by Bakau Consulting

“You don’t pay love back, you pay it forward,” wrote Lily Hardy Hammond around the turn of the 20th century, coining the phrase Pay it Forward. The idea is simple: you strive to spread goodwill as widely as possible instead of stockpiling for yourself or a limited group of people. 

Picture this: you’re in line at your favourite coffee shop. You approach the till, ready to pay, only to find out the person ahead of you paid extra to cover your bill. Cue all the good feelings that start to course through you. Moved by the generosity of a stranger, you decide to spread the feeling around by doing the same for the next person in line. That’s paying it forward. It can also look like volunteering, letting someone go ahead of you in traffic, donating to mutual aid or a cause, helping someone just because and so much more. Big or small it’s all part of paying it forward!

Many of us strive to be and do better by others while operating within a learned scarcity mindset which tells us giving freely to others is bad because then there will be less for us. What does it look like to challenge this mindset and take an active role in being the change?

The Pay it Forward principle invites us to be altruistic and invested in caring for community. It also invites us to put in work to actualize values like empathy, selflessness and compassion. In a time where performative is a buzzword, this principle is a way to show commitment to action. Pay it Forward is backed by an energetic force to drive change, benefit others and inspire them to do the same. 

That’s why we have decided to initiate a Pay it Forward fee for our services; a small percentage which we will put towards making our work more accessible for others. The funds collected through this fee will go towards supporting the sustainability of our reduced pricing structure, program scholarships and more. 

Many folks with similar initiatives choose to embed the percentage used to give back within their total costs. We want to show the amount from each partnership with us that will be reinvested into our community. What the Pay it Forward fee will look like is an automatic 5% up to a maximum of $2,000. Periodically, we’ll share details about how the funds are being used and who it has helped support. We understand this may be a new experience for some so we’re very grateful for your support!