We get asked this question so much and every every time we say we are a non-profit, people ask what our 'cause' is.
We haven't got a set, specific cause other than the wellbeing of our local community, overall social justice, positive action for the planet and emergency response for vulnerable people: locally and worldwide. We also don't have a vast amount of profit but 100% of what we do have, we plan and use carefully for awesome causes.
Profit Transparency
We like to be as transparent as we can with our community members - both those supporting the shop and those who the shop does a little to support. Here's just a couple of things we did with our 2021-22 profits:
1. Donated money to the Black Curriculum, a social enterprise founded in 2019 by Lavinya Stennett to address the lack of Black British History in the UK curriculum.
2. Donated money to Refugee Support Europe, a group who have set up 'Dignity Shops' for refugees where they can access basic necessities for free.
3. Ran 8 free creative workshops for members of marginalised communities around both shops, and for members of inHope, a charity providing support, shelter and aid to people experiencing homelessness in Bristol.
4. We provide start-ups, charities and small businesses access to our workshop and exhibition space, charging only for the expenses we incur via hosting, and not gaining any profit.
5. Ran a business community portrait exhibition, exploring the diversity of independent shops and business owners of Old Market, which we displayed in our exhibition space for three months.
& that's it! Whoopie! We're so excited for 2022-23, and discovering what wonderful projects we can support in the new business year. Thank you for your support of our shop - we are only able to run these projects because of your generosity.
