Our team is excited and inspired by the technologies and announcements of this year. However, we can’t let products overshadow the time we live in. Normally we use this space for product announcements, but today we’d talk to talk about a few things we believe in deeply.
First off, Black Lives Matter. As a team and as people, we are dedicated to doing the necessary listening and work needed to fight systemic racism. We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, and we pledge to stay committed to fight racial injustice. It should not have taken us until 2020 to get here. We ask that you join us in supporting this cause.
We are actively working on long-term initiatives to promote Black photographers and look forward to using our resources and channels to create a lasting impact beyond this news cycle. We look forward to sharing some of our efforts with our new product releases this year. We also urge you to reach out to your local government representatives and demand they rethink their law enforcement and defund the police.
What can we do as a company? Since starting Lux Optics, we’ve donated over $25,000 to charities. It’s a good start, but we want to do more.
2% for Causes
In the last month we’ve thought about how to make charity an ongoing effort in our company. We did some research, and 1% for the Planet caught our attention. It is a formal organization where the member companies pledge to donate 1% of profits toward environmental charities.
To start, today we are pledging 1% for Society. 1% of all profits will go toward helping create a society that is equitable and good for everyone. To that effect, so far we’ve selected the following charities:
However, society and the planet are not two separate issues. Often times, societal oppression directly overlaps with environmental injustice. That’s why we’re also applying to join 1% for the Planet. With these commitments, we will have an ongoing effort to support the causes we consider the most important issues facing us right now.
For transparency, we will have a post every year to detail the organizations that we donate to and solicit input on other great charities we can support.
We Are Not Done
We consider 2% the minimum of what we will donate every year, and we will continue to donate in other ways.
For example, we’ve decided that instead of giving new hires a signing-bonus, we will have a “charity bonus,” where they will have $5,000 donated to a charity of their choosing. Earlier this year saw our first hire, Rebecca, and she selected The Vanessa T Marcotte Foundation, which strives to stop violence against women in society.
In Closing
Our little 3 person company wouldn’t exist without your support — we want to thank you for helping us support these causes when it matters: now, and tomorrow. Feel free to let us know what you think of our efforts, and how we can do better.