Some milestones are about more than growth. They are about protecting what you've built and creating a stronger foundation for the future.

SAWA SAWA is now officially trademarked, thanks to our friends at Dickinson Wright in Austin, Texas, who generously handled our trademark registration pro bono!

We are incredibly grateful for the friends, partners, and professionals who continue to share their time, expertise, and resources to help move our mission forward.

This particular gift came at an especially meaningful time for our organization.

Protecting What We've Built

Over the past year, SAWA SAWA has been on a journey of rebuilding, strengthening our systems, and putting safeguards in place to protect our organization, our mission, and the women and communities who depend on our work.

When you build a nonprofit brand, you pour so much into it. Years of relationships, countless hours of work, trust built across communities, and a vision that grows far beyond the people who first imagined it.

For us, SAWA SAWA represents the extraordinary craftsmanship of women artisans in Kenya, the economic opportunities we are creating together, and our shared commitment to sustainable solutions to poverty.

It represents the trust of our customers, donors, partners, and artisan communities.

Protecting that name means protecting the work, relationships, and reputation behind it.

Our trademark is an important milestone in that process. It strengthens our ability to safeguard the SAWA SAWA brand as we continue growing, reaching new markets, and creating opportunities for women in Kenya.

And the timing could not have been better.

The Power of People Who Believe in Your Mission

One of the greatest lessons we've learned on this journey is that meaningful change takes a community.

Sometimes support comes through a donation. Sometimes it comes through a purchase, a partnership, an introduction, or a few words of encouragement.

And sometimes it comes through a team of legal professionals who recognize the value of your work and generously offer their expertise.

Professional services are a significant investment for small nonprofits. Having access to experienced legal counsel allows organizations like ours to direct more resources toward the communities and programs at the heart of our mission.

That is what makes pro bono partnerships so valuable.

Dickinson Wright helped us accomplish something that will continue to serve SAWA SAWA for years to come.

Building for the Future

As we continue strengthening SAWA SAWA, expanding our retail partnerships, and connecting the work of talented Kenyan women to broader markets, we are increasingly intentional about building an organization that is sustainable, accountable, and protected.

We want the women who work with us to know that the organization connecting their craftsmanship to the world is built on a strong foundation.

We want our customers and supporters to recognize SAWA SAWA as a name they can trust.

And we want the mission to continue growing long into the future.

This trademark is one more step toward that vision.

Thank You, Dickinson Wright!

To Andrea Arndt and the wonderful team at Dickinson Wright, thank you for believing in our work and investing your expertise in our future.

Your generosity arrived at exactly the right moment, and we will always be grateful for the role you played in helping us protect something so meaningful.

To every friend, donor, partner, customer, and supporter who has stood alongside us as we build and rebuild, thank you.

Every contribution matters. Every act of generosity strengthens the foundation. And every person who shares in this mission helps carry it a little further.

SAWA SAWA means “It will be well.”

Today, as we celebrate this milestone, those words feel especially meaningful.

Here's to protecting what matters, building with intention, and continuing this beautiful work together. 💚

With gratitude,

The SAWA SAWA Team

Learn more: Dickinson Wright | SAWA SAWA