B1G1 Impact Giving Fund

By shopping at a Viro merchant you enable the B1G1 Impact-Giving Fund to positively influence the lives of people worldwide through giving to create major impacts in our world, ranging from education to the under-privileged, life-giving access to water, feeding kids, environmental projects and much more.

What B1G1 stands for...

In 2007 a small, dedicated team set out to do something that had never been done before: to provide the systems, structure and inspiration to turn our world into a world full of giving so that we create a much happier world as a direct result.

B1G1 gives businesses the power to change our lives

B1G1 (Buy1, Give1) moves giving from an ad-hoc, event-driven model to a very specific transaction-based giving model — a world where every transaction gives back and makes a difference.

It means that giving becomes an effortless habit, changing our lives and making a difference every second, every day and in every way.

So now B1G1 brings the power, resonance and ‘connected-ness’ of transaction-based giving and Impact-Based Giving to the literal hundreds of thousands of small-to-medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) that form the backbone of every economy.

As a result of this giving habit by SMEs the B1G1 Giving not-for-profit society was founded in order to support many charity organisations around the world. At present this fund supports over 600 projects in 28 countries.

A 100% of the money contributed to this fund goes directly to the Worthy Cause organisations through the B1G1 Impact Giving Fund. B1G1 or Viro takes nothing from the contributions nor does it receive funds from charities in any way for the services provided.

The following is an illustration of the worthy causes that B1G1 Impact Giving Fund supports.

From refugee camps to hope-filled communities

We first heard about Cambodian Hope Organisation (CHO) from one of our business partners in Australia, Noel Grummitt of Grummitt Planning. Noel is committed to connect his business transactions with giving, and since year 2009 he has been supporting CHO directly by using Buy1GIVE1 Giving scheme. He puts it this way:

Through our partnership of support with Cambodian Hope Organisation, via our membership of B1G1, we have committed a portion of each new commission to enable a young person to be rehabilitated from prostitution and child labour and to be trained in sewing, motorcycle mechanics, welding or IT to enable them to gain dignity and support their families.

The Cambodian Hope Organisation (CHO) is an NGO based in Poipet, Cambodia. CEO and Director, Chomno In introduced us to Poipet like this:

Poipet is located on the long border between Thailand and Cambodia. Border trade provides business and job opportunities that attract people from all parts of Cambodia. Many of Poipet's inhabitants formerly lived in the refugee camps that used to populate the border.

The largest single source of employment is day labour, with eight to ten thousand people crossing the border each day to transport goods back from Thailand. Working conditions and wages are poor for labourers and most are required to pay a bribe to conduct trade.

CHO has a vision to see a network of strong, hope-filled communities, where adequate mental, physical, and spiritual needs are met. They run an ever-expanding network of projects, in keeping with its dual-pronged vision of preventing as well as curing the social, physical and spiritual problems facing the people living along the long border with Thailand.

CHO seeks to meet these objectives through equipping communities with long-term, sustainable solutions, through both education and support. CHO projects covers trafficing awareness, healthcare, agriculture, microloan, spiritual beliefs, vocational and primary education as well water and sanitation.