In 2000, the founders of Civicom committed the new company to giving 10% of profits to worthy causes. We wanted to combine the pursuit of business success with helping people. By making it explicit and permanent, we embedded the principle into the DNA of the company. This principle became an important part of who we are.
Philanthropy
We Give 10% of Profits
to Worthy Causes
Setting aside 10% is rooted in the age-old principle of a “tithe”, or tenth. It applies an idea historically embraced by individuals, to a company. Our commitment of 10% is more about who we are than something we’re doing — it’s a part of the root structure of the tree we wanted to grow.
Direct Charity
Through Feathers Project
Most people instinctively want to help when they see others in need. But the natural process of charity is inhibited by distance. The poorest of the poor around the world are typically unseen by those most able to help them.It is now possible to bridge that distance with new video technologies, at almost no cost. The idea of Feathers is to do just that.
The idea for doing this came from our Founder and CEO while embedding himself with a family in poverty living in a slum near one of our offices. He thought, we link people all over the world through our technologies and services – why not use them to develop a bond between beneficiaries in need and sponsors willing to help? Human contact changes everything.
Feathers Project Uses Technology to Connect Distant People
to Allow 100% Direct Charity to Happen
With the Feathers Project Virtual Meeting, sponsors from all over the world and beneficiaries from a developing country can now be connected with the help of technology.
This innovative way of doing charity is designed to provide sponsors with the opportunity to learn experientially about generosity and our responsibility to those who are unable to help themselves.
We seek out the poorest of the poor using a 7-step vetting process. Corporate volunteer stewards help in vetting Feathers’ beneficiaries, to help ensuring integrity.
Feathers Project creates an ongoing cycle where charity leads to gratitude,
and gratitude leads to empathy, which leads back to charity.
Most people when they see poverty have a desire to help. But many charitable organizations don’t provide the opportunity to interact directly with individual beneficiaries.
The beneficiary provides a feather to the sponsor as an expression of their gratitude – thus the name, Feathers Project. 
Civicom Emergency Relief Fund
Approximately 90 percent of disaster-related suffering, illnesses and deaths occur in developing countries. Civicom maintains an ongoing Emergency Relief Fund to help make resources available for natural and human-made disasters in the Philippines, a country where Civicom has extensive operations. This fund is part of our commitment to sharing 10% of our profits with those in need.
Recovery efforts Civicom supports include volcanic eruptions, fires, earthquakes and typhoons. Civicom donations are channeled through World Vision and other local organizations that are equipped to respond to immediate disaster with life-saving speed, offering supplies and measures to alleviate immediate need and help in long-term recovery.
The Meaning of ‘Buy Forward’
Civicom Is a “Buy Forward” Company.
‘Buy Forward’ companies are those permanently committed to giving a significant portion of their profits to worthy causes. The Buy Forward logo means the company owners have permanently pledged five percent or more to causes that serve those who are unable to help themselves.
Over time, Civicom discovered other “Buy Forward” companies and came to believe that as a unified concept, these companies have set forth a model that could powerfully engage corporations in helping make the world a better place in significant and authentic ways. Civicom is a “Buy Forward” company.
Buy Forward Companies Include:
