Our Philosophy

Creature Comforts Brewing Company believes good companies are good citizens. As a local brewery, our business model and signature products naturally bring people together. When asked the question of how to “give back”, the leaders of Creature Comforts get real about what they bring to the table. They understood their finite skills and resources and focus on a model of collaboration – bringing people together – to tackle the needs in Athens, Georgia. They owned up front that they are not experts on the societal issues and sought out experts steeped in knowledge about the generational and cyclical needs holding back their fellow Athenians from thriving equitably.

“I believe when business leaders recognize the potential (and dare I say responsibility) to do more than generate profits, there is the opportunity to truly leave a legacy. “

Inviting Others Into The Process

What’s their model? First, they focus on the Athens community as a whole versus a specific cause. They dig into needs-assessment data for hard facts pushing themselves to remain as “dispassionate as the data” and thereby open to directing resources where they matter most. From here they invite experts into the process adopting an advisor-directed framework to glean wisdom from external partners. They turn to local social service leaders and local government officials to help understand which agencies in town are doing the heavy lifting and seeing the greatest results. Finally, they hold themselves accountable with an annual program evaluation reviewing impact data to ensure their investments are effective.

Collaborating For Exponential Impact

They have a heart for the issues but as business leaders, they recognize the limits of their resources and skills to make meaningful headway toward social solutions. Leveraging their expertise in hospitality, they designed a simple, flexible structure making it easy for others to join in the good. They wisely sought out the Athens Area Community Foundation to create a donor advised fund making it easier to invite their customers and business associates to pool their resources. Four years later they have collectively mobilized approximately $1M to meet the greatest needs in Athens, creating indelible partnerships with for-profit and non-profit partners and realizing true impact for the community — as well as for their employees and their brand.