Since couch + cork began I’ve wanted giving back to be a part of our brand. Personally, I feel best when I’m helping and it only made sense to bring this into the business’ identity.

Initially the idea was to donate 1% of all profits to charity but, as anyone who’s owned a small biz knows, you don’t turn much of a profit in the beginning. Then, the other day, inspiration struck and we’re thrilled to announce that we don’t just HAVE a program, we’ve also donated $100 already!

The couch + cork Contribution

You know Honey? That browser bar we all have to check coupon codes? Well, sometimes when you make a purchase that little dancing coin will congratulate you on earning “Honey Gold.” And, if you are like me, you just ignore it and go on doing what you’re doing. In my case, buying wine. I buy a lot of wine. Especially lately with local events.

Being extra busy means working lots of hours and seeking a distraction.

And so the other day, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the dogs snoozed beside me, I finally thought to Google what “Honey Gold” was. Turns out, that gold you’re banking earns you gift cards. For every 1,000 pieces of gold you can select a $10 gift card. I had nearly 12k in gold. Yeah, that’s over $100.

Immediately I thought, “Oh! I can use this to buy supplies for couch + cork and reduce my bottom line!” because, let’s face it, what business owner hasn’t immediately thought about that. While we’re careful in our spending, there are so many things we need. It adds up.

But then I saw it: a little gift card icon called “Charity Choice.” It’s a gift card that allows you to make a donation to a charity! And there are SO MANY CHARITIES on there. Like, for whatever you like to support. Animals, the arts, disaster relief. It’s all there.

I came up with an idea: get people to respond to a story and then do a drawing of those names and let the winner pick. Lani Disorda, who owns Pangaea, was pulled. Charity Choice allows the donation to be split between three charities and since Lani couldn’t make up her mind, she selected a scholarship to support indigenous Americans, the United Negro College Fund and Planned Parenthood. Not only that, but Pangaea graciously MATCHED the donation so we ended up donating, overall, $200.

But What About Bennington?

As someone who loves where she lives, I started thinking after our donations about what we could do locally. There are no local charities listed on Charity Choice, unfortunately. On top of that, we don’t have the cashflow, yet, to give consistently but we certainly earn a ton of Honey Gold. A few days ago I reached out to two local women who are active in the non-profit world. One pointed out that we could give gift cards to specific non-profit organizations locally.

And so we now have finessed our Charitable giving program to make sure that we include our local community.

We hope you’ll help us select where to give our donations.

How it Works

1. When we earn 10k+ in Honey Gold we will announce it on one of our social media platforms. We are currently on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and while we HAVE a TikTok we haven’t started posting there regularly.

2. There will be a simple action to do to enter the drawing. It may be to pop a gif in the comments (we love a gif). Maybe we’ll ask you to tell us what the most millennial thing about you is (this is a fascinating ice breaker even if I am Gen X).

3. We’ll draw and the winner will get to select the non-profit of their choice. If the non-profit is on Charity Choice we’ll handle it that way. If they are not we’ll reach out to the non-profit and ask what $100 gift card would help them and we’ll get it to them.

Sometimes we’ll hit a specific market (we’ve got regular tasters in Denver and Atlanta, for example) and sometimes we’ll stay local. Most of the time it will be open to any non profit. We’ll keep it interesting and make sure we’re spreading good. So, keep an eye out for these posts and make sure to enter so that you can help your favorite non-profit!

If you don’t have Honey installed on your browser, it really is phenomenal and every person who signs up using our link will earn 500 for couch + cork, getting us closer to our next $100 donation. The extension is free and you’ll absolutely save money when shopping online.