Why We Do What We Do
Why women? Women are the key to global peace and prosperity.
Women-owned enterprises have a central role to play in the world. As of now, these enterprises are an untapped source of employment, economic growth, and social stability. When a woman thrives, an entire community thrives.
Why candles? Candles are the ideal product and enterprise.
Candles are a universal symbol of peace, reflection and hope. And to support thousands of entrepreneurs in places of distress, we needed the right product and enterprise for a woman who would need to work from the safety of her home – an important consideration where there is conflict and unrest. Candle making is also a highly scalable craft that requires only incremental investments in low-cost equipment. It’s a business that can begin in the safety of a home, then can easily be expanded to employ dozens of people.
Why places of conflict and natural disaster? This is our passion and purpose.
Prosperity Candle goes where we are needed most, where few others are able or willing to invest. We go where international assistance provides relief, but where global business sees risk. We focus our efforts on those difficult places where our unique approach to supporting women entrepreneurs can best succeed in helping them to rebuild their lives – and thrive.
Why shared prosperity? We want to maximize social benefit.
We have created a simple yet innovative model we call shared prosperity that encourages social benefit by sharing our success. Taking fair trade a step further, we believe a living wage is the starting point for a woman who wants to become a successful entrepreneur in a place of distress.
We think beyond survival and meeting basic needs, and instead aspire to help women build thriving businesses that can offer employment for others in their communities. With this goal in mind, we share Prosperity Candle’s profits with every woman who makes high quality candles for us – not at the end of the year as a charitable donation, but every quarter as a valued partner in this social venture.
