Funds2Orgs

Funds2Orgs
Private
Industry Social Enterprise
Founder Wayne Elsey
Headquarters Orlando, Florida, United States
Website www.funds2orgs.com

Funds2Orgs is a Orlando, Florida based social enterprise company.[1] Founded in 2013, Funds2Orgs works with organizations to help them raise money collecting used and new shoes that are distributed to microentrepreneurs in developing nations.[2]

History

Funds2Orgs was founded by executive and philanthropist Wayne Elsey.[3] While president at Kodiak-Terra USA, Elsey organized the shipment of 250,000 pairs of shoes to countries that were affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.[4] The following year nearly one million pairs of shoes were delivered to the Gulf Coast States hit by Hurricane Katrina.[5] After these two disasters Elsey decided to establish a nonprofit called Soles4Souls[6] and in 2007 left Kodiak-Terra to become CEO.[7] In 2012 Elsey left Soles4Souls and founded Funds2Orgs the following year.

Since inception, fundraising campaigns Funds2Orgs have worked on include "Feet for Francis" sponsored by the Archdiocese of Baltimore,[8] "Million Pair Initiative" organized by cancer nonprofit The Half Fund,[9] and "Shoe Me The Love", a fundraiser to purchase a wheelchair accessible van for a man afflicted with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.[10]

Business Model

A micro-enterprise business, the aim of Funds2Orgs is to enable people to create their own self-sustaining economic path.[3][11] Funds2Orgs purchases the shoes that their shoe drive fundraising partners collect in North America and sells them for a nominal fee to microentrepreneurs in developing nations who repair, clean, and re-sell the shoes in their local communities for a profit.[12][13]

Company Portfolio

In January 2016 Funds2Orgs acquired Shoes With Heart, Southern California's leading shoe drive fundraising business.[14] The same month Funds2Orgs announced the launch of subsidiary brand Sneakers4Funds focusing on organizations and athletic teams who are looking to raise funds by exclusively collecting athletic shoes.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Crowdfunding watch: Funds2Orgs". Corporate Knights.
  2. ↑ "If the Shoe Fits - Funds2Orgs".
  3. 1 2 Citi (24 March 2014). "Citi'sVoice: How A Former Shoe Salesman Supports Microbusiness In The Developing World". Forbes.
  4. ↑ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/dedicated-helping-poor-foot-time-article-1.267249
  5. ↑ "'Soles4Souls' Helps Poor Walk a Better Path".
  6. ↑ "How One Small Act of Kindness Sent Millions of Shoes Around the World". Cardboard Magazine.
  7. ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2007/04/16/daily5.html
  8. ↑ "The Catholic Review > Home > Feet for Francis brings $12K in scholarships to Baltimore archdiocese".
  9. ↑ "News".
  10. ↑ "Athens Man asks community to "Shoe" him some love". WHNT.com.
  11. ↑ "Shoe Drive Fundraisers can Help Micro-Enterprises". Funds2Orgs.
  12. ↑ "New crowdfunding platform uses shoes as currency". World Footwear.
  13. ↑ http://www.heartreachalaska.com/media/What%20is%20Micro%20Enterprise.pdf
  14. ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2016/01/13/elsey-enterprises-acquires-california-firm.html
  15. ↑ Barbara Schneider-Levy. "Shoe-Drive Group Funds2Orgs Debuts Sneakers4Funds - Footwear News". Footwear News.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.