INTRODUCTION
ChangeSprout Inc., a benefit organization based in New York, provides digital advocacy tools to progressive organizations around the world.
In 2021 we continued our support of the ControlShift platform, which allows organizations’ supporters to create and lead events, groups, and petitions in their local communities.
GENERAL PUBLIC BENEFIT
Selecting a Third-Party Standard:
As we have done in previous years, we chose to use B Lab’s B Impact Assessment for our 2021 annual report. B Lab is a leader within the benefit corporation community, and their assessment is one of the most highly regarded third-party standards. By continuing to use the same assessment that we have used in previous years, we easily can track our impact over time. Additionally, because B Lab provides tips for improving our impact, we can easily create a roadmap for the coming year.
Pursuit of the General Public Benefit and the Extent the General Public Benefit was Created:
At the time of our incorporation, ChangeSprout decided to pursue a general public benefit, which is defined as a “material positive impact on society and the environment.” As a software provider, we work to provide this positive impact primarily through our ControlShift product.
The ControlShift toolset is grounded in the belief that regular people can be the most powerful advocates for the causes they care about and that empowering these supporters to become leaders in their communities makes the organizations and movements we support stronger and more robust.
We see the power of these supporter-led actions in various campaigns around the world. Here is a small sampling of the changes our toolset powered in 2021.
General Public Benefit:
In Utah, Best Friends Animal Society supporters came together to pass a municipal ordinance banning the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet stores.
Over 20,000 Uplift supporters joined a campaign to prevent the deportation of Benjamin Akhile, a man originally from Sierra Leone who’d resided in Ireland for more than 14 years.
In New Zealand, more than 7,000 ActionStation supporters secured agreement from their government to provide self tests that allow individuals to test for HPV without needing to have an invasive pap smear performed by a medical professional.
In Sweden, Skiftet members worked together to save a cultural center that was going to be sold to a private owner.
In Romania, nearly 41,000 Declic supporters demonstrated their support for providing free menstrual products in schools. Because of their campaigning, their demands have been made into a bill that’s being presented to parliament.
In Israel, parents demanded additional protections for daycare workers. Joining together with the workers, they secured commitments to improve conditions and increase wages.
In the UK, union members and their supporters named and shamed Clarks UK to prevent Clarks from firing their workforce so that they could hire them back with reduced wages, less sick pay, and fewer breaks.
Employees at Titanic Williamstown campaigned, and with the support of Megaphone Australia, successfully won back thousands of dollars in stolen wages and back pay.
Also in Australia, General Mills workers campaigned and secured a wage increase, a bonus, and increased protections.
In the Netherlands, over 160,000 De Goede Zaak supporters demanded that the government rescind a deportation order that would have sent a 13-year-old Syrian refugee, and six year resident of the Netherlands, to Armenia – a country that he and his family do not know. After the campaign, the government granted the child and his mother asylum.
34,000 supporters of Kreni Promeni in Serbia came together to prevent the closure of the Institute for Student Healthcare – which would have interrupted care for more than 100,000 students. Another 15,000 supporters also prevented the closure of the country’s Natural History Museum in Belgrade.
In Austria, #Aufstehn supporters worked together to secure financial support for economically disadvantaged students at the Joseph Haydn Conservatory.
Environment:
In the UK, over 110,000 people came together to prevent the approval of a new coal mine. Another campaign, also run by 38 Degrees, prevented oil drilling in the English moors.
Also in the UK, 5,000 supporters pushed back against plans to replace one of the last urban green spaces in Newark with a parking lot.
In Austria, #Aufstehn supporters campaigned to secure a mandatory climate check for new legislation. This measure ensures that all new legislative proposals must be checked for their climate impact.
In France, more than 20,000 supporters of Greenpeace France blocked plans to privatize and allow artificial and destructive water features to be installed in publicly-owned Lake Bourget.
In New Zealand, Greenpeace New Zealand supporters blocked the use of harmful pesticides in public green spaces.
These are just a selection of the various campaigns that ControlShift has helped power. Across the world, we’ve seen people get involved in their communities and win meaningful changes – both large and small. We’re so proud of the work that our customers support, and we are equally proud to have played a role.
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
Thee results of ChangeSprout’s 2021 assessment, as compared to the previous two years, are below.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | ||||
| Category | Total Points Earned | Percent Earned | Total Points Earned | Percent Earned | Total Points Earned | Percent Earned |
| Governance | 17.0 | 77.0 | 16.9 | 77.2 | 16.2 | 74.0 |
| Workers | 35.1 | 76.9 | 33.9 | 77.1 | 29.7 | 73.5 |
| Community | 18.1 | 49.3 | 15.8 | 46.9 | 12.3 | 40.0 |
| Customers | 39.6 | 89.4 | 6.2 | 79.4 | 7.4 | 74.0 |
| Environment | 4.5 | 47.5 | 4.7 | 49.6 | 2.6 | 27.6 |
DISCUSSION AND PLANS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
Governance:
In 2021 our governance score decreased slightly, but remained largely unchanged. As in previous years, increasing our governance score would require legal and structural changes, like changing our ownership structure, that we are unlikely to make.
Workers:
In the last year, our performance in the workers category decreased slightly, but remained strong. Our high performance in the workers category is due to our commitment to providing livable wages for all employees, generous healthcare options, and other employee benefits.
Community:
In the last year, our community score decreased slightly. As a fully remote team based in two continents, and serving customers around the world, our community is more geographically separated than many other small businesses which impacts the scoring.
Increasing this score in 2022 would require changing key suppliers which we’re unlikely to do in the next 12 months.
Customers:
In 2021, our customer score decreased slightly, but it remained tied for our highest performing category. At ChangeSprout, we aim to be partners with our customers and to agilely meet their needs by building the tools that will help them have a positive impact on the world. In service of that goal, we’re committed to soliciting feedback from customers on new feature developments and strategic priorities. We also provide our tools at reduced cost, or no cost, to small organizations and organizations based in the global south/majority world.
Environment:
The environment category continued to be our lowest performing category in 2021. As in past years, many of the questions in this category deal with measuring energy and water usage at corporate offices and other company-controlled facilities. As a fully-remote team with employees that work from home, it’s difficult for us to accurately measure the energy and water usage for our team.
We have worked to estimate the energy used by our data center – which is our largest use of energy – and we regularly purchase renewable energy credits that match our estimated energy usage. We also offset corporate travel on a quarterly basis.
In 2022, we will provide environmentally-friendly remote work guidelines to our employees.
General Reflections:
Our impact assessment performance remained strong in 2021. While there are a few areas for improvement, our main focus for 2022 will be to continue being good stewards of our customers, staff, and community.
COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS
Nathan Woodhull, founder of ChangeSprout Inc., is our director. His full-time position has a salary of $125,162.
SHAREHOLDERS
Nathan Woodhull, founder of ChangeSprout Inc., is the only shareholder.