Change Round-Up would like to congratulate one of the first retailers to use our service. Bamboosa is a great (and growing) online seller of bamboo clothing. They also have a great team and understand the importance of being a good corporate citizen. Please join us in congratulating Bamboosa. (and be sure to check out their BambooBaby line – Each item is adorable, comfy and eco-friendly) By Morning News Staff Reports Bamboosa will expand its operations in Williamsburg County, the S.C. Department of Commerce announced Friday. The $500,000 investment is expected to create 31 jobs at Bamboosa's facility in Andrews, where the company was founded. "The company appreciates all of the assistance and help from Williamsburg County and is looking forward to help generate new jobs for the community," Morris Saintsing, co-owner and manager of sales and operations for Bamboosa, said in a S.C. Department of Commerce press release. The expansion will allow the company to develop and add new product lines as well as increase capacity. The company already produces several clothing lines, including a line of baby apparel. "We are simply delighted of Bamboosa expanding their company in our region of South Carolina. This is a major economic announcement for job creation and capital investment," state Sen. Yancey McGill of Kingstree said in the release. Bamboosa, founded in early 2005 and based in Andrews, creates and sells clothing made from bamboo fibers blended with organic cotton. Along with a range of adult clothing, the company also offers baby apparel and products under the BambooBaby brand. "The expansion of Bamboosa is exciting news for Williamsburg County. Their additional investment and creation of new jobs will benefit our county and its citizens," We wish continued growth for the company and thank them for being part of our industrial community," Williamsburg County supervisor and chairman of Williamsburg County Council Stanley S. Pasley said in the release. "It's always great to see a South Carolina company grow and Bamboosa's growth in our state is a positive reflection of the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that exists among the state's work force and small business owners," state Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor said in the release. For more information about Bamboosa, visit the company's Web site, http://www.bamboosa.com.
Published: January 23, 2009
Bamboosa Announces Expansion
Sparing Change for Change
With the economic crunch affecting all areas and aspects of life these days, money is much harder to come by in all sectors. Naturally, this can hit the non-profit sector just as hard as it is challenging business both large small all over the country and around the world. Just because things have slowed down, however, doesn't mean that things have come to a stand-still. There are still people out there spending money—especially online. Calling vendors and consumers to action regarding Change Round-Up is still as important as ever. It's Fast - Often when people are looking to give money to charitable organizations, it is a decision that they have taken time to consider. Other times, they are answering a call to action. With Change Round-Up, donating is quick and painless; the donations are simply added to the total and the transaction is complete with a couple extra clicks of the mouse. It's Easy - With no extensive forms to fill out or recurring withdrawals to set up, people like the ease of use offered by Change Round-Up. Prices are easy to calculate and the amount of change donated is not excessive. Customers of online business like the fact that making a donation is simple and online vendors like to be able to help customers make donations when they make their purchases. Low Pressure - Sometime people feel guilty about not being able to give or perhaps shy about giving less than a recommended donation. Change Round-Up eliminates these issues because of the nature of online transactions. Consumers can either choose to donate or not. There is no pressure to have to give money to any particular charity. Additionally, since the donation amount is less than a dollar, people can feel like they are contributing something rather than nothing at all. Over time, this change adds up significantly. Positive Image - Whether a customer is a repeat shopper or new to a company's online business, using Change Round-Up benefits both parties of the transaction. By allowing customers to make donations, the business shows that it is willing to do its part to help out over time. Customers feel good about having the ability to make donations as they see fit and know that the people they are spending their money with are concerned about helping various causes. While money may be a little tight these days, there is always a way to spare a little change. Using Change Round-Up is one way to help causes that still need to generate money, regardless of the economic situation. By-line: This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of online schools for bachelor degrees. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com
Another reason to hang up on telemarketers.
Articles like the one I read today in the New York Times make me nauseous.
I understand that fundraising costs money (we charge a fee of 10-14% of donations ourselves) but in many cases the telemarketing industry has done a horrible job of reducing costs to charities. We are obviously biased because we offer charities an alternative way to raise donations and I'm not condemning all telemarketers, but there are certainly a large number of them that should be ashamed of the numbers in this article and the New York State 'Pennies for Charity' report.
The flip-side: It is easy to vilify telemarketers for ugly results and high cost percentages. However, charities need to accept much of the blame as well. It takes two to tango. Data like this has been available for years. Charities should know what they are getting into when they agree to work with telemarketers. When considering a telemarketing campaign, charities are faced with a difficult decision. 'Would we prefer to get only 30% of donations, or no donations at all?' As the economy worsens and the pundits are predicting nothing but doom and gloom, more charities may make the decision to use telemarketing to supplement donations. This can be a short term solution that has consequences down the road as donors become disillusioned with charities that are willing to divert such a large percentage of donations to fundraising costs.
Telemarketers Take Hefty Share of Charity Dollars, Cuomo Says
By SEWELL CHAN
Published: December 30, 2008
On average, just 39 cents of every dollar raised by commercial telemarketing companies for charities in New York State actually go to charity, the state attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, concluded in a report issued on Tuesday. The balance, he found, is used to pay fees and expenses associated with professional fund-raising.
The report, issued by the attorney general's Charities Bureau, which oversees tax-exempt nonprofit agencies in New York, is intended to "help New Yorkers to make more informed decisions when giving to charities across the state," Mr. Cuomo said.
The report examined 553 fund-raising campaigns that were conducted in 2007 on behalf of 442 charities using telemarketers. The campaigns raised a total of $178.7 million. About 60.5 percent of the total, $108.2 million, was paid to the telemarketers as fees and other costs of the campaigns, leaving charities with less than 40 percent of the money actually raised for their causes.
"Especially in today's economy, when New Yorkers give their hard-earned money to charity, they expect the donation to make a difference and to help those in need," Mr. Cuomo said. "This report arms New Yorkers with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions about contributing, and also encourages charities across the state to find more effective ways to raise money."
The report, "Pennies for Charity, Where Your Money Goes: Telemarketing by Professional Fund Raisers," summarized information filed with the Charities Bureau by professional fund-raisers who conducted telemarketing campaigns in 2007. Among the report's most significant findings:
- In nearly four-fifths of the campaigns, 436 of the553, the charities kept less than 50 percent of the funds raised.
- In nearly half, 271, charities received less than 30 percent of the funds raised.
- In nearly one-tenth, 51, the charities actually lost money.
- In only 45 of the 553 campaigns did the charity keep at least 65 percent of the money raised, the amount deemed acceptable under the Better Business Bureau's standards for charitable organizations.
"I wish I had a louder megaphone to support this company. Cuz this makes me smile."
The following blog post appeared on the blog "The Oldest Living Digital Marketer Tells All" by Jim Nichols - Partner, Catalyst:SF Click here to visit his blog.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Change Round Up: Proof Positive That Every Little Helps!
One certainty in my world view is that people mean well. They may not always actually do well, but most people try to be a positive force for change in the world.
Giving to nonprofits is a powerful way that people try to make their positive mark. But lots of people give less than they might actually want to because they might not be able to afford a donation that they feel matters, or they may just not get around to it in their lives of work, schlepping kids to t-ball, and the like.
Change Round Up is a phenomenal concept that connects nonprofits and retailers in a collective effort to get billions of small donations from consumers -- donations they can afford and are very happy to provide.
It works like this. You're buying something, and the bill is 43.11. The web site asks you if you would like to round up the change to the nearest dollar and give the difference -- 89 cents in this case -- to one of the charities that the retailer chooses to offer as options. According to their info, Change Round Up sees donation attach rates of up to 70%.
But what good is 89 cents??? Well, actually the donation is 80.1 cents because Change Round Up charges a 10% fee to run their systems, pay their people, and make a little dough. Well, 80.1 cents doesn't buy much, but millions or even billions of 80 cent donations add up to real money.
My Keep the Change Savings account with B of A is proof positive. I've had it for about three years and have something like $2K as a result of rounding up bills and saving the difference.
Here's their Tech Crunch 60 second pitch:
As you heard, their vision is not for just online retailers. In fact they hope to expand their model to catalogers and other categories of the hundreds of billions of transactions in the US every year.
The retailer wins with a warm and fuzzy factor.
The consumer winds because they get to give in a way that works for many people's lives.
The nonprofits win by growing new revenues and beginning to form relationships with new donors.
And Change Round Up makes a good profit with an eminently reasonable 10% cut. For perspective, 10% is a LOT less than it costs to raise money -- even in major gift programs.
I wish I had a louder megaphone to support this company. Cuz this makes me smile.
Pink-Link
We are honored to welcome a new organization into our network. Pink-Link is a beautiful site that provides a support network for those dealing with breast cancer. The following description is on their homepage and does a fantastic job of describing what Pink-Link is all about…
"Cancer is a club you didn't ask to join. But it happens, and in one diagnosis, the earth beneath your feet shifted.
When you join Pink-Link (it's free!), you are instantly linked to a network of fellow survivors, family members, medical pros and others who, in essence, become your "pen pals" via our website. 24/7, we are here for each other. Ask questions, share experiences, dig for information, give a resource, help each other through rough spots"
Pink-Link supports women currently being treated for Breast cancer, Breast cancer survivors who have completed their treatment, friends and family of breast cancer patients and survivors as well as the Breast cancer medical community.
Please join us in welcoming Pink-Link. Visit www.Pink-Link.org to learn more.
TechCrunch Elevator Pitches
Back in June we were at a nextNY "How to finance your startup" event at 92YTribeca. Our CMO, Jane Goewey, took advantage of a video pitch recording setup to take our first stab at a video elevator pitch. This pitch is now live on TechCrunch Elevator Pitches -- drop on by and show us some love!
