge events calendar here.

Last month’s online Purpose Speed Networking event had 44 attendees, with a mix of regulars and newbies. In April we will host another of these.

Next week’s in person Brisbane event has 61 registrations so far with capacity for 100. We are excited to have the most B Corps gathered in one place at one time in this city.

Thank you for being part of our tribe. Your energy, choosing to support us, and your involvement is what makes all this good work possible.

Where to from here?

We continue to work on these impact initiatives as well as our metric. We will let you know as and when we have something else to share.

Warmly, LF

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Humbling Words From Awesome People

  • The Sponge is enabling small business to focus on essential elements of marketing/strategy. I used to go in circles and best guess engagement with customers; I didn’t understand my target market. The Sponge gave me a real wake-up call: To realise how much time and money I was throwing away for no return. The learning was interesting and interactive. Now, I feel in control and focused.

    Sue Lea Timely Business Solutions
  • We were in the middle of re-branding and wanted to know how better to market our product including how better to tell our story. This webinar provided practical marketing techniques, and rationale to explain the benefit of this strategy. The 'light bulb' moment for me was making the connection between the power of storytelling and marketing our brand.

    Susan Perry CEO CommunityGro
  • Branding is a familiar concept to comms & marketing professionals like myself. But it’s often a mystery to other staff, and for brand to be authentic, unique and indispensable they all need to be on board. This training helped me clarify branding to everyone in our organisation. Now they’re all part of the brand redevelopment crew, identifying and sharing stories that resonate with our values and purpose. Thanks, Luke, for launching our journey to uncover the brand that ‘comes from within’.

    Avril Janks Communications and Marketing Coordinator
  • The Sponge’s perceptive sensibility guarantees a perfect match between your business and its presentation to the world. They makes your values, ethics, goals, and the 'feel' of your business shine through every aspect of your brand.

    Geoff Walker Sydney Massage Time Pty Ltd
  • I recommend The Sponge’s services to new and established organizations who are looking to differentiate themselves from the “ordinary” and stand out from the crowd.

    Annette Wright InfoGenesis Pty Limited
  • One of Luke’s talents is his ability to move people and organizations from the creative to the innovative, commercializing ideas and inventions.

    Rodney Marks Hoax Speaker
  • I have had The Sponge involved in several IT based projects over my years working as a Software Developer. Each project has seen results that have exceeded expectations and I highly recommend them.

    Shane Wisniewski Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety
  • I usually don’t believe in one stop shops, because of the inability to be great across many areas, but The Sponge truly are the one stop shop for brand creation, innovation and lead generation.

    Mark Capelin Tribe Social Fitness
  • Luke and the crew at the Sponge helped set up our Corporate image as it stands today. They were extremely helpful and patient. They took the time to understand our business and brainstormed with us some of the essential elements and came up with various images until we were happy with the final one. Can't recommend Luke and his team enough. Thanks again Luke.

    Kim Lie Jom Complete Health Chiropractic
  • The Sponge team are great to work with. They translate your ideas and vision into something real and tangible and they truly want to make an impact to your business strategy with their valuable insights. We have been using them for over 10 years and would highly recommend their expertise.

    M Levonian William, Thyme & Prophet / Report Factory
  • A great vibe and energy brought to every project that The Sponge have led for me. Easy to work with, quick on the uptake of direction and prompt service. Will definitely be using The Sponge again and highly recommend.

    Lucette King NSW Department of Education
  • High level strategic thinking and their creativity makes them stand out. Quick turn around time and reasonable price make them the winner every single time.

    Syed Mujtuba Crescent Wealth
  • Awesome company with awesome creativity. After working with them over 2 years, The Sponge has successfully turned me from a happy customer into a raving fan!

    Jeremy Chen Claytan Australia
  • Great creative proactive company. Could not be happier with the works they both provided and suggested. Now our go to company for branding.

    Ross Thompson JHA Engineers
  • Awesome design. Easy to work with. Jobs are completed quickly. Highly recommended.

    Alexander Bont BONT
  • Luke and the team at the Sponge are truly artisans of their craft. They're AWARE, they DARE and DELIVER.

    Claude Di Ciano Richardson & Wrench Willoughby
  • Love their vision, love their work and mostly love the team!

    C. S. Chen Claytan Australia
  • The Sponge truly immersed themselves into our business, our team and our culture to develop a brand that not only captured our essence but more importantly; expressed it to the world.

    Mende Seljanovski Enth° Projects
  • The Sponge have been outstanding to work with. Their expertise, dedication and outstanding quality of work is second to none. I am grateful for their input into the design of our brand and website.

    Matt Malouf The Fortune Institute
  • Our brand looks better than we could have dreamed and The Sponge team managed to squeeze so much meaning into it that our prospects really get a sense of how we can help them.

    Darren Vardy Insolvency Options

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