The Three G's: The New Trend In Giving (And 5 Companies Who Do It Right)

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1 Page 1 of 5 BIG NEWS: How To De-Stress For Better Sleep...Starting Tonight Health How To De-Stress For Better Sleep...Starting Tonight Michelle Obama Promotes National Service, Visits With YouthBuild The Giving Life Michelle Obama Promotes National Service, Visits With YouthBuild Churches Put Faith To Work With Job Help And Prayer For Those In Need (VIDEO) Religion Churches Put Faith To Work With Job Help And Prayer For Those In Need (VIDEO) Log In Sign Up March 19, 2009 Home Politics Media Business Entertainment Living Style Green World Chicago Comedy 23/6 Video Blogger Index Archive Make HuffPost Your HomePage Get Alerts Twitter: Follow Us Carrie Pollare Posted March 18, :33 PM (EST) The Three G's: The New Trend In Giving (And 5 Companies Who Do It Right) Read More: Charity, Common Threadz, Corporate Philanthropy, Donating To Charity, Feed Bags, Giving, Giving Trends, Im Tired Of, Im Tired Of Braceletes, Newman's Own, The Giving Life, TOMS Shoes, Living News digg stumble reddit del.ico.us ShareThis

2 Page 2 of 5 Search HuffPost Show your support. Buzz this article up. Get Breaking News Alerts SIGN UP never spam Share Print Comments GIVING...it's something that most of us have cut way back on or even eliminated as our economy has slid into mayhem. No more checks to our favorite charities. No more fundraising events with their beckoning silent auctions. And, the charities/non-profit organizations, many of which are being called upon to support more impoverished people than ever (thanks also to the economy), as well as others in need, are feeling it...big time. But, there is a new trend in giving that makes it affordable. It relies on what I'll call "The Three G's." They are "Give, Get and Grassroots." Let me explain. In a nutshell, you Give a little, Get something in return and join the Grassroots effort to spread the word, so that more people will give a little. Why? It's simple math. If each person can afford to Give just a little, then you need thousands, or even millions, of people, giving just a little, to have a big impact. So your donation is threefold: buying an inexpensive item, wearing your charitable purchase as a walking billboard to "advertise" the cause you are supporting and then spending some of your time to tell everyone you know about it. And, if you follow The Three G's, you are, in essence, contributing to a big donation to charity without a big impact to your checking account. My brother (my business partner) and I created The Three G's to encapsulate a movement we're witnessing, as more and more companies are trying to make a difference in the world by donating a portion of their "proceeds" to charity. In fact, it is exactly this model we followed when we started "I'm Tired of..." bracelets. You buy a fashionable, eco friendly bracelet for just $10, which almost everyone can afford. Half of that sale ($5) goes to a charity, supporting the cause you choose. So, you Give a little, Get something cool in return and make a donation to charity. Next, when you wear your bracelet and tell your friends about it, you're now contributing to the Grassroots effort, that can help something like this explode and raise major money for many charities. It's all about building a huge community. There was a famous Clairol commercial years ago that perfectly captured the definition of Grassroots efforts. A woman who loved her hair product told two friends, who then told two friends, who then told two friends and so on and so on. At the end of the commercial, the whole screen was full of women chattering about their shampoo, all started by one person telling another. The same can be applied to charitable donations. One friend tells another, "I just bought this cool bracelet that I'm wearing for $10. Check it out. Half the sale ($5) from the bracelet is being donated to a charity that's fighting world hunger. You should get one." And so it begins... Companies that are trying to model themselves in this new way are, admittedly, kind of all over the place in their approaches and some, I think, are missing the mark. You'll hear everything from 1% of sales to 10% of profits to a meal for a hungry child or animal for every item you buy. If a company is donating a piece of its "sales," it's very easy to figure out the exact amount of your donation. In our case, for example, we donate half the sale. So, if you buy 10 bracelets for $100, you know that $50 of that is being donated to your cause. But what if someone is donating a percentage of their profits? How do you quantify that? You have no way of determining what their profits are. What happens if there are no profits? Most of the companies that follow this method have their hearts in the right place and if they sell a lot, the donation could still be substantial. The consumer just has no way of knowing. So you have to be careful. The Three G's principle is being used very effectively by more and more companies. Here are some of my favorites to get you started: CommonThreadz This is a non-profit organization that began by selling t-shirts designed by volunteer artists and donating 100% of its profits to buy school uniforms for orphans and vulnerable children in Africa. Without these uniforms, the children were not allowed to attend school. As I've said in this article, quantifying profit donations can be difficult, so you have to use your own judgment when you purchase from them. But, you can usually tell when a company is truly trying to make a difference. CommonThreadz has since expanded to other philanthropic endeavors for these children, as well. The t-shirts average $38. Feed Bags The "Feed Bag" is a cute burlap and organic cotton tote bag that, literally, looks like a stylish feed bag. Developed by model and activist Lauren Bush, in conjunction with the UN World Food Programme, it is designed to raise awareness and funds for hungry children. Each bag you buy feeds a needy child for a full school year. The original Feed Bag is available exclusively at for $20. There are other slightly more expensive styles at I'm Tired of... Of course, you knew I'd include this one. Our mission is to raise money for important causes and associated charities via our $10 eco friendly bracelet, made out of recycled tires and metals. For every $10 bracelet you buy, we donate $5 (half) to the causes you choose. Even though our project is just five months old,

3 Page 3 of 5 our bracelets are already raising lots of money for such well known charities as Best Friends Animal Society, Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, Stop Global Warming, The Hunger Project, Breastcancer.org and Jenny McCarthy's Generation Rescue. Newman's Own Maybe you don't know that when you buy that bottle of Newman's Own salad dressing at the market, all of the profits are being donated to charity. Newman's Own has donated more than $250 million to thousands of charities all over the country since it began in 1982, including Paul Newman's "Hole in the Wall Camps" for children with life threatening illnesses, who get to have an unforgettable summer camp experience, free of charge. That's a pretty good indicator that your purchases are doing wonderful things for those in need. You can learn more at TOMS Shoes Such a simple formula...you buy a pair of TOMS Shoes...cute, comfortable, almost slipper-like flats...and the company gives a pair of shoes to a child in need. So far, TOMS has donated more than 10,000 pairs of shoes to kids in Argentina and 50,000 in South Africa. All of these and many more companies rely on "the kindness of strangers" to make their goals become realities. It goes way beyond just buying because the grassroots effort is so critically important. If we want to raise millions of dollars for charities, then we need to sell millions of bracelets. The only way that can happen is through some serious word of mouth. Your reward is knowing that when you buy Give, Get and Grassroots products, you are still GIVING, even in these tough economic times. Now go out and spread the word! digg stumble reddit del.ico.us ShareThis Follow HuffPost on Twitter... More in Living... Michelle Obama Promotes National Service, Visits With... Could Natasha Richardson Have Been Saved? Spring Clean Your Closet in Four Easy... For Micheal and Daniel Neeson, Mommy Will... Ads by Google Get money to your cause Simple online fundraising Learn more. Take a free webinar givezooks.com Comments 7 Pending Comments FAQ: Comments and ModerationFAQ: HuffPost Accounts Post Comment Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to View Comments: Newest First Expand All - RXRMANET See Profile I'm a Fan of RXRMANET permalink 0 I saw your article about 5 companies that at giving during these hard times and wanted to tell you about a company that is giving back in the area of trains! The railroad artist, Andy Fletcher has two such programs where he gives back to promote the railroad historical societies, museums, schools, scholarships and

4 Page 4 of 5 other railroad related businesses. Andy has hand-drawn over 1,500 train items and his works are collected by rail fans all over the world. In these times when everyone needs some positive news and support it seems that one way would be for everyone to find a way to give. Giving is a way to rebuild this country. Start with giving a smile and a positive thought today and see how contagious it is. Could we start a list of companies that are giving items of value so people could avail themselves of these companies generous gifts. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:40 AM on 0 - ChaiKat See Profile I'm a Fan of ChaiKat permalink I've got two of those I'm tired of...bracelets, and I love them. What I love most is they are using not just a dollar of what I sent in, but half of what I paid for the bracelet to the charity of my choosing. I love that. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:10 AM on 0 - neurologymatters See Profile I'm a Fan of neurologymatters permalink Paul Neman's legacy is the wonderful work he did and his family continue to do. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:36 PM on 03/18/ ConcernedAboutRFuture See Profile I'm a Fan of ConcernedAboutRFuture permalink I always buy Newman's Own. Not only are the products great, but they are also a conscientious company. Next on my list... Overstock.com. After the Daily Show's Samantha Bee interviewed the CEO... who actually cares about his employes... I cannot wait to support them. Why I'm gonna go shopping on line NOW! Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:30 PM on 03/18/ sshaler See Profile I'm a Fan of sshaler permalink I believe that the choice of language is crucially important in this kind of endeavour. When one gets something in return, it's not really giving. Giving is a free act without any strings attached. What you and your customers are doing is trading. Teaching people, especially children, to so-called 'give' only if they're going to get something from it perpetuates trading and could conceivably make giving obsolete if enough people get confused or unable to really give. I wouldn't want to stifle anyone's natural urges to help people in any way. However, the idea of creating charities so that some people can have some crumbs off the tables of the materially thriving is a spiritually impoverished way to begin to aim for universal equality and well-being. Full on sharing of everything with everybody would make everyone rich, body and soul. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:59 PM on 03/18/ Glenn1441 See Profile I'm a Fan of Glenn1441 permalink Great post, but an error, if you will: The hair care company responsible for the 'rumor/whisper' marketing campaign ('And I told a friend, and so on, and so on...') was Faberge not Clairol. The product? Faberge Organics Shampoo with Pure Wheat Germ Oil and Honey. Even Farrah Fawcett got in on the buzz... :>) Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:38 PM on 03/18/ rini See Profile I'm a Fan of rini permalink I have used the Care2 website's eco shopping site for gifts over the past three or four years. It just feels better. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:28 PM on 03/18/2009 You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in or Ads by Google Get money to your cause Simple online fundraising Learn more. Take a free webinar givezooks.com Copyright 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.

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