NDTO News Article

Member Profile: Unseen Guardians

Human trafficking remains one of the worst ongoing threats facing the world’s population since the turn of the 21 st century, with 49.6 million people actively being trafficked as of 2022.1 It’s a serious issue that necessitates the intense dismantling of trafficking networks at their sources. But focused advocacy, awareness, and understanding are just as crucial to the fight. In North Dakota, the NDTO’s newest Reciprocal Association Member Partner (RAMP) nonprofit collaborates with local and international businesses to give this advocacy a platform.

Since 2011, Unseen has worked tirelessly to end human trafficking from right here in Fargo, North Dakota. Unseen Guardians is a new corporate giving program inviting business leaders to take action and make a personal commitment to solve a complex problem like trafficking. “Businesses that join Unseen Guardians are part of a community standing against trafficking. Our goal is to create the first publicly recognized philanthropic badge dedicated solely to the fight against human trafficking and its root causes,” says Corinne McKenna, Unseen Guardians’ Corporate Giving Consultant.

Unseen’s primary direct method for combating human trafficking is partnership. Unseen reduces growth barriers for their anti-trafficking partners by providing custom communication tools. In 2023, Unseen partnered with 26 organizations in 30 countries. With Unseen’s products and materials, Unseen partners raised $7,129,625 in 2023 for trafficking survivors and at-risk individuals. The outcomes and efficacy of these partnerships are considerable: In 2023, Unseen partners directly served 257,628 people and their work resulted in a 733% return on investment for Unseen donors.

Becoming an Unseen Guardian business has many benefits, McKenna explains. First and foremost, you know you are making an impact. Whether your company is simply donating $1/day per employee, or also displaying the Unseen Guardian badge on your publicly-facing marketing materials, you are making a meaningful difference. “Beyond the membership donation, the other aspect of the program benefits is the public marketing side and the fact that your company is publicly standing against trafficking,” McKenna adds. Being an Unseen Guardian will significantly appeal to potential customers and clients. While paying for your goods or services, they know they are supporting a business that stands against trafficking.

When it comes to finding prospective businesses to join the program, Unseen Guardians has multiple approaches. Though all businesses of all sizes and industries are encouraged and welcome to join, they highly value B2B or B2C retail and e-commerce businesses due to their shorter supply chain processes and point-to-point delivery. The Unseen Guardian badge can be featured across multiple touchpoints and channels which results in greater visibility and support for Unseen’s work.

Unseen Guardians also looks for businesses with large marketing initiatives and extensive supply chain processes. Namely, businesses that import and export internationally. Human trafficking is an issue that knows no borders, and therefore, can only be solved through international cooperation.

Which is where the NDTO comes in. “Because of the relationships and the connections that occur by nature of trade, we think that this could be a key partnership in making sure that corporate action against trafficking is happening across borders and across industries,” McKenna says. NDTO exporter members can give Unseen Guardians a major advantage in high-priority countries across the world.

Unseen has been granted the Platinum Transparency Award by Candid, meaning they are highly transparent in the information they publicly share, including their finances, strategies, goals, progress, and impact. Their anti-trafficking partners are also vetted and top-rate, doing essential work providing rescue, repatriation, safe shelter, food, clean water, medical care, vocational training, job creation, legal services, counseling, and more. Investing in Unseen is investing in these incredible anti-trafficking partners, equipping them to expand their work.  The Unseen Guardian program provides a stable base of hope for Unseen partners’ anti-trafficking work around the world. McKenna believes that the positive impact will only grow over the next few years: “We definitely expect the program to expand in both breadth, membership, and complexity as we engage more businesses in this fight.”

The NDTO couldn’t be more thrilled to be an Unseen Guardians partner company and use our platform to communicate their mission. If your business wants to get involved in the fight against human trafficking and become a part of a growing movement, you can reach out to the team at info@weareunseen.org or (701) 261-3598. To find out more about Unseen Guardians and read the survival stories of real victims, visit www.weareunseen.org. You can read Unseen’s 2024 annual report here.

 

1 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery Forced Labour and Forced Marriage_0.pdf