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by Melissa T. Stock and Kellye Hunter
You don't necessarily need a big budget to be able to
give to charity. In fact, strategic liaisons with certain
organizations can sometimes open up new markets and new
business possibilities. Here are some examples of companies
within our own Industry that have contributed to various
causes and have found the benefits to be rewarding in many
ways.
Salad Dressing Never Felt So Good
They say it is better to light one candle than to curse
the darkness. Carmela Cantisani's products shine brightly
for those who cannot see; they are all labeled with braille.
While Carmela is the first person to include braille
labeling on her products, she sees her actions as more
practical than altruistic. As a manufacturer, business
woman, and regular person who just happens to be blind, she
has first hand experience with how everyday tasks can turn
into a big deal. "Imagine grocery shopping or trying to
organize your cabinets without knowing what's what. It's a
big bummer," said Carmela.
In 1993, Carmela's Gourmet began research and product
development. By 1995, production on their lowfat salad
dressings such as the Light Provençal Vinaigrette,
Carmela's Vinaigrette Authentique, and Balsamic Vinaigrette
had begun. She initially began labeling her gourmet salad
dressings with braille simply for her own convenience in
order to keep them straight for shipping, sampling and
marketing.
And then something interesting began to happen. "I
started to get messages on my answering machine from people
who were thanking me for putting the braille on the
bottles." And, added Carmela, those messages weren't only
from blind people; there were also messages from sighted
folks who thought it was a cool idea. Thus what began as
something practical had not only turned into an educational
statement allowing the public to learn about braille, but
also a special product niche in a crowded marketplace.
While Carmela struggles with controlled growth, cashflow
and co-packer challenges like any other small manufacturer,
she is hoping her labeling will catch on and fuel even more
interest for her product. And with sales growing each month
from her new dressings, Mediterranean Mystic, Lowfat Roasted
Garlic Fantasy, and California Lowfat Caesar, she intends to
donate some of her profits to organizations that promote and
support equal opportunities for the blind. But most
importantly, said Carmela, "You've got to try my
dressings--they're really good!"
Carmela's Gourmet
415 English Avenue
Monterey, CA 93940
PH: (408) 373-6291; FAX: (408) 375-5313
Peppertown USA is Roaring to Go
Kitten's Big Banana. Fifi's Nasty Little Secret. Bad
Girls in Heat. Code names taken from President Clinton's
little black book? Nope. Just a few of the products
available from Bill and Debbie Sussex's Pepper Girl Brand
Hot Sauces. While their line has garnered much attention for
its whimsical and provocative labeling featuring 40s-style
pin-up girls, it has also put a bit of a blush on some
retailers. In order to accommodate all comfort levels as
well as widen their sales potential, the Sussex's decided
that in these days of political correctness, there was only
one thing to do--come out with a G-rated complementary
line.
And so the concept of Pepper Town USA was born: the same
popular sauces relabeled with a less provocative theme, yet
similarly striking artwork. However, Bill and Debbie weren't
quite through with their wild side. After a trip to Thailand
in 1997, they thought of the perfect way to combine their
love of animals and their hot sauce business: contribute a
portion of case sales from the new line to an organization
devoted to preserving wild animals.
"Giving money," said Debbie, "is not as easy as it
sounds." The Sussex's first contacted the World Wildlife
Fund, who seemed very enthusiastic. "They then referred us
on to their marketing department," explained Debbie, "where
they established that our donation would be too small, and
we were declined." Distressed but still determined, the
couple found the perfect organization almost directly in
their own backyard. Instead of sponsoring animals on a
continent far away, the Sussex's began a partnership with
Shambala, a preserve for homeless wild animals located forty
miles northeast of Los Angeles.
Since 1972, the Shambala Preserve, under the umbrella of
the nonprofit Roar Foundation, has provided a haven on its
more than eighty acres to lions, tigers, cheetahs, servals,
mountain lions, panthers, and African elephants that were
abandoned or could no longer be cared for by private owners.
Currently seventy animals are residents at the facility.
"We were overjoyed and overwhelmed that they accepted
us," said Debbie. "We called the Foundation President, Tippi
Hedren, and explained that we were developing a new line of
sauces, and outlined our plan on how we could donate to
Shambala. That night she sent her photographer to our house,
and offered us the use of the Shambala logo artwork, and all
of the information we would need."
With their charity of choice set, it was then time to get
down to the business of designing labels and launching the
new line. Drawing on experiences from their trip to
Thailand, as well as their love for elephants, Bill and
Debbie came up with the ideas that inspired their artist to
create what they call the "jungle farm" artwork theme of
their new line, which features a montage of tropical fruits,
along with a baby elephant playing the harmonica and two
monkeys throwing pineapples off the back of a truck.
Launched at the 1998 National Fiery Foods Show in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Sussex's hope eventually to
market the sauces at animal preserves around the world. "We
feel like giving something back puts us in a good crowd,"
said Bill. "We feel great about Shambala and know that the
money we give will go directly to the animals. And better
yet, we can go and check things out anytime. It's the best
of both worlds."
Pepper Town USA
7561 Woodman Place
Van Nuys, CA 91405
PH: (800) 973-7738; FAX: (818) 909-4785
The Roar Foundation
Shambala Preserve
6867 Soledad Canyon Road
Acton, CA 93510
PH: (805) 268-0380; FAX: (805)268-8809
A Win-Win Situation
Martha Murphy, owner of Corsair Hot Sauce in Pass
Christian, Mississippi, is sure of two things: the folks
from Gulf Coast Industries have made her life easier, and
they have saved her company money. What sounds like the
rewards of hiring a high-priced consultant, is instead the
benefits of working closely with a sheltered workshop
program for developmentally disabled adults. According to
Martha, she found out about the program from a printer
friend who has a sister with Downs Syndrome. "One day I
stopped by my printer's shop after I had spent the whole day
labeling, and was complaining about the mind-numbing effects
of repetitive tasks," she said. "He mentioned that he gave a
lot of that type of work from his business to the company
his sister worked for, and that they did a great job."
Martha decided to look into the possibilities.
In business since 1996, Martha was beginning to notice a
flow in the sales of her hot sauce line, which includes A
Little Hot, Hot, and Hot A Lot. But her business goes
through cycles, and she was uncomfortable with hiring people
during the busy times, only to lay them off when business
slowed. The sheltered workshop program turned out to be the
perfect work force to meet her needs. Although she tried one
program that didn't work out so well, she found a quality
partner in Gulf Coast Industries. "Two or three work
counselors are assigned to our company," explained Martha.
"We deliver our bottled product to their warehouse, and the
workers place the labels, safety seals, neck labels, and
batch codes on the bottles." Martha then faxes them orders
as she receives them, and they finish the process by pulling
stock and shipping the orders. "They do all of the things
that we used to have to do," said Martha, "at a competitive
price and in a timely manner. If I get a big order, they
simply add more people. I can't stress enough the
high-quality product I receive." All this, and it works out
to cost about the same as minimum wage.
One of the other benefits of doing business with Gulf
Coast Industries is that they warehouse their clients'
products for free. That also includes Martha's shipping
materials. "I can't explain how wonderful it has been to
have someone else be responsible for receiving shipments of
things such as boxes. You don't realize how much time you
miss marketing your product because of little
interruptions--packing up orders, meeting shipments, or
labeling. This arrangement leaves me a lot more time to sell
my product," said Martha. Although she is glad to give the
adults in the program meaningful work, Martha feels she is
receiving, much more than giving. "I feel good about helping
with the program, and we are attached to our "kids."
However, according to Martha, they've been instrumental in
helping her business grow and in keeping the overhead low;
and that's a win -win situation for everyone.
Corsair Hot Sauce
102 West First Street
Pass Christian, MS 39571
PH: (601) 452-0311; FAX: (228) 452-9148
SIDEBAR:
Tips on Finding a Sheltered Workshop In Your Area
According to Roddy Russell, the manager of Gulf Coast Industries, Sheltered Workshops are available in most communities. He suggests a call to your local Chamber of Commerce or local mental heath center. Both businesses should be aware of information on sheltered workshops in your area. According to Russell, the goal of the workshops are to provide meaningful work for developmentally disabled adults. He stresses that the services they provide are priced competitively for the area, and usually end up costing about the same as minimum wage.
If you choose to use a workshop, Martha Murphy suggests
that you physically go and see the work area, as well as
physically see their proof of insurance before you begin to
do business.
Helping Her Homeland
Preserving a heritage and promoting a culture is the main
emphasis of Khatsa & Co., which produces a line of
Tibetan sauces, candies, and teas. "We're the sauce with a
cause," said Owner and Manager Dachen Kyaping, who not only
wants to increase awareness of Tibet and its struggles under
a Chinese regime, but also to help the Tibetan people by
donating 7 percent of her profits to World Concern, an
international relief organization in Shoreline, Washington.
Her reasons are both charitable and personal.
Dachen was born in Tibet, but went to India with her
mother in 1959 after the country was taken over by China and
her father was jailed as a political prisoner. In 1968 they
left India and moved to the United States, where they were
joined by her father in 1980 after his release from prison.
Dachen, then 25, had not seen him since she was four years
old, and her sauces are now based on his traditional
recipes.
Most of her adult life, Dachen made a good living working
as a graphic designer at a large advertising agency and also
at Microsoft. However, when she returned to Tibet for the
first time on a business trip in 1993, her perspective began
to change. "Everything was in ruins and everyone was afraid
to talk," she said. "I met my relatives who had once been
part of a prosperous family, but are now very poor."
It was at this time that she began her association with
World Concern. "I really believe in what they are doing,"
she said, "because one hundred percent of the donated money
goes to the project." World Concern is involved in numerous
causes, and one of them, along with other agencies, is
helping to build the second largest nature preserve in the
world near Mount Everest, in addition to building schools,
and providing the people in that area with agronomists,
vets, and teachers. Dachen emphasized that right now people
there need basics--children don't have shoes, and there
isn't enough food. "Before we can teach these people a
trade, we need to help them grow crops so they can eat," she
said. "I would like to see them become more self sufficient,
and maybe even create a market here in the United States for
some of their indigenous products, like the nettles that we
use in our sauce."
Because Khatsa & Co. is just over two years old, it
has not yet turned a profit and has had no proceeds to
donate--but Dachen expects that to change in 1998. She also
points out that the promotional opportunities the products
provide have enabled her to solicit over $5,000 in
contributions. "More people are curious about Tibet right
now, mainly due to recent movies ("Seven Years in Tibet" and
"Khundun") and benefit concerts," she said. "When someone
asks about it, they usually want to contribute."
And this makes Dachen very happy, as she says that Tibet
is more important to her than the Khatsa company. "The
donations were always part of the (business) concept," she
said. "It's not a marketing gimmick." In fact, her
charitable association is not even mentioned on the product
labels. Starting
in March, however, Dachen included a mission statement on
her labels about the company's goals of raising awareness
about Tibet, and preserving its culture and indigenous
agriculture.
Helping Tibet is such a heartfelt conviction that Dachen
saves her company money by employing only her mother and
father, and not paying at all--instead, she supports herself
by doing design work on the side. She also keeps production
costs down by using a co-packer, and by doing all the design
work and marketing herself. "Money is not the driving
force...we're not ever going to be a big company," she said.
"If I wanted to get rich, I'd still be with Microsoft."
Khatsa & Co.
13805 Main Street
Bellevue, WA 98005-3733
PH: (425) 649-5508; (888) KHATSA-8; FAX: (425) 649-0774
e-mail: Kyaping@aol.com
World Concern
19303 Fremont Ave. North
Shoreline, WA 98133
PH: (206) 546-7468
Chili for Charity
Look out Terlingua. There's a new breed of cookoff that's
got people seeing green--both in terms of chili, and money
collected for charity.
"Most people think: 'Green chili? Are you kidding?'" said
Neil Witt, who co-founded the Green Chili Association, a
nonprofit organization, in Las Vegas, Nevada, along with
Fred Hall. "We just wanted to do something different, and we
thought that this was a good avenue--so many other functions
didn't raise much money."
It was an overall decline in charitable contributions
that inspired both men, who had been involved with the red
chili cookoff circuit for a number of years, to pool their
expertise for the benefit of others. As a result, Witt, a
management consultant specialist, member of the board of
directors of Goodwill Industries and chairman of fundraising
events, and Hall, a manager at a local supermarket, held
their first green chili cookoff in conjunction with an ICS
red chili cookoff in Pahrump, Nevada in November 1995. The
event was well-received, and inaugurated both an official
cooking style and a philanthropic organization.
"Everything is on a volunteer basis," said Witt, who
pointed out that all the money they earn in connection with
their cookoffs is donated to charity--he and Hall pay all
their own personal and travel expenses for the various
functions. He said that the GCA has sponsored about seventy
events and that he personally has attended about
twenty-five. "I don't go to all of them," he said, "just the
ones where the organizers don't have much experience with
cookoffs and need help in getting set up." He said the GCA
will also help organize publicity, such as radio spots, if
necessary.
Here's how it works: The GCA provides rules, regulations,
and set-up information to anyone wishing to raise money for
a charity--the only stipulation is that the sponsored
charity must prove it is a nonprofit organization with a
501c letter. Each cooking entrant in the competition is
charged a $30 entry fee, half of which goes straight to the
designated charity; the other half goes toward prize money
for the cooks. Usually the sponsored charity raises even
more funds by selling tasting cups at the event for $1 each
so that people can sample at the various booths. The GCA
also collects a $100 sanction fee up front, which is used
for administrative and promotional purposes, such as
brochures, flyers, and a newsletter subscription. Winners
from the various events then qualify to participate in The
Green Chili Championship in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, which
is held in conjunction with the annual Hava-Salsa Challenge.
This year the event will be on April 19.
To date, the GCA has donated between $20,000 and $30,000 to various charities, said Witt. Recipients include Make A Wish Foundation, local Volunteer Fire Departments, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters. And as the interest in green chili increases, so do the contributions.
"I do see us growing," said Witt, who pointed out that
GCA membership (currently about 190) is picking up all the
time, and that there are increasing ranks of people,
particularly in Colorado and Arizona, who are cooking green
chili for worthy causes. "We would like to go worldwide, and
we've had inquiries from places like Australia and South
Africa," he said. "If they want to get involved, we'll help
'em set it up."
If you would like more information on holding your own
sanctioned event for charity, please contact:
The Green Chile Association
P.O. Box 36303
Las Vegas, NV 89133-6303
Fred Hall: (702) 645-6681; e-mail: ews57@aol.com
Neil Witt: (702) 645-2492; e-mail:
Wittn@worldnet.att.net
Investing in the Future
Early in March, Joe Turner, a.k.a. Tahiti Joe, owner of
Tahiti Joe's Hot Sauces in West Palm Beach, Florida, made a
change in his business plan.
It happened after he read an article in the paper about
sixth-grade children from a local elementary school who had
qualified to go on a trip to Washington D.C. This was a
privilege they had earned through good grades, good
behavior, participating in the Safety Patrol (acting as
crossing guards for younger children), and meriting
recommendations from all their teachers. But there was just
one problem: their families could not afford to send
them.
In the same paper, Joe said he saw articles about very wealthy people using their money for frivolous purposes, and he decided right then that it was time to do something responsible with his cash. As a result, he resolved that once a year he would take the money that he would have spend on an ad for his products, and use it to help children instead. "It's like advertising," he said, referring to the publicity and good will from the community that usually accompanies such acts.
With the $450 he donated, Joe was able to help two
children go to Washington, and his only stipulation was that
he be able to meet them and their parents. "It feels good to
actually see the person and where the money is going," he
said. "Hopefully, I'll start a trend with small
businesses."
Even though he had not yet received much special press or
recognition at the time of this publication, Joe said that
he does not regret his decision. "The main thing is at least
the children know that somebody cares, and that Tahiti Joe
cares," he said. "As long as I'm in business I'll sponsor a
child."
Tahiti Joe's Hot Sauces
4310 State Drive
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
PH: (561) 439-7832; 1-88-TAHITIJO
FAX: (561) 965-4909
e-mail: tahitijoe@webtv.net
Editor's Note: Does your company give something back in a unique way? We'd like to hear from you. Please call our offices at (505) 873-8680, or send an email.
