Inspiring Purposeful Social Impact

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” These words from Mahatma Gandhi are what inspires local business, 7Leaves Café, to dive deeper into its corporate purpose. Along with providing quality service and products to customers, the company is also dedicated to giving back to the local community and making a positive social impact.

In an effort to further its mission of enriching the human experience by serving the very best coffee, tea, and goodness in every cup and every community, 7Leaves Café is constantly looking for new ways to make a difference.

So, when the opportunity arose to partner with Orange County United Way for a cause marketing campaign, 7Leaves Café jumped at the chance. Together, we worked to create a purposeful campaign that would raise funds and awareness of supporting our neighbors in need. This cross-collaboration was designed to spread the message about #TheOCWay, which closely reflects 7Leaves’ corporate purpose—a perfect combination, like coffee and cream.

Cause Marketing to Create Change

The campaign began in late May and involved over 100,000 coffee sleeves, which were printed and slipped onto cups at 7Leaves Café locations throughout Orange County. Promoting our mutual cause of “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” the message encouraged each customer to donate by visiting the Orange County United Way website or texting a code. Additionally, the branded message was highlighted via a cross-promotion: each time a patron purchased one of  7Leaves’ refreshing Strawberry Sunset drinks through their app, the company donated $1 to support our OC neighbors in need.

Targeted advertisements of the drink were shared on all of our social media platforms to help drive the campaign and encourage our followers to download the 7Leaves app to order. Not only did this give the 7Leaves brand more visibility, but it enabled OC residents to see the potential social impact that their support could provide to uplift our community.

Building Community through Partnership

After just three weeks, our collaboration had produced impactful results, inspiring countless new and returning customers to enjoy a refreshing Strawberry Sunset at 10 different 7Leaves Café locations across Orange County. Nearly $10,000 was raised in donations to support Orange County United Way’s work to ensure local students succeed, struggling families in gain financial security, our neighbors experiencing homelessness find a place to call home, and everyone gets connected to the assistance they need. With our organizations united, helping our community couldn’t have been sweeter.

Looking to raise your brand awareness while giving back to your community?

Orange County United Way offers a variety of flexible cause marketing partnership options that give your company visibility while making a positive local social impact.

To learn more or to create your own customized promotion or campaign, please contact Bo Bonanni, Director of Community Collaboration, at BoBonanni@UnitedWayOC.org or 949.263.6133.