2022 ANNUAL REVIEW & IMPACT REPORT
A year of Stewardship
A Letter from our CEO
Recovery is a term used in our economy after a crisis or a downturn. The related quality that helps businesses through these times of uncertainty is resilience. Those businesses that made it into 2022 can claim some level of resilience. We were grateful to be one of those businesses, and even more humbled to be celebrated throughout the year as "Real Leaders" and "Top 100" as well as receiving several other accolades. It feels wonderful to be recognized. It feels even better to reflect on our work this year and see that we have lived out our values and achieved great strides toward our overall mission of growing positive impact.
We thought that 2022 would be the year of Embracing Possibility. In hindsight, I believe we did a lot of that as well as Aspiring to Inspire in 2020 and 2021. Perhaps we did not focus on these values intentionally, and certainly, all of our values show up throughout the year, but because of the scenarios we found thrust upon us by a global crisis I believe those values surfaced in more of our decisions during those years.
Instead, 2022 was most aligned with our value to Commit to Excellence. We accepted fewer client projects, but in turn, increased our commitment to quality. Our team spent focused time internally to evaluate our tools, improve processes, remove bloat, create deeper connections with our partners, and develop new service offerings. Our 2022 annual review and impact report reminds us that impact is not one thing, it is everything.
As a result, CauseLabs will look slightly different in the future. We will have new service offerings that can serve multiple audiences. All of this will help us increasingly grow positive impact in small ripples that we know can create big waves. We look forward to continuing our commitment to excellence in 2023 in ways that align with all of our core values.
CauseLabs CEO and Co-Founder
530
hours donated
38
resources shared
10x
in the press
29
projects
Most Impactful Resources & Tools
Our most-read articles in 2022:
- What are social impact companies?
- How to Clear your Browser Cache
- Creating a Maintenance Schedule for Your Website
Most downloaded resource: Five Essentials for Protecting Your Nonprofit Website
Most Popular & Well-Vetted WordPress Plugins
Add-on Page Builders: Elementor, Beaver Builder
Forms: Gravity Forms, WPForms
Dynamic Data: ACF Pro, Beaver Themer
Migration: All In One Migration
SEO: Yoast SEO, SEOPress
Security: Wordfence, iThemes Security, Sucuri
Memberships: MemberPress, BuddyBoss
Courses & Learning: LifterLMS
Performance: WP Rocket, Shortpixel
Translation: WPML
Events & Planning: The Events Calendar
The UN SDGs
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the world’s shared plan to end extreme poverty, reduce inequality, and protect the planet by the year 2030.
Adopted by 193 countries in 2015, the SDGs emerged from the most inclusive and comprehensive negotiations in UN history and have inspired people from across sectors, geographies, and cultures.
CauseLabs joined the UN Global Compact in 2019 when we found that we were perfectly aligned with the global goals. For over 10 years the majority of our projects have met at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Our 2022 Projects
No Poverty: 6 Projects
Health & Well-Being: 8 Projects
Quality Education: 8 Projects
Gender Equality: 1 Project
Decent Work: 1 Projects
Industry, Innovation: 2 Projects
Reduce Inequality: 19 Projects
Sustainable Cities: 3 Projects
Responsible Consumption: 1 Project
Climate Action: 2 Project
Partners for the Goals: 8 Projects
Action Manager Scorecard
The SDG Action Manager Scorecard is an impact management solution developed by B Lab and the United Nations Global Compact. It enables businesses of all sizes to set goals, track progress, and stay motivated on their actions toward the SDGs. CauseLabs measures our impact against all 17 SDGs. We are scored out of 100 based on various targets defined by B Lab and the UNGC for corporations.
Our Commitment to the Planet.
What do we measure and purchase carbon credits for? Server space, emails sent, emails received, zoom video hours logged, website traffic, car miles, air travel miles, and our employees' home carbon footprint.
We purchased credits from Gold Standard which was listed on epa.gov website as a trusted source. We also included our whole team in the decision on which projects to support.
Our 2022 total emissions were 117.9 metric tonnes. We commit to purchasing credits for 120 metric tonnes to offset our footprint.
Read the linked reports of the two projects our team chose to support in our best efforts to remain a climate-neutral and carbon-negative company.
CauseLabs 2022 Emissions: 117.9 MT
While it may not be on your project requirements list, know that choosing CauseLabs expands our environmental commitment to your project. We'd love to help you make an impact in this way.
2022 Finances: How we spend our dollars
We believe that our employees are the most valuable aspect of our company, and we follow that belief with action. Our value of radical respect is demonstrated in how we pay all of our employees an average or above average wage for their role in our sector, market, and regions.
Radical Respect at CauseLabs means respecting the entirety of a person. That includes their health and well-being and that of their entire family. Our health benefits cover 100% of healthcare premiums for an employee’s entire family. Quality healthcare is a valuable benefit for our team’s peace of mind.
86.1% of revenue: Employee compensation, benefits & contractor wages.
13.9% of revenue: Other Operational Expenses (as a result of increases in benefit commitments without an increase in rates due to the pandemic.)
Our Values In Action
Do Work That Matters
We empower the underserved and those that serve the greater good.
UN Global Compact
We joined the UN Global Compact in 2019 committed to aligning our company and culture with the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact to help transform the world through business. We want to inspire others to join us as we Make Global Goals Local Business to create the world we want.
Entrepreneur of Excellence
CauseLabs owners Sheryle and Michael Gillihan were selected as finalists for the 2022 Fort Worth Inc. Entrepreneur of Excellence award. They were nominated by CauseLabs' clients at Sparkyard for their commitment to the community.
In 2022, 100% of CauseLabs projects were delivered to nonprofit organizations. View our Sustainability Scorecard to see how we use technology as a force for good.
CauseLabs supports and advocates for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact in its decisions and operations impacting areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment, and Anti-Corruption.
Commit to Excellence
We infuse quality and meaning into every task, every day.
Top-Rated Tech Companies
Unexpectedly, CauseLabs was awarded Top-Rated Tech Companies of 2022 by Powderkeg Unvalley. We are grateful for the recognition.
Real Leaders: Top 200 Impact Companies
An annual award recognizing companies that focus on their social and environmental impact. This award showcases the top 200 companies around the world.
Certified B Corporation
A Certified B Corporation since 2014, CauseLabs loves being part of this growing movement to use business as a force for good. The impact assessment and SDG Action Manager allow us to measure our impact against the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
Radically Respect
We strive to create a culture of balance in all aspects of our lives.
Adoption-Friendly Workplace
It's an honor to be designated as an Adoption Advocate by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA). CauseLabs is #7 for Small Businesses offering Adoption and Foster Benefits.
Best Place for Working Parents
Small Business designation from Best Places 4 Kids and the City of Fort Worth. This is in recognition for our commitment to supporting working parents through our family-friendly policies and practices.
In addition to these awards, CauseLabs was written about for offering 100% employer-paid healthcare to our employees and their families. Read the article on the Future of Business and Tech.
Embrace Possibility
We are the spark that enables progress.
Veteran Owned Small Business
We missed the memo in December 2021 but found out in early 2022 that we were awarded Top 100 by the Fort Worth Business Press.
Historically Underutilized Business
Looking for a minority-owned, woman-owned, and/or veteran-owned business partner for your next project? CauseLabs is HUB certified with the State of Texas.
Aspire to Inspire
We foster leadership through outreach and education.
Make Time to Vote
We’re one of more than 700 businesses contributing to the culture shift needed to increase voter participation in the U.S. elections by giving our employees Time to Vote. CauseLabs supports time to vote for local, state, and federal elections.
Learn more about the movement here.
Woman of Influence
In 2022, CauseLabs CEO and co-owner Sheryle Gillihan was honored to receive an award as a Great Women of Texas, Woman of Influence. This award is given to a select group of women who show courage and commitment in the many aspects of their life including their businesses, their community, and their family.
Net Zero 2030
CauseLabs joins over 500 B Corps that are publicly committed to a net zero future by ensuring we will have Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030. See the full list of B Corps here.
In addition to the above, we Aspire to Inspire by organizing, participating in, and serving with associations and other global and local groups. These include Impact Fort Worth, Tarrant County College, TCU's Values & Ventures, Entrepreneur’s Organization, the Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards, the Social Enterprise Alliance, Opportunity Collaboration, We The Change, Climate SME Hub, UN Global Compact, GEW Fort Worth, Post Status, WordCamp US, STEM Goes Red with the American Heart Association and several WordPress communities.
Impact is not one thing, it is everything. It is the most important consideration when measuring and attributing value.
Sheryle Gillihan