In 2019 Ryan McManus (a Young Living Diamond) became an ambassador for Young Living Foundation…
What do ambassadors do? Well, they try to:
- Get the word out about the work of the foundation, as well as
- Get others involved- show them how they can become connected
The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Young Living Essential Oils, and dedicates 100% of the donations it receives to direct, hands-on projects. All of the admin costs (and, as you’ll hear Ryan explain, more) are paid for by the essential oil company- assuring that donors get the “biggest bang for their buck.”
The foundation currently runs five ongoing projects…
The first are overseen by the foundation itself-
#1- Rebuild Nepal, focused on rebuilding a remote Village post-the 2015 earthquake.
#2- Young Living Academy in Ecuador (plus everything else surrounding the Academy- including ongoing education, schools, housing, etc.).
The next three projects are partnerships-
#3- Hope for Justice, one of the premier organizations for ending human trafficking and modern day slavery (sex trafficking AND forced labor). https://www.hopeforjustice.org
#4- Sole Hope, dealing with jiggers and shoes and public health in Uganda. http://solehope.org
#5- Healing Faith, overcoming Malaria in Uganda. https://www.healingfaithuganda.org
As well, the foundation intervenes with disaster recovery as needed (example: Hurricane Harvey in Houston).
The foundation has a unique approach- Step 1: meet practical needs; Step 2: empower people to never need help again. That second ingredient is essential, and is one of the best aspects of the work the foundation does. For instance, Healing Faith cures malaria (step 1) AND educating people on preventative health such that they never catch malaria again (step 2). Hope for Justice rescues people (step 1) and helps them rebuild a new life (step 2).
Ryan’s entry to the work of the foundation came via a trip to Nepal. He flew to Katmandu (24 hours on plane), spent the night, then took an 8-hour touch-and-go SUV trip to the remove village of Yarsa. The team completed the final phase of a multi-year project, rebuilding 100 homes and a school in the far away village.
How can you help?
First, you can go on foundation trips. Trips are updated on the foundation Instagram page, the blog, and on Facebook. As well, Young Living funnels the info through their communication channels (i.e., email updates).
Second, you can give… in three ways.
Give #1- write a check or make an online donation through the foundation’s website here: https://younglivingfoundation.org/donate/
Give #2- shop via Amazon Smile. This cost you NO MONEY. Amazon gives a percentage of all sales purchased through the “smile” portal to charities you choose. So, go here and choose Young Living Foundation: https://smile.amazon.com
Give #3- round up your Young Living order to the next “whole dollar” amount (example: your order is $99.80, so you “round up” to $100.00 and YL funnels the 20 cents to foundation causes).
Rounding up has MASSIVE potential…
I asked Ryan to gather the numbers.
In 2018, only 11% of YL members rounded up, generating $824K through October (estimated to be $988K for the year).
Our best guess is that because the members are so incredibly generous, most people probably HAVE NO IDEA of the huge potential that’s here…
Here’s where it gets interesting…
In those 10 months, we left $4,534,941 on the table by NOT rounding up. Those are actual numbers. For the year, that would have been $5.4 million, bringing the total we COULD HAVE raised for the year- just through a few cents added to everyone’s order- to $6.43 million!
Here’s what was raised (in gray), what was left on the table (blue) and the total we could have had (aqua).
I love how Ryan presented this…
“This isn’t to shame anyone,” he said. “A lot of people are giving in other ways… my guess is people just don’t know about this, so I want them to see it…”
Great point. No shame here. Just vision-casting about the possibilities of what COULD happen.
Now, get this… the total funds raised in 2018 was 5.5 million (including an astounding $1 million coughed up at convention through Ride for a Reason), so the potential missed in “round up” would have DOUBLED the budget!
Here’s the graphic from YL comparing October to the entire year.
What’s my ask?
First, go to https://smile.amazon.com and set your charity to Young Living Foundation. It takes 15 seconds. Then, when you shop via Amazon, be sure you login through Smile.
Second, round up. Set it in your cart, and it’s done. There’s no contract, so you can stop any time… And, you’ll always see the cents that you’re giving… If you place 12 orders this year, one a month, you’re going to give a max of $12… that will become, potentially OVER $6 million.
Links-
Listening options for the show can be found at https://oilyapp.com/blog
Follow Ryan at- https://www.instagram.com/ryanmmcmanus/ AND https://www.facebook.com/itsmylastsemester
Follow the foundation at https://www.instagram.com/younglivingfoundation/ , https://www.facebook.com/YoungLivingFoundation/ , and www.younglivingfoundation.org/blog
And be sure to check your settings at https://smile.amazon.com