Happy New Year!

This year Zuellig chose G&G's upcycled origami stars to adorn their Christmas tree. The tree, designed by Ito Kish, featured star and snowflake ornaments in red, plum, and silver. Several ornaments were also hanging from velvet ribbons in the Zuellig lobby and stars were added to the wreath.

The stars were made by craftsmen in Pandacan, Manila. Given that the new Zuellig building is LEEDS certified, we think its a great fit with G&G.

We hope you had a green holiday this year and may we all live more sustainably in 2014.
Happy New Year!

We've Moved!

One of our blessings for 2013 was we were able to move to a larger office in May. The office houses the G&G team, our 3 vintage aparadors, and a small showroom.

Our new address is Unit 114 Mile Long Building Amorsolo Street Makati City.
Here's a view of our window. 

We'd love to have you come and visit.
Happy New Year!

10 Products for Better Aid

#Development hacks: 10 products for better aid from Devex

Sharing a great presentation on 10 innovative products in aid delivery. 

Wishing You a Merry Christmas

It's that blessed time of year again where we count our blessings and reflect on what it means to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. At Gifts and Graces, we believe that the work that we do is one of the most important blessings we have - the opportunity to change lives through designing great products and telling the stories of our partner craftsmen, artisans, micro-entrepreneurs, and NGOs.

2013 was a special year - we celebrated women's month, held a comprehensive capacity building program, and grew retail distribution among many other things. We could not have accomplished all that we have without the help of partners, donors, and clients. This is a great big hug and Thank You! to everyone who has blessed us and our partners with their support, making it possible for us to continue the work that we do.

As we count our blessings, we also look forward to the year ahead. Although the Philippines was struck by a great tragedy in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan, Filipinos remain strong, resilient, and hopeful. Gifts and Graces remains committed to its partners affected by the monster storm and will continue to seek greater opportunities to be part of the region's and the country's recovery.

Today we renew our commitment to poverty reduction and inclusive growth. We look forward to your joining us in this gratifying journey.

In behalf of the Gifts and Graces Board of Directors and the Gifts and Graces team, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed 2014!

- Greg

Ex Libris for some Holiday Reading

This book list is for social entrepreneurs.

Now that the holidays are coming you might have a chance to relax and pick up a book. Sharing a few things on my book shelf or on my laptop. Committed social entrepreneurs that we are, these readings will enrich our knowledge to help us do better at work. We hope you like the list.



The CEO Paradox: The Privilege and Accountability of Leadership 
by Thomas R. Horton

I'm still currently reading this book and so far I find it relevant and refreshing in terms of content and voice. Written as a letter from an outgoing CEO to an incoming one, the tone is conversational and frank. With chapter titles like You've Made it to the Top - Now What? and Those Lonesome CEO blues, the book tackles topics familiar to CEOs ranging from Delegation to Making time for yourself, to passing the torch. This book should find a place in the bookshelves of current and aspiring CEOs.




Making a Living in Crafts: Everything You Need to Know to Build Your Business 
by Donald A. Clark

Throughout this great book, several artisans and craftsmen offer practical advice based on their experience in setting up their workshops, promoting their work in trade fairs, marketing, branding, and even intellectual property. The stories are inspiring, the advice is actionable, and the photos are gorgeous. This book will inspire anyone thinking of setting up a crafts business to go for it.




Priming the Pump: The Case for a Sector Based Approach to Impact Investing
by Matt Bannick and Paula Goldman



Impact Investing is the new buzzword in social development but the space is still amorphous. This paper supports our long held belief that ecosystems should be built to create an enabling environment. While there are gazelle social enterprises, creating and scaling up entire sectors increases the chances of success for individual social enterprises.

The paper discusses three kinds of organizations in a sector: market innovators, market scalers, and market infrastructure all of which will require investment.

This is a great read for anyone wanting to make large scale impact through social entrepreneurship.



Please feel free to share your thoughts on this list as well as share it with others who might be interested.

Gains and Setbacks in Expanding the Green Market

We came across this interesting article One Step Forward, Two Steps Back by Gwynne (Rogers) Villota on gains and setbacks in the green market. The post says that while there is increased awareness for these products, there remain consumer negative consumer perceptions that are barriers to purchasing these products. What's more the negative perception trend seems to be getting worse.

Three related takeaways for us were:
1. Saving the Earth is not enough reason to charge a premium for green products.
2. Consumers don't see enough value for money in green products.
3. Green products are perceived to underperform i.e. their quality is not as good as "regular" products.

We see hear the same sentiments regarding fair trade products. While there is a dedicated, committed, consumer market for fair trade products or sustainable products, the mainstream market is still largely driven by traditional values like pricing or branding. It is our job to increase awareness but it is also our job to produce competitive, quality products .

The story of empowerment behind every product is important, but providing clients with a delightful product experience is just as important. If clients buy only to help not because they genuinely value the product for its design or functionality or both, chances are they will not buy again and they will not recommend the product to their friends and this is not a sustainable model. This is why we have been focusing on quality and design as well as production efficiency - to prove our central premise that products made by micro-manufacturers, craftsmen, indigenous groups can compete in terms of price, design, and work quality.

To read the full article, please click on the link. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Top 3 Tips for Corporate Gift-Giving with Meaning

It's the season for Corporate Giving.  At the end of the year, companies take stock of the year that was and look forward to the coming year. In as much as corporate gift giving is seen as a marketing tool, it is also a great way for companies to sincerely show appreciation, give thanks, and say, 'looking forward to working with you again next year.' These messages are true for clients as they are for suppliers, employees, and in the case of non-profits or social enterprises, donors, volunteers, and other supporters.

Here are our top three tips for corporate gift giving with meaning.

1. Customized
Whenever possible, tailor the gift to the interests or hobbies of the recipient. This shows that thought and care went into the selection of the gift. If personalization is not possible, go for a unique, custom gift instead that the recipient will not easily find in a mall or receive from other companies.

2. Personalized
In connection with the customized theme, take the time to write a hand written note to personalize each gift. Make sure the note is personalized as well. We have long advocated maintaining this practice in this day and age of emails, text messaging, and tweeting. A hand written note is a simple but powerful gesture to show sincerity.

3. Meaningful
A major trend in recent years that will gain even more momentum in the future is the growing awareness and concern for sustainability and meaning. Giving a gift that shows care for other stakeholders taps into the growing desire for accountability and responsible consumption. Gifts that are made from upcycled materials, or made without animal testing, or made by a company with a sustainable supply chain are just a few examples. Given the range of possibilities, choose a gift that is aligned with the company's values and if possible core business.


These three tips are great for all kinds of gift-giving, not just for Christmas. Surprise and delight those that have made your life easier or helped you achieve success. Don't pass up the chance to strengthen connections throughout the year with even a simple gift or a hand-written card and you're sure to cultivate meaningful relationships and goodwill.

The Importance of Business Models and Value Chains

To deliver on our promise and satisfy the market, we should look at our own value chains and business models. This can be challenging for social enterprises because the paying customer isn't always the social enterprise's primary customer. Gregory Dees defined the primary customer as the one who benefits from the work of the social enterprise. It is therefore important for social entrepreneurs to have a framework for value creation for its multiple stakeholders. 

One framework we've found useful when talking about business models is the business model canvas developed and promoted by the people behind Business Model Generation www.businessmodelgeneration.com. According to the authors of the book, a business model "describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value."

Below is an illustrated version of the canvas and below it is a blank canvas. By using this tool, social entrepreneurs can think through each of the building blocks of a business model and clearly identify the value proposition for customer segments. Thinking through revenue streams ensures that value is captured for social entrepreneurs to be able to sustainably provide value to its target beneficiaries.

For more information or to purchase the book, please visit the business model generation website.

Once the business model has been thought through, social entrepreneurs must look at their value chains to ensure that the primary activities and the support activities support the value proposition. Value propositions are the unique offering of the social enterprise to its market. Value propositions can include innovative products e.g. appropriate technology for smallholder farmers; speedy and efficient service delivery e.g. treatment at the Aravind Eye Center; or affordably priced products e.g. off-grid lighting solutions. 

The primary activities ensure that there is value-added in the transformation process, that the enterprise finds its market and provides customer service. The support activities on the other hand ensure that operations support the value proposition i.e. does the organization have the correct manpower, is the organization able to leverage IT, does the organization take advantage of the benefits of procuring in bulk.

The Gifts and Graces value chain involves partner identification, capacity building, design, and marketing. Our primary market/beneficiaries are the craftsmen and micro-entrepreneurs we support. Our secondary market that makes our work possible are the corporations and individuals who purchase our fair trade products.

Our business model and value chain has been tweaked over the years. This is expected of social enterprises as well as we have to be flexible so as to provide the most value to our target beneficiaries. 

For more information, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or email us.

Crafts for a Cause Bazaar

G&G will be at the Crafts for a Cause bazaar from December 6 to 8 at the 3rd level of SM Aura Premier. We hope you do your Christmas shopping with us!

 

G&G Founder Sandy Romualdez shops at the Crafts for a Cause bazaar at SM Aura

 

 

 

Happy Fair Trade Tuesday!

Why Buy Fair Trade? Let us count the reasons why.

There are many reasons why we love fair trade. We buy fair trade because among other things, we value respect, fairness, and empowerment. And of course G&G's fair trade products are also fashionable and handcrafted.

Thank you to all who support Fair Trade. Happy Fair Trade Tuesday!