You Can Shop to Support Social Entrepreneurs
You Can Support These Impact Enterprises with Your Shopping Dollars as Well as Your Impact Investments
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Here at Superpowers for Good, we love to talk about impact crowdfunding—the investments we make to support social entrepreneurs, diverse founders and community builders. Today, we’re going to highlight some of the companies that have successfully raised via crowdfunding and that are selling their products on Amazon—giving you another way to support impact!
Ziba Foods
The first company I want to profile is Ziba Foods. I invested in Ziba about two years ago, right after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The withdrawal left women in desperate peril. Ziba was—and still is—employing women in Afghanistan at fair wages in a country where getting a job is somewhere on the spectrum between difficult and dangerous. Ziba produces delicious snacks—I’ve eaten them—that are sold in the Ziba store on Amazon.
As a footnote, I invested with little hope of getting a financial return because of the social impact. Last week, the company redeemed my investment at 24 percent above what I invested. How cool is that?!
tbh
Celebrity Noah Schnapp of Stranger Things fame launched tbh as a vegan, palm-oil-free alternative to Nutella. Given that palm oil and dairy contribute to climate change, tbh is a chocolaty opportunity to fight climate change. The company raised almost $600,000 via a Reg CF offering on Republic.
Lil’ Libros
Lil’ Libros, launched by two Hispanic mothers to help their children learn Spanish as well as English, publishes books about Latin-American history and culture. The company raised almost $2.5 million from nearly 6,000 investors on Wefunder. The company has published 15 books that are now for sale on Amazon, including The Life of/La Vida de Delores.
Lovebox
Lovebox founder Jean Gregoire was a guest on the Superpowers for Good show last year. He developed a device to allow people to share love notes via a device in a novel and beautiful way. Lovebox is still raising via Wefunder. You can explore the Lovebox options on Amazon and learn more about the technology for sending love in a box.
Lively Root
Lively Root is disrupting the plant nursery and retail industry. Product sales also support the nonprofit Arbor Day and its work to plant trees. Lively Root is still raising on Wefunder. On Amazon, you can find a wide assortment of products, from indoor plants to pet-friendly ones.
HoldOn Bags
HoldOn Bags, Inc. raised over $1.8 million on Wefunder last year. The company sells sustainable, compostable, plant-based bags that replace plastic bags. The company’s goal is to sell better bags that decompose quickly after use. The company sells trash bags, storage bags and kitchen bags. Check out its page on Amazon.
We love to support social enterprises raising money via crowdfunding, but as we look at the great companies in the space, it is fun to consider the range of products they sell, too.
Upcoming SuperCrowd Event Calendar
If a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.
SuperCrowdChicago, June 12, 2024
SuperCrowd Community Event Calendar
If a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.
Local Investment 101 with Michael Shuman, January 27 - February 24, Lake Katrine, NY
CfPA Webinar: A Conversation with Brendan Ballou, Author of Plunder, January 31
Crowdfunding & SBA Lending with Kathleen Minogue of Crowdfund Better, February 6
Neighborhood Economics, February 26-28 in San Antonio, Texas
If you would like to submit an event for inclusion on our community calendar, click here.