After World War II, the Dutch business community helped rebuild the country. Today, there is once again a role - this time for children growing up in war. With that reality as a starting point, War Child is launching the initiative Peace of Business: an annual initiative that calls on companies to dedicate a part of their business in May to children growing up in war situations. According to Ernst Suur, Managing Director of War Child, that reality calls for broader involvement from the business community: "Helping children requires assistance. But making it possible requires entrepreneurship. And that is precisely where the business community can make a difference. Making an impact is not charity. It is a choice!"
A small part of your business. With a big impact.
With Peace of Business, War Child activates companies to dedicate a part of their business in May to children growing up in war. This contribution is fixed and tailored to the size of the company. The implementation is flexible: from a percentage of revenue to a product or service whose proceeds go to War Child. In this way, companies provide concrete impact through aid, protection, and recovery for children in conflict areas.
The question is not whether you participate
War Child explicitly places the ball in the court of the business community with Peace of Business. Not as a donation request, but as an invitation to make impact a part of how business is done.
Everyone can participate. So no excuses.
This flexibility in the way of contributing makes this approach accessible to a wide group: from freelancers to larger organizations, without disrupting daily operations. The initiative is intentionally designed so that it does not require extra campaigns or complex activations. It is not about doing more, but about looking differently at your existing business.
This is not an action. This is the new standard.
Peace of Business is not a one-time action, but an annual recurring moment in May. Deliberately chosen as a month of remembrance and freedom. A period in which the value of peace becomes visible again.
The goal: to make May a fixed moment where companies not only talk about impact but also make it a structural part of their business. A moment that grows, in which more and more organizations show that doing business is not just about results, but also about responsibility.
Donating is not enough
Peace of Business was developed in collaboration with NOA Collective, which works with War Child to set up scalable initiatives where entrepreneurship and social impact come together. "There are enough companies that do good alongside their work. We believe in companies that do good through their work. Peace of Business shows how," says Melle Schellekens, Co-Founder of NOA Collective. "Impact only becomes scalable when you make it part of your business. Not something on the side."
Impact that lasts. Not a side issue.
To deepen the collaboration, War Child and NOA Collective have set up the Corporate Innovation Team: an initiative focused on developing sustainable and scalable revenue streams. Based on the belief that social impact should not depend on one-off donations, but can be a structural part of business models, this team works on new forms of collaboration between NGOs and the business community. With the promise: 'Innovation for Impact'. "What we do is assistance. But how we make it possible requires entrepreneurship. That is where the strength of these kinds of initiatives lies," says Suur.
More information at: www.noacollective.com
