Recently I was undertaking some online research and stumbled upon an American search result that grabbed my attention: ‘Charity-Driven Gyms Are Popping Up All Over The Country.’ Gyms undertake random acts of charity all the time, but these new gyms are different in that they embed charity at the very heart of their business.

So, this is the story of The Movement, a recently opened boutique fitness studio in New York City, US, that operates according to the philosophy of ‘give back, move forward’ – enjoying the intrinsic joy and satisfaction of exercise while simultaneously helping others. It donates US$1 per person per class to The National Brain Tumour Society, not just for a few days, but every day of the year.

It’s the first fitness business I’ve discovered that donates a portion of every single sale it makes.

How the studio started
Jordan and Dana Canino are lifelong athletes who envisioned a studio that would allow them to make a positive difference to the lives of others. However, their definition of ‘others’ is far wider than just the customers who attend the hybrid cardio, strength and yoga classes at the 297sq m (3,200sq ft) facility. They started with the question: How do we create a place where people are not only changing their own lives, but also the lives of others?

Deeply embedded charity
When a business aligns itself with a charity, there should always be some compelling story that drives the partnership. Across the United States, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.5 million non-profit organisations. Many would be worthy of our support – so how do we choose? Why did The Movement select The National Brain Tumour Society (NBTS) as its charity partner?

According to the NBTS, 700,000 Americans are living with a primary brain tumour and 69,000 more will be diagnosed this year – and in my research, I discovered that Andrea Canino, Jordan’s mother, had died of a brain tumour when he was just 18. This was therefore a deeply personal cause, giving purpose and meaning to The Movement.

“Our hope is to start a true movement: the idea that, when you give back, you’re enabling yourself to move forward. It motivates people not only to go to a class and get their sweat on, but also to help fight a terrible disease,” he says.

Impact to date
IHRSA data suggests there are more than 30,500 gyms across the US, with boutique studios regularly popping up, so what does the American media have to say about The Movement? Well, for a small studio only open since May 2014, it’s already generating quite a buzz: ‘The Movement Ignites a Charitable Fitness Revolution’, ‘Fitness studio ready to stand out’, ‘The Rise of Charity Driven Gyms’, ‘Five Fitness Studios That Give Back’ are just four headlines that show how its philosophy has captured the attention.

The new studio is currently only operating 30 classes a week while it gets up to capacity. However, this already translates into a donation to the National Brain Tumour Society of US$1,000 a month. The expectation is that they will reach 56–70 classes a week by September 2014, meaning donations should double. Equally importantly, they’re raising awareness of the charity every time someone interacts with the business.

I dedicate this workout to…
I recently read an article about The Movement written by Heidi Kristoffer, a highly rated American yoga instructor. In the article, she recalled a comment made by an instructor during a class she had attended at another gym: “If you feel like you can’t do it for yourself, do it for someone else who needs this more than you do.”

Kristoffer found the idea of mentally dedicating her workout to someone other than herself a very powerful concept. Now imagine this being amplified by everyone else in the class, across all classes, every day of the year. Suddenly that Tuesday evening class at 8.00pm that you’re half-minded to skip takes on a whole new meaning. “Sometimes we need to do things for ourselves, but often the power of doing something with the intention of helping the greater good, or just one other person, can be life-changing,” added Kristoffer.

So what can your business do?
Your organisation is probably already working with one or more charities, but the relationships may be superficial and only short-term. Here are a few ways you could maximise your social impact:
* Discover a charity partner that shares an authentic common purpose with your business.
* Ensure your charity partner and its cause genuinely mean something to your primary stakeholders (staff, customers, suppliers, investors).
* Commit to working together over the long term – think ‘partner’ more than ‘a date’.
* Visualise a successful and socially useful outcome and plan towards it.
* Help drive a project rather than simply handing over money.
* Don’t send out a press release until you have meaningful results to share. What matters is impact, not intention.

Well, I’m going now because I need to work out and I’m dedicating it to my late mother. Who will you be dedicating your next workout to?