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Case Code: LDEN150
Case Length: 14 Pages 
Period: 2006-2019   
Pub Date: 2020
Teaching Note: Available
Price: Rs.400
Organization : ME to WE
Industry :Government & Non-Profit Organisations
Countries : Canada
Themes: Social Entrepreneurship/ Branding Strategy/ Business Models/ Diversification
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Leadership & Entrepreneurship

The `We Movement`– Driving Social Change

 
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EXCERPTS

DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL

 

The Kielburgers found it difficult to get regular donations and struggled to continue their operations as they were unable to find a sustainable funding source. They realized the risk of depending excessively on charity in 2006 when many aid agencies had to leave Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, due to lack of funds. The brothers understood that to stay and operate long enough to empower people, a revenue model had to be devised..

 
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REVENUE DIVERSIFICATION AND BRANDING

In 2011, the Kielburgers expanded the operations of WE Charity by establishing WE Schools, a learning program designed for school children, and WE Day, a fun and learning event for the participants of WE Schools. Both the initiatives were held in Canada, the US, and the UK. Students participating in the WE Schools program took part in several activities such as raising funds for WE Charity, spreading awareness about the ME to WE Artisan program, and collecting food for local food banks...
 

PARTNERSHIPS

WE entered into partnerships with a number of organizations, including corporates. These organizations sponsored WE Day events while WE Charity lent its logo to the companies’ products making it a win-win arrangement for both. The various programs offered by WE to ME had created a cult like following among students and people in the local communities. This gave corporates an opportunity to leverage the WE to ME brand to gain mileage and goodwill for their products through partnering. Some of the partnerships were with large corporations like Nordstrom and Microsoft ..
 

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

The WE Movement had numerous achievements to its credit. The organization had built 1,500 schools and schoolrooms around the world, helped over 30,000 women around the world become financially independent, provided education to over 200,000 children around the world , helped a million people gain access to sanitation and clean water, employed 1,800 women in Kenya and Ecuador as ME to WE artisans, and conducted 27.6 million hours of classes at WE Schools across the world....
 

SOME CONTROVERSIES

The WE movement was not without its share of controversies. It faced some allegations and was caught up in some controversies, more so since 2018. WE Charity in its budget document stated that the expenditure incurred on inviting celebrities was completely covered by funds obtained from corporate sponsors and TV ad revenues only and other funds were not used. Hence, these activities were to be considered as purely marketing approaches. Further, in an interview to CANADALAND, a Canadian podcast network and news site, WE Charity admitted that it did not provide donor receipts to corporate sponsors of WE Day events...
 

GROWTH PLANS

Despite various allegations, the Kielburgers continued to focus on scaling up ME to WE further. They aimed to provide action planning and service learning programs to every child in the UK, the US, and Canada and to enable young people and their families across the world to develop the skills and resources required for becoming financially independent. In Canada, the Kielburgers planned to extend the reach of the WE Schools program to 24,000 schools by 2024, increase the number of WE Schools participants to 4.8 million by 2020/2021, and expand the ‘Adopt a Village’ communities from 40 to 150 by 2024/25...
 

EXHIBITS

Exhibit I: Personal Opinions and Experiences of Travelers
Exhibit II: Track Your Impact Tool
Exhibit III: List of Awards Won by WE Charity