“Companies should not have a singular view of profitability. There needs to be a balance between commerce and social responsibility... The companies that are authentic about it will wind up as the companies that make more money.”
Howard Schultz - CEO, Starbucks
There’s a growing trend in the business world of giving back. Companies are realizing that supporting the community pays dividends. Here are a few socially responsible local businesses that have integral to Heart Meter’s success in 2015.
One of my best friends growing up works at Carmax, and they have a fantastic philanthropic foundation and culture. He was able to organize a group of volunteers from their location for one of my volunteer game days.
Not only were they a huge help in play game with Holy Angel’s residents, but this qualified me for a $1,000 grant. Just to put things in perspective I raised about $1,200 all of last year. This was huge and I couldn’t have reached my goals for 2015 without it.
I’m fortunate to be surrounded by awesome people doing inspiring things, and I love it when we can work together. This is what led to my first collaboration with Mission Cute. MissionCute is a “cute monthly box that gives back” and was founded by Samantha Ledford. Sam’s goal with MissionCute is to put together a monthly box for her subscribers filled with awesome things from small businesses on Etsy. She also donates half of the proceeds from each box to a non-profit of the month that the community votes for.
We collaborated in October, which also happens to be childhood cancer awareness month, on a box filled with nerdy and relevant items such as emoji stickers and a heart necklace. We also included a HeartMeter.org print with a quote, some pre-labeled return envelopes for people to mail in games, as well as Heart Meter stickers. Awesome, right?
If you’ve heard anything about nonprofits in Charlotte you’ve also probably heard of Share Charlotte. They’re a collective of nonprofits in the area with a “rising tides raise all ships” mentality. They’ve been an incredible resource with me, since this is my first foray into the nonprofit space. They’re the team behind that awesome 704shop collab t-shirt, responsible for orchestrating the $2MM raised this year for #GivingTuesdayCLT this year, funds matching, and so many other resources. Our city is better because of them.
Anyone over the age of 21 should already know how amazing NoDa Brewing’s beer and amazing tap room is. They’re also really involved in bettering the community as well. They have a regular fundraising event called NoDable nonprofit of the month where they create a special brew for a local nonprofit and donate $1 for every like / share on the post. Suzie, the founder approached me after my WeLoveCLT talk about being involved and I jumped at the opportunity.
Not only is NoDa Brewing Company supporting Heart Meter as the NoDable nonprofit of the month but there is also a...
Posted by Heart Meter on Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Casey, Suzie’s son is a big gamer as well. He brewed an awesome batch called Casey’s Excellent Elixir as well as encouraged all his gamer friends to donate old games / systems they’re not using any more.
Ally Frazier is a friend I’ve met through the local community here. She recently accepted a position with Sodoma Law as a Communications Director. She immediately reached out about being an official drop off point for Heart Meter donations through the month of December. This is actually a HUGE help for me. I still work full-time so my schedule can be a little constrained, especially in meeting with people wanting to drop off donations.
In the month of December the community dropped off over 60 games and accessories at the Sodoma Law office.
All this is to say thanks. I’ve never had difficulty getting people to understand my mission with Heart Meter, but when a business wants to align themselves with me, that’s a whole new level of appreciation, trust, and support. There’s no way I could have achieved a fraction of my goals for the year without it.
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