Michael Bleby Reporter

Michael writes on emerging markets, architecture and engineering. He has served as a correspondent in Tokyo, London and Johannesburg and has written for Reuters, the Financial Times, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

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GETTING A HAND UP

Published 26 July 2012 05:03, Updated 15 October 2012 16:40

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Thankyou Water has no shareholders or investors and spends all of its profit – on which it is not taxed because of its charitable status – on water supply projects in impoverished areas. A lack of capital is mitigated in part by the goodwill and donations it has received over the years. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some donations that have allowed the venture to start up and compete with commercial rivals.

  • Initial $20,000 donation by a business mentor to pay for registration of the charitable entity, registration trademarks and purchase labels and bottles for the first production run.
  • Offer by bottler to bottle on open credit. Saved company having to pay $100,000 upfront for the first run of product and had almost unlimited credit terms initially. Relations with this bottler later soured and the company now uses a different one.
  • Donation of a bottle by Visy saved an estimated $150,000 in bottle design, mould costs.
  • Donation of 30,000 bottles, worth $4500 by Visy towards first production run.
  • Donation of website design services by Jindou (worth $30,000) and Simon Robb Web Design (worth $20,000).
  • Donation of water project consulting services worth $12,000.
  • Melbourne office rent reduction worth $11,000.
  • Office fit-out donation worth $5000.
  • Pro-bono accounting (WHK) and legal (Gadens) services.
  • Shelley Morris photography services worth $40,000.
  • Kintaro Studios (video services) worth $65,000.
  • 25 volunteer staff.

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