Ever walk into a health food store and think, “why is everything so expensive?”. You’re not the only one.
Affordability is one of the biggest barriers to organic food and natural medicine. And it is a real shame. Because, as with museums: the ones that need these herbal remedies the most are the ones that can’t afford them.
Thankfully, there is a nonprofit that is working hard to change that. Enter in: Naturopaths Without Borders. An international nonprofit, Naturopaths With Borders provides Naturopathic health care to impoverished communities around the world.
And, to date, Goodshop has been able to help Naturopaths Without Borders raise $4,500 to fund their global natural Naturopathic medicine programs! Given how unique (and excitingly relevant) their mission is, I decided to call them up and see firsthand how they are able to rally their supporters to Goodshop for them so steadfastly.
Goodshop: It’s incredible that Naturopaths Without Borders has raised over $4,500 with Goodshop! Tell me about the first time you received a check from Goodshop?
Sean: We received our first check around two years ago. At the time, we were running full-time health projects in Haiti, Mexico, and Phoenix. All the Goodshop funds went to the Haiti project. We were treating children with severe malnutrition with naturopathic remedies and training medical students and patients in acupuncture. Now, we have a full-time person down there who does mobile outreach.
The message of saving money, while raising money, really resonated with our supporters. The rest is history.
How were you able to mobilize your supporters to use our site as a way to fundraise?
We didn’t have much success with the “penny here penny there drive” with Goodsearch, so we switched our focus to Goodshop. We did social media outreach that explained the ease of use. We usually promote fluffy posts to attract people with similar philosphies and others with more content. We talked about Goodshop weekly and then monthly. The message of saving money, while raising money, really resonated with our supporters. The rest is history.
Social media is a powerful tool. Tell me more about who your supporters are.
We have supporters from all walks of life that believe in our mission. Most of them give back by coming on volunteer trips, but not everyone can afford to do that. That’s where Goodshop comes in. People who have been supporting us emotionally can now support us in a concrete way with Goodshop. Clinical students can’t afford to take time off or donate, but can easily raise funds by buying their textbooks through Goodshop. It’s made a huge impact. We have also been able to draw in donations from people who are in similar situations to the people we are helping who would not have been able to support us otherwise. Goodshop gives them a way to give back to their community.
Do you have any fundraising superstars?
My brother’s sister, Jackie has raised a ton for us. She used to work in the Marketing Department of pharmaceutical company and ordered office supplies. She loves to use Goodshop because it doesn’t add any time, lowers how much she pays, and makes a huge difference in the lives of others.
Last year, we send you a check for $2,089.90. How were you able to help people with that money?
We were able to remove casts in 4 weeks, rather than 12 and helped get people in Haiti the best vitamins for their individual situations.
Do you have any advice for nonprofits trying to raise more with Goodshop?
Fundraise for an engaging, concrete goal and encourage others to spread the word.
