SumOfUs

SumOfUs

Founded	2011
Focus	Global consumer watchdog NGO
Location	international
Area served	Worldwide
Method	Online campaigning
Members	10,000,000+
Key people	Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman (ED), 30+ employees and several freelancers
Website	www.sumofus.org

SumOfUs is a global consumer watchdog, an online community that campaigns to hold big corporations accountable on issues such as climate change, workers’ rights, discrimination, human rights, animal rights, corruption, and corporate power grab. It’s a non-profit organization operating in three languages currently reporting ten million members over 130 countries.

Founder

Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman (born 14 November 1981) is the founder and executive director of SumOfUs. She is an Australian-American activist and the daughter of DePauw University professors, former Georgetown basketball standout Bruce Stinebrickner and author Kelsey Kauffman. She was raised in Greencastle, Indiana.

Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in mathematics from Duke University in 2004.

Before founding SumOfUs, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman worked at a number of other progressive groups including Avaaz.org, GetUp.org.au, and the AFL-CIO.

History

SumOfUs was launched in 2011 with campaigns targeting Google’s links to the US Chamber of Commerce,^[1] a campaign to thank Starbucks for supporting equal marriage in the United States,^[2] and calling on Apple to force its suppliers to treat their workers better.^[3]

Since its launch, SumOfUs has expanded to have members in nearly every country on earth with the greatest concentrations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France and Germany.^[4][5]

SumOfUs has staff across the world, in the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Lithuania, Colombia and the Netherlands. SumOfUs operates in 3 languages, English, French and German.

Mission

SumOfUs is considered a “corporate watchdog”.^[6] The online campaigning NGO claims to be “a global movement of consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, standing together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy”.^[7]

SumOfUs operates from the premise that “We own the corporations that are causing all these problems. They rely on us to buy their products. They count on us to buy their stock. They need us to work for them. They need us to continue to elect governments that let them get away with murder.^[8]"

Last notable campaigns

In December 2013, after a week of pressure from SumOfUs members, Zara and major UK retailers Topshop and Asos committed to stop selling Angora from tortured rabbits.^[9]

In February 2014, Kellogg’s and Wilmar both signed commitments to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains in the next two years—in what The Guardian called a “major success for environment and consumer groups”.^[10] SumOfUs members played an influential role in pushing these companies over the line.^[11]

In 2015, SumOfUs helped to push airline companies like Delta to stop shipping hunting trophies,^[12] lobbied Canadian officials to charge Nestle responsible water rates for drawing water from public lands,^[13] and helped get Standard Chartered Bank to cancel its financing of Adani's giant Australian coal mine.^[14]

Methodology

Like online groups Avaaz.org and 350.org, SumOfUs uses digital technology to organize and communicate globally, connecting consumers, workers and investors from around the world.^[15]

One of SumOfUs’ primary functions is to amplify other corporate accountability organizations' campaigns by launching rapid-response campaigns.

The online campaigning NGO operates using lean start-up methodology, by adapting the “minimum viable product”^[16] model to the online campaigning field. SumOfUs mirrors corporations’ global perspective and power base – and transcends national boundaries to take advantage of transnational companies’ vulnerabilities.^[17]

Privacy policy

SumOfUs states that it “will never provide, sell or give any of its personal members information to any other person or organization, except for vendors providing services to SumOfUs who have agreed to keep your information confidential, or if you specifically authorize us to share your information.”^[18]

Financial contributors

SumOfUs is a registered 501(c)4 social welfare nonprofit. Around 85% of SumOfUs funds come from small donations from its members.^[19] “This funding model means we are able to stay independent, keep pressure on governments and corporations, and respond quickly to crisis situations",^[20] claims the online campaigning NGO.

SumOfUs publishes the source of revenues every year on its website.^[21]

Community

SumOfUs campaigns in English, French and German and has members in over 130 countries. Since its launch the SumOfUs community represents 10 million people from around the world have taken action with SumOfUs.

According to its 2015 report-back, the SumOfUs community took more than 17 millions actions this year.

See also

• 38 Degrees
• Avaaz.org
• Change.org
• CitizenGo
• GetUp!
• Internet activism
• MoveOn.org
• Slacktivism

References