#67 Incorporating Philanthropy into Your Jewelry Biz
How many of you donate to charities or a cause that you’re passionate about?
How many of you WANT to donate a percentage of sales or profits to your favorite cause, but aren’t sure where to begin?
Raise those hands, designers! I know you’re out there!
Adding an aspect of Philanthropy into your business is a huge aspirational goal for so many designers.
So, on today’s episode I’m going to share with you how I’ve done this in my jewelry biz and some tips to help you get there too!
For years, I’ve donated to causes or raised money for charity via my business, but just recently I’ve taken on my most ambitious project yet.
One of my biggest passions is education (I know, shocker!) and when I was younger, I struggled to put myself through the last two years of college.
But it was a super important life goal of mine to finish school. So, I worked really hard to get through it and even started Flourish & Thrive Academy because there was a lack of specific business education for jewelry designers and makers!
Fast Forward…when my mentor, Ryan, told me about building a school in Kenya with World Teacher Aid, I just had to say “YES”!
(Here is a photo with Ryan, Stu, and the Mastermind Team that is building the school in Kenya).
To make it even better, absolutely ALL of the money raised goes directly towards the school because I am actually going to Africa to help build it!
… OK, I know many of you give your time, energy, and money to organizations and causes you care about, so let’s dive right into this podcast and get you on track to using your jewelry biz as amazing fundraising platform!
Here we go!
Click here to download the show notes
Choosing Your Cause
A lot of well intentioned people get behind a cause and fall off the wagon because they don’t have a connection to it. That’s why it’s super important to choose a charity that you have a real passion for.
And since you’ll be using your business as the fundraising platform, you want to make sure you’re going to keep your word – your business rep is at stake!
So what charity or cause will you be supporting? The SPCA? Environmental issues? Or maybe you’ll be donating to a local shelter or helping to take down a disease.
There are so many places you can donate to and work with, make sure you’re choosing the right one for YOU!
Vetting your Charity
After you’ve found the right charity to work with, it's time to make sure they’re worth your efforts!
I know from personal experience that local charities have a more direct and immediate impact. Lots of larger charities have greater operating costs, so less of your donations go directly to your cause. They can also come with more red tape – as Robin can attest to from her time at Dogeared!
I cover more about this in the podcast!
So, while you’re doing your charity homework, ask lots of questions… there’s a bunch of info you need to know before you commit to donating or partnering!
Ways to Fundraise and Partner
Ok, so now for the part you’ve been waiting for: getting involved! It’s tempting to jump head first into working with your charity, but take a step back and look at your options first.
There are a lot of options when you’re participating in fundraising – I’ve done just about all of them, myself! Over the years I’ve donated jewelry to raffles, given a percentage of sales, partnered with organizations – you name it! Some ways will make more sense for you and your biz than others.
I go more in-depth on the podcast over all of this stuff, so you’ll have to take a listen!
And you got this! If you’re passionate about it, becoming a charitable business is going to become a core part of your jewelry biz that you truly enjoying sharing with the world!
While I’ve got your attention, head on over to our website and check out my fundraiser page for World Teacher Aid – it’s seriously going to be an amazing project and I can’t wait for you to see it!
To get my fundraiser for building the school in Africa off with a bang I’ve come up with few incentives I’ll be offering in return for donations:
- Low cost, donation only sponsorship
- Several raffles (for jewelry pieces, of course!)
- Buying into a custom piece of jewelry
I’m so excited by this project and sharing this experience with all of you is really amazing.
We also have an awesome sponsor today, Nina Designs, and they are offering our F&TA family $10.00 of your first order with code THRIVE. I personally LOVE Nina Designs because the owner is a designer like all of us, so check out their site and save some $$!
xo, Tracy
Links
World Teacher Aid Fundraiser
Nina Designs
