Donations to Charities and Non-Profit Organizations

At EthicalHost we believe in the importance of corporate social and environmental responsibility. One of the key ways we try to be a good corporate citizen is by donating 10% of our pre-tax profit back to the community.

We recognize there are so many important areas that warrant donations but we have chosen to focus on the following three areas which we care about deeply: 1) Economic/Social Justice in Canada, 2) Environment and Biodiversity, 3) World Poverty and Human Rights. We have limited it to three areas of focus to ensure that our 10% donation does not get divided too thinly. We compiled a list of three organizations per category based on our own knowledge of the important work they do and from the suggestions of our clients.

Please see below for more information about our selection process for corporate donations and recent changes we incorporated.  Corporate transparency is important to us at EthicalHost.

In addition to donating 10% of pre-tax profits, we further our commitment to corporate social and environmental responsibility by telecommuting, using public transit, supporting local and cooperative businesses, minimizing paper use and using 100% post-consumer products wherever possible.  We also offset our company’s energy usage with carbon offsets as well as purchasing green power direct from bullfrog power for our office..

2010 Voting Results are in! View the full results here. The recipients and choices for this years survey are listed below.

Economic/Social Justice in Canada

Food Banks Canada has received our donation for the 2010 tax year.

Food Banks Canada: foodbankscanada.ca
Food Banks Canada’s mission is to reduce hunger in Canada by enabling an effective food bank community that addresses the short term need for food and longer term solutions. We do this by collecting and sharing large donations of food to our Members and Affiliate Member food banks.

Fred Victor Center: www.fredvictor.org
Fred Victor is a social services organization that fosters long-lasting and positive change in the lives of homeless and low income people living all across Toronto. We offer a wide range of programs that help each person find the support they need. Whether it is advocacy for renters or finding shelter, job training or counselling, food access or health information, Fred Victor dedicates itself to innovatively serving people who are experiencing homelessness and poverty.

Environment and Biodiversity

Ontario Clean Air Alliance has received our donation for the 2010 tax year.

Earthroots: www.earthroots.org
Earthroots is a strong advocate for wilderness preservation in Ontario, combining aggressive grassroots campaign strategies with excellent research and educational programs. Since 1986, Earthroots has used its grassroots expertise to organize, educate and mobilize the public, conduct successful media events, carry out wilderness research projects and ensure proper forest management planning.

FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program): www.flap.org
FLAP works to safeguard migratory birds in the urban environment through education, research, rescue and rehabilitation.  As stated on their website, collisions with human-built structures is steadily becoming the leading cause of bird mortality across North America.

Ontario Clean Air Alliance: www.cleanairalliance.org
The Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) is a coalition of individuals and approximately 90 organizations that represent over six million Ontarians. We were established in 1997 to achieve the phase-out of Ontario’s dirty coal-fired power plants and to move Ontario towards a renewable electricity future. The OCAA is also working to ensure that Ontario obtain 100% of its grid-supplied electricity from renewable sources by 2030 through energy conservation and efficiency, made-in-Ontario green power, hydro imports from Quebec, and small-scale highly efficient combined heat and power plants.

World Poverty and Human Rights

World Literacy has received our donation for the 2010 tax year.

SEVA: www.seva.ca
Seva provides funding and expertise to partners in 7 developing countries and regions: Nepal, Tibet, India, Tanzania and eastern Africa, Guatemala, Cambodia and Egypt - to deliver community and clinical eye care programs that reach the most vulnerable populations – women and children, the very poor and those living in rural areas.

Child Haven International: www.childhaven.ca
Child Haven International is a registered charity founded in 1985. We assist children and women in 4 countries, who are in need of food, education, health care, shelter and clothing, emotional and moral support.  Child Haven has five homes in India, one in Nepal, one in Tibet and one in Bangladesh. Our homes accept children who are disabled, parentless, or from socially disadvantaged situations - and who are destitute, i.e. do not receive even one good meal a day.

World Literacy: www.worldlit.ca
World Literacy Canada (WLC) is a modest, registered charitable organization that uses literacy to fight poverty and advance the cause of social justice, especially for women and children. We support and deliver a range of community-based programs in Canada and South Asia that emphasize literacy skills and education for women and children.

Past Results

• 2009 Tax Year Results

• 2008 Tax Year Results

• 2007 Tax Year Results

Selection Process

Organizations that are chosen for each donation category are taken primarily from suggestions sent to us by our Customers. When more than one customer recommends the same organization, more weight is given to that suggestion. We then compile a list of those organizations, try and fit them into one of our categories as best as we can, and then we do a little research to try and choose ones with the lowest administrative overhead to put on the list for voting.

Each year the winning organization is removed from the list and replaced with a new one for the following years vote.

We welcome suggestions for charities/non-profits that can be added in upcoming years but ask that they meet the following criteria:
--Have a charitable registration number.
--Have a website where they outline their mandate.
--Fit into one of our three categories: Economic/Social Justice in Canada, Environment and Biodiversity, World Poverty & Human Rights.

We will monitor and evaluate our corporate donation selection process, and welcome any suggestions you may have for improvement. We will continue to be transparent about the process and any changes we incorporate. Any organization that consistently receives a small percentage of the vote each year may also be replaced with other groups at our discretion.

Recent Change in Selection Process

When EthicalHost was founded we had hoped to let our clients designate organizations of their choice for our corporate donations, and our longer term clients may remember reading this. Unfortunately we ran into difficulties with this method. We believe in the importance of corporate transparency and want to explain the reasons for our change in the donation process. In 2007 we compiled a list of our clients' favourite organizations -- the list was extensive and quite varied in focus.  We were concerned that the bulk of our donation would get used up in the administrative costs of the charities if we sent a small amount to each.  We are trying a new process because Ethical Web Services wants to ensure that the maximum donation possible gets to the front-line.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions about this change.