CharityGiftMarket: An Online Marketplace for Nonprofits, Created in Camden
A personal quest to purchase nonprofit-produced gifts for family and friends led Andy and Lindsey Markelz, founders of CharityGiftMarket, to pursue a big idea.
The Camden, N.J.-based couple had grown tired of buying meaningless gifts from shopping malls and big-box stores.
“We wanted to do an all nonprofit Christmas,” said Andy, but aside from fair-trade retailers — like Ten Thousand Villages — and mass-produced merchandise from big-name charities, it was difficult for the couple to find nonprofit gifts altogether.
“So we said, ‘Let’s create a marketplace,’” explained Lindsey. The charitably minded Markelzes met while serving in the Peace Corps.
Soon after, their e-commerce platform for nonprofit merchandise was born. Launched in 2011 on a skeletal budget, CharityGiftMarket offers an easy way for socially conscious consumers to get more out of their shopping experience than retail gratification.
From chic T-shirts and onesies to woven baskets and hand-beaded jewelry, CharityGiftMarket is an e-commerce candy aisle without the cavity: registered charities can sign up for free, paying applicable service and transaction fees only when their merchandise is sold.
Spreading the Word
Much of CharityGiftMarket’s merchandise is produced firsthand by nonprofits and their projects in the developing world. Proceeds help to sustain fragile communities and lift people from abject poverty.
So far, the husband-and-wife team has relied on word-of-mouth and dogged outreach to engage nonprofits like A Child’s Voice, an organization that advocates for African orphans and other vulnerable children in Uganda.
Before learning about CharityGiftMarket, the nonprofit sold crafts on Facebook, but “it was difficult and not very professional,” said A Child’s Voice President Anna Kalmbacher. For the past few months, the Michigan-based organization has been working in step with CharityGiftMarket, moving carefully made Ugandan goods while raising its profile.
“Instead of our crafts being only known to the supporters of our organization through our website or home-based sales, listing with CharityGiftMarket has really exposed our organization to a broader base of socially conscious shoppers,” explained Kalmbacher.
According to CharityGiftMarket, merchandise sales have raised nearly $9,000 to support charities around the world, but revenue is not an exclusive benefit. Access to new audiences and potential supporters is also a powerful draw.
“Practically all of our recent customers have been new to our organization, which is wonderful for exposure,” Kalmbacher added.
CharityGiftMarket wants future partners to know that cost and commitment are low, giving nonprofits the freedom to test their marketability and earning potential — even severing ties with the company at will. “We are about the charities and promoting their mission,” noted Andy.
Expanding Locally
While most of CharityGiftMarket’s 40 vendors peddle products created halfway across the globe, the company is actively seeking to bring on local charities — and investors. Up to this point, “we have been bootstrapping,” said Lindsey, who left her full-time nonprofit job to assume the role of CEO.
To move CharityGiftMarket toward its next phase of development, the Markelzes recently participated in a sleepover camp for entrepreneurs. Orchestrated by tech-startup incubators Novotorium and Seed Philly, the 36-hour “Not-A-Hackathon” matched ten teams with industry-leading mentors.
At the competition, “Lindsey got to her goals in a very different way: by engaging and motivating her team,” said Novotorium’s General Manager Mike Krupit, who organized the inaugural event. CharityGiftMarket emerged as the winner, bringing home prize money and refined ideas.
In September, the company plans to roll out an in-house product line for charities without merchandise, and preparations for the holiday season are now underway.
“CharityGiftMarket is a really passionate, motivated team, and I’m optimistic about their future,” Krupit said.
Photos by Neal Santos
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