Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) June 01, 2015
Do Goods, a woman-owned, mission-driven general benefit corporation headquartered in the social entrepreneurship hub of Minneapolis/St. Paul, announces today it is actively enabling individuals and businesses to buy cause-centered products online with the pledge to Empower Your Purchase™ by donating 100% of proceeds to related nonprofit organizations.
Furthering its Mission: Do Goods is committed to benefiting the lives of millions around the world by enabling consumers and companies to empower 100% of the proceeds from their purchase of consciously-curated goods from cause-centered online stores to further the mission of related nonprofit organizations.
Pursuing its Vision: Do Goods powers an economy that benefits the many, as well as the few. By providing quality merchandise that consumers and businesses use every day, Do Goods transforms profit into possibility. Nonprofit beneficiaries generate exponential impact from every dollar donated, co-creating a world where people do more than survive… they thrive.
Upholding its Values: Do Goods creates benefits up and down the value chain by partnering with local and minority-owned businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other mission-driven companies. Further, Do Goods respects the environment and strives to source planet-friendly products for customers, as well as its own operations. Finally, Do Goods understands that people can use their gifts to serve the world, as well as themselves.
Building a Business with Benefits
Recently founded by Stacy and Joe Rider, Do Goods supports the reward-based philanthropic efforts of individuals and businesses, as well as the self-funding efforts of nonprofit organizations by operating online stores selling customized retail products, generating revenue above operating costs, which is donated to benefit a wide variety of nonprofit organizations. To generate the most good over the next year, the Riders intend to expand their business rapidly to achieve the following goals:
- Launch 20 general stores attracting cause-minded consumers
- Deploy 500 dedicated stores to support corporate giving programs
- Operate 500 licensed stores to enable nonprofit self-funding initiatives
- Benefit more than 1000 nonprofit organizations
- Impact the lives of millions of people around the world
- Grow to a staff of 16+ employees
General Stores for Consumers: Today, consumers are invited to show their support for girls’ athletics by shopping http://www.GirlGear.org, the first of 20 planned Do Goods stores to launch in the coming year. GirlGear.org features sports themed apparel and accessories, as well as information to promote greater awareness of the lifetime benefits enjoyed by girls who participate in athletics. Proceeds from the purchases made on GirlGear.org are intended to benefit nonprofit organizations promoting girls’ fitness and wellness. Additional stores are in development to support causes in the arts, education, healthcare concerns, community services, the environment, animal welfare and more.
Dedicated Stores for Businesses: Do Goods offers a complete risk-free solution for businesses with an engaged community of employees, customers, partners, fans and followers to sell branded or custom products to raise awareness about their favorite causes and generate donations to benefit cause-related nonprofit organizations. Do Goods develops the online store, produces and distributes the orders, and donates the proceeds from the campaign to the selected nonprofits in the name of the sponsoring business. Do Goods guarantees a no-cost, no commitment program: businesses do not pay Do Goods for products or services, do not need to promise a certain amount of campaign revenue, and do not need to hassle with inventory and distribution or divert IT resources to develop an ecommerce site on their own. All a business needs to do to participate is select the cause and campaign dates (typically 1-2 weeks), approve their branded merchandise, and invite their community to support their campaign – Do Goods does the rest. Highly engaged campaigns may generate up to 50% proceeds for their cause depending on volume and product selection.
Licensed Stores for Nonprofits: Do Goods offers nonprofit and government organizations interested in a self-funding campaign a slightly different operating model. Like the dedicated stores for businesses, Do Goods offers a no-commitment guarantee, builds the ecommerce site and produces and distributes the orders. The primary difference is that the nonprofit organization sets the price of the products, collects the revenue directly and pays Do Goods for the products ordered during the campaign. Do Goods is established as an online retail organization, not a professional fundraising organization, and does not collect revenue on behalf of nonprofit organizations.
Questing for the MN Cup
Do Goods recently entered the prestigious MN Cup business competition in the Social Entrepreneurship division. Hosted by the Carlson School of Management and sponsored by numerous foundations supporting entrepreneurship, the MN Cup is the largest annual statewide new venture competition in the country, offering participants several benefits and resources including seed money (over $1 million awarded since 2005), business planning support, mentorship, exposure, feedback from investors, access to exclusive events and professional connections. “Participating in the MN Cup is a tremendous opportunity for a growing organization like ours,” states COO Joe Rider. “The mentorship is invaluable and we hope the exposure we receive will pay huge dividends for us over the coming months.” The 2015 MN Cup division semifinalists will be announced June 8th.
Seeking Like-Minded Individuals and Investors
As an early stage organization, Do Goods is actively recruiting individuals that resonate with the company’s mission to join the team. Account Directors are needed for the top 50 US markets to support business development activities by engaging business, nonprofit, and government organizations. In addition, the organization is searching for design, production, and marketing talent to support reaching the goal of benefiting 1000 nonprofit organizations. In addition to building its talent base, Do Goods also seeks socially-conscious accredited investors to support the organization’s plan for rapid growth.
Hosting a Friendraiser
To promote awareness of its mission and services, demonstrate its business model in action, and create capital to support the development of 20+ cause-centered consumer stores in its first year, Do Goods is hosting a friendraising campaign June 1-21, 2015.
Supporters are invited to help in three ways:
1. Purchase Do Goods branded apparel and accessory products
2. Connect with Do Goods via social media and email platforms
3. Share the Do Goods story with their network of friends, family, and colleagues
The general public is welcome to participate. To join in the friendraising activities and learn more about Do Goods mission, stores, and careers, please visit http://www.do-goods.com.
About Do Goods
Do Goods is a Minnesota-based, mission-driven general benefit corporation committed to benefiting the lives of millions around the world by enabling consumers to empower 100% of the proceeds from products purchased through various cause-centered online stores to further the mission of related nonprofit organizations. By implementing no-cost, no-commitment ecommerce programs for businesses, nonprofit and government organizations, Do Goods donations transform profit into possibility and power an economy that benefits the many, as well as the few. As a woman-owned organization, Do Goods is committed to partnering with local and minority-owned businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other mission-driven companies to consciously-curate high-quality products and services to support its operations. Learn more at http://www.do-goods.com.
