Project Support - 1 & 4% Funds

Unicorn differs from many conventional businesses in that we are based on a clearly defined set of values, laid out in our 'Principles of Purpose'. Although we are clearly a commercial operation, we see ethics as intrinsic to the way we run our business, and laid out from the very beginning, these Principles inform everything we do. An important part of these Principles is our commitment to contribute a sum equal to 5% (presently around £25,000 annually) of our total wage bill to causes, both local and international, that correspond with our own ideals, aims and objectives.  

The total is split into two separate parts, the 1% and 4% funds, which are distinct in their purposes.

The 1% fund is designed to support 'projects which share our vision of community and society in the United Kingdom', a wide definition which encompasses all sorts of things from school health days, sustainable food projects, co-operative ventures, and community growing schemes.

The 4% fund has an international focus, and aims to support projects addressing imbalances arising from unfair world trade, (much of which we recognise as being to the disadvantage of poorer nations), and the consequent effects on peoples' health and lives. We are mostly involved with small to medium-scale organisations, which are working towards creating and promoting sustainable livelihoods for people in the global south, and increasingly, we are trying to maintain and develop long-term links with these partners.