Scaling Impact
Media Cause began as a volunteer led project back in 2010. The intent was not to make money. We initially incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to Give a bigger voice to the organizations working hard to make the world a better place. Fast forward to 2018 and we are honored to be acknowledged by Inc. Magazine as the 2320th fastest-growing private company in America!
Mission Driven
Over the years our business has changed (and grown) quite a bit. We started as a volunteer matching platform for nonprofits and marketing professionals. Based in Silicon Valley, we have always embraced the startup mantra: Fail fast, fail forward. In order to better serve our clients and build a thriving business, we converted to a for-profit company as we evolved from a volunteer-based organization into a full-service digital marketing agency. While it’s humbling to be recognized by Inc Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the country, I am most proud that we’ve accomplished that feat without straying from our mission.
Our services and business model look nothing like they did 8 years ago. However, our mission statement has only slightly evolved over the years to accelerate the growth and impact of those doing good around the world. Over time it became clear that purpose-driven organizations needed to focus on results from their marketing efforts in order to justify the cost to their board and donors. Our priorities followed suit as we de-emphasized vanity metrics such as social media followers and reach while aligning our work more closely with our clients’ programmatic goals. At Media Cause, we measure our success by the impact that we are able to achieve for our clients. Here are just a few examples of the impact our team has made over the last couple of years through the use of effective digital marketing:
- Intercepted over 1 Million people searching for child pornography online, 100,000 of which contacted an anonymous support line for help while working with Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children.
- Assisted over 2,000 refugees and immigrants by enrolling them in the GED preparation and citizenship preparation course through Refugee Center Online.
- Generated $6,311,050 in Kiva loans to underserved entrepreneurs around the world in just 10 days with the Billion In Change campaign.
- Helped ACLU-Northern California educate more than 5,000 Californians about district attorneys, the most powerful elected officials that most voters don’t know about, through the “Hey, Meet Your DA” campaign.
- Recruited 11,500 people to build schools in developing countries, volunteer in underserved communities in the U.S., and break the cycle of poverty around the globe with buildOn.
- Helped raise over $9M online for bird conservation with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
The Business of Doing Good
Running an impact driven business is a balancing act. While our #1 priority is furthering our clients’ missions, we also recognize the need to focus on the health and stability of our own business. Our team’s day-to-day efforts are all about leveraging digital marketing tools and tactics to save/improve lives, protect the environment and raise money for good causes, however it’s essential that we also take the business itself seriously.
Focusing on business fundamentals takes more than prioritizing revenue and profits. We believe our team is our most important asset and we work hard to make sure they are appreciated and supported. By focusing on employee happiness, we know that will help build a larger and more successful team. We are very deliberate in creating a good work-life balance so that our employees can spend more time with their families and take good care of themselves. We cap our work weeks at 30 billable hours and provide flexible work from home options. We pay for training courses and offer a monthly stipend for all employees to exercise their body or mind to make sure our team is happy, healthy and energized to excel at their jobs. As a result we have built an incredible team who are not only talented marketers but are also compassionate individuals who truly care about the issues they’re working on.
It’s exciting to be a part of a growing company but it’s important not to lose sight of our purpose. Our goal is to continue our growth trajectory but we think about revenue and profit not as the end goal, but as a means to create a greater impact for even more nonprofits and mission driven organizations. As a private company we have the luxury to prioritize positive impact over profit and we don’t take that for granted. We know it’s a privilege to work with organizations that are changing the world for the better. So while we take a brief moment to celebrate being named one of America’s fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine, we know we’re just getting started. We can’t wait for what’s in store for Media Cause and the future impact we will create with our clients.
Interested in joining our team of talented do-gooders trying to change the world? We’re hiring!
About the Author
Eric Facas, Media Cause Founder & CEO
After 10+ years as a digital marketer for tech companies and startups Eric shifted course toward social impact in 2010, founding a purpose-led marketing agency Media Cause. As CEO Eric has led the agency’s growth into a market leader with hundreds of nonprofit and mission driven clients and offices in San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, DC. Eric’s passion for developing scalable solutions to important global issues has continued with the creation of the advocacy platform, Rally Starter, and nonprofit incubator Social Good Labs.
Earlier in his career Eric spent five years at Google where he helped launch new programs, built teams, and ran Google’s SEM Agency Council. In 2008 Eric received an EMG/Founder’s award from Google’s Executive Management Group for his work on the creation and rollout of the multi-billion dollar AdWords API program. When not at work Eric can be found hiking, mountain biking, or at the beach in Marin Country, CA or Kauai, HI with his family.