Community Coupons Initiative
Philanthropy and the spirit of volunteerism have been built into Onetribe from day one. I believe businesses have a responsibility to the community they call home. Over the years, we have donated to various local and national food rights organizations, provided paid time for employees to volunteer at local organizations, made our studio space available to local non-profit organizations for meetings and events, aided in sustainable agriculture planning and training for farmers in Bali, Indonesia, and even co-founded a 501c3 non-profit (Renew Richmond) to combat health issues and lack of healthy food access in food desert communities here in Richmond, Virginia.
I have been thinking about the role of business in society, and how we can balance being a (hopefully) profitable business with building stronger communities and helping those in need. I’ve come to an intriguing solution - an experiment, really - that involves you and your place: Community Coupons.
I don’t have the ability to organize and make things happen in your community, but you do.
I know that many of our customers share our passion for community and have dedicated countless hours to non-profit initiatives dear to their own hearts. We are proud of, and humbled by, the efforts of our customers and the wider body modification community to care for the environment and those in need, and address important social issues.
I would like to thank you for your support of positive non-profit initiatives by offering you a discount coupon worth 20% off products on our website or 15% off custom jewelry.
Do work in your community anywhere in the world - volunteer at a food pantry, do work for an organization helping women and children, advocate on behalf of the homeless, help refugees, volunteer with an organization helping at-risk LGBT youth, save your local watershed. Do anything you feel strongly about that helps the community and is done solely for non-profit purposes, tell us who it was for and why it’s important to you, send a photo of you working that we can share with our other customers, and I will give you a discount on your next purchase.
Unlike regular public coupons, Community Coupons will often apply to products which are specifically excluded from other discounts, will be valid for a much longer duration of time (one year), and are applicable to custom made jewelry.
What do we ask of you?
- Your first name
- Your email address (for our correspondence only; it will not be made public)
- Your geographical location (country at minimum, preferably country, state/province, city)
- Information about the organization or initiative you are supporting (name, website/address/etc)
- The date and estimated time frame of your work
- A statement about what you were doing and why it is important to you
- A photograph of you in action working your heart out for a cause you believe (selfie of you working, group shot, anything showing you doing your thing)
- Permission to post this information on our website, social media, etc.
This information will only take a few minutes to provide. All text information can be submitted at the form below. If your photo is on social media, just send us a link! Easy peasy. Otherwise, we'll contact you via email and you can respond with your photo. Eventually I'll work on photo uploads directly from this form.
FAQ
Why are you doing this?
I believe in serving community and being active about change in the world. We all have different abilities and time allowances, but everyone has skills, knowledge, or simply a willingness to help that can be contributed to our greater community. I am a curious person, and I want to know more about the wonderful things our customers are doing. I hope to also inspire others who have not served their community to consider doing so.
What will you do with my information?
I may use the following information you submit on our website blog, social media, and other communications to talk about how awesome our customers are:
- First Name
- Geographical Location
- Organization information
- Work date
- Your personal statement about your volunteer work
- Your photo
All of these must be submitted simply so we can know who we are rewarding and why. If you do not give us your permission to use any parts of your information, please tell us. We'll be bummed, but we'll honor your privacy. Giving you a token of appreciation for the good you've done is more important than our marketing.
What if my work was done individually or for a group that is not a registered non-profit entity?
If you can show me proof that you have done legitimate work in your community - an event flier or website with information about what you've done and who you've done it for, photos, etc. then I am happy to handle these instances on a case by case basis.
What if my work is sensitive (perhaps working with at-risk populations, situations with legal liability, extremely polarizing social initiatives, etc) and I do not want to be identified by the information I submit?
I'm absolutely willing to respect your privacy in situations that may be risky for you to be identified. I need you to tell me this in your message. At minimum, I would like permission to use your statement about what you do and why it's important to you, but it's not required.
How many times can I submit?
You're welcome to take advantage of this offer as many times as you like as long as your photographs and statements evolve to reflect your current actions and thoughts for the event in question. However, only one coupon at a time is valid. If you are currently holding a Community Coupon code, we will not issue you another until you've used the one you have or it expires. Please don't hesitate to continue submitting though, we want to see the good things you do!
When does this end?
This is a big experiment. A simple idea to use my business as a catalyst for good in communities around the world. It ends when I can't afford it anymore, when people lose interest, or if I decide to change or discontinue it for any reason. Any existing coupons will remain valid for their original term of one year from the date issued.
Thank you! I sincerely appreciate your time.
Jared Karnes, Onetribe LLC