The Good Grocer
Rarely does inspiration strike us in the middle of the soup aisle.
Until now, that is.
As if you needed another reason to skip a trip to the grocery store, the launch of DonateNaturally.com, an online grocery site that stocks the organic and natural pantry items you’re already buying elsewhere, comes with an added beneficial twist. (And we’re not just talking about home delivery within the GTA.)
With every order, DonateNaturally.com donates 15% of the pre-tax total to the charity of your choice’even your child’s school. Simply go online, create your account, order your groceries and select your charity or school (if not already listed, it’s easy to add). Voila’you’ve raised funds and tackled your shopping list’without ever having to return an empty cart or volunteer for duck pond duty at the spring fair.
The brainchild of a mom who spent too many late nights frosting cupcakes for school bake sales (only to watch such a small trickle of money flow into the fundraising coffers), DonateNaturally.com banks on the idea that loyalty should be rewarded. If a hundred families at a school spend approximately $100 on groceries via DonateNaturally.com each month, the school could potentially raise up to $18,000 annually.
That’s a ton of homemade nut- and dairy-free sprinkled vanilla cupcakes.
The site’s founders have a background in the organics industry, so they are able to keep costs competitive. They conduct regular price checks with both large and small grocers and natural/organic retailers to ensure DonateNaturally.com’s listed prices are in line with what you would pay elsewhere.
Close to a thousand products are available, with more to be added in the months to come, including the HABA line of eco-friendly toys. Artisan-style goods like local honey and red pepper jelly will soon follow. And just to be sure they stand behind their ‘natural’ name, the online retailer has a review panel to ensure none of the products they carry contain chemicals or stabilizers (parabens, nitrates, hydrogenated oils, etc.).
There’s much to appreciate about traditional school and charity fundraisers, but for a new eco-approach that is easy and enables you to give back as you cash out, DonateNaturally.com might be the natural choice. Tested by Alison R.
