Murder Mittens Survivors Club believes that a growing business should create value beyond its own walls.
MMSC was built around cats, the people who live with them, and the community that forms around those shared experiences. As the business develops, we want that growth to create practical benefits for local rescues, independent organisations, suppliers, makers and communities wherever we are reasonably able to do so.
Our approach is straightforward:
Support locally where we can. Contribute where we can make a genuine difference. Make commitments we can sustain.
Supporting animal welfare
Cat rescues and animal-welfare organisations are a natural focus for MMSC community activity.
We will look for opportunities to support their work through collaboration, promotion, creative services, fundraising, donated products and, as the business develops, direct financial support.
The MMSC Rescue Subject File programme is one example of this commitment.
Participating rescues can provide information and photographs of cats seeking homes. MMSC then produces branded Rescue Subject Files and supporting social-media material at no charge, helping individual cats reach a wider audience while directing all adoption enquiries back to the organisation responsible for their care.
MMSC does not assess, reserve, rehome or place rescue animals. Welfare assessments and adoption decisions always remain with the relevant rescue organisation.
Supporting local businesses
Where financially and operationally practical, MMSC will consider businesses in County Durham and the wider North East when purchasing suitable goods and services.
This can include printers, makers, photographers, event suppliers, packaging providers, retailers, creative businesses and other independent suppliers.
Local sourcing is a preference rather than an absolute requirement. MMSC must also consider quality, reliability, capacity, specialist capability, sustainability and cost.
Where a local supplier cannot reasonably meet those requirements, we may source elsewhere.
Supporting the local economy should strengthen MMSC rather than compromise its ability to provide good products and fulfil its obligations to customers.
Community partnerships
We want MMSC collaborations to produce something useful.
That could include rescue promotion, fundraising, community events, creative work, partnerships with cat cafés or independent businesses, donated products or other projects that provide identifiable benefit.
Simply mentioning or tagging another organisation will not, by itself, be treated as a community partnership for our reporting purposes.
Where MMSC provides creative or promotional support without charge, we will recognise that contribution as part of our community activity.
Responsible commitments
Community benefit must be sustainable.
MMSC will not make charitable, financial or operational commitments that materially compromise our ability to:
- fulfil existing customer obligations;
- maintain product and service quality;
- meet statutory and financial responsibilities;
- protect reasonable working conditions and wellbeing; or
- maintain the long-term viability of the business.
The level of support MMSC can provide will therefore develop alongside the business.
We would rather make modest commitments that are delivered than ambitious promises that cannot be maintained.
Our first-year commitments
During our first full year of operation, we aim to establish a measurable foundation for future community support.
MMSC will aim to:
- produce at least four Rescue Subject Files at no charge, subject to participation by suitable rescue organisations;
- work with at least two separate rescue or animal-welfare organisations;
- undertake at least two meaningful local community or business collaborations;
- obtain partner approval before every Rescue Subject File is published;
- update the online status of featured rescue cats within two working days wherever reasonably possible after being notified of a change;
- consider County Durham or wider North East suppliers for suitable discretionary purchasing decisions above £250;
- record community-support activity, including donated creative time, direct expenditure, promotional support and fundraising; and
- publish a Year One Community Benefit Record showing what we actually delivered.
These are minimum aims, not limits. Where MMSC has the capacity to do more, we will.
Financial contributions
MMSC will not commit to a fixed charitable donation or percentage of revenue during its first year.
A new business can generate revenue while still having significant costs and limited available cash. Linking donations directly to turnover before we have reliable trading history could make community commitments less sustainable rather than more.
Instead, our first year will establish the financial and operational evidence needed to determine appropriate future commitments.
Once MMSC has sufficient trading history and sustainable profitability, we intend to introduce measurable financial targets for community and animal-welfare support.
Rescue and partner approval
Organisations collaborating with MMSC remain in control of information relating to their work.
For Rescue Subject Files in particular, partner organisations will be given an opportunity to review factual information, welfare information, household-suitability guidance, contact details, photographs and MMSC-style creative wording before publication.
Nothing will be published as an approved Rescue Subject File without partner approval.
Partner names, photographs or logos will not automatically be used in paid MMSC advertising. Where we wish to use partnership material for paid promotion, separate permission will be sought.
Transparency
When MMSC undertakes public fundraising or product-linked charitable activity, we will clearly explain:
who is being supported, what is being contributed, and how that contribution is calculated.
We will avoid vague claims such as “a portion of proceeds” where a specific amount or calculation can reasonably be provided.
Where an organisation receives support from MMSC, that support should not be represented as an endorsement of MMSC unless the organisation has expressly agreed to that description.
Measuring our impact
At the end of each full year, we intend to publish an MMSC Community Benefit Record.
Depending on the activity undertaken, this may include the number of rescue animals featured, organisations supported, collaborations completed, hours of creative work provided without charge, funds raised or donated, MMSC-funded promotional activity, expenditure with local suppliers and other measurable outcomes.
Where a target has not been achieved, we will say so rather than quietly removing it.
The purpose of reporting is not to make MMSC appear larger or more charitable than it is. It is to provide a straightforward record of the commitments we made and what we actually delivered.
Looking ahead
Our community commitments should grow with MMSC.
Information gathered during our first year will be used to establish appropriate future targets for local procurement, rescue support, charitable contributions and community partnerships.
Those targets will be reviewed periodically to make sure they remain meaningful and financially sustainable.
Our commitment is not to make the biggest promises. It is to make useful ones — and keep them.
Policy established: 2026
Review: following MMSC's first full year of trading