This Causepreneur Wears His Heart on a Tee
This is a sponsored post for OneBillionShirts.org. OBS is leveraging the billion dollar custom tee shirt industry to create a brand new fundraising stream for charity and nonprofit organizations. OneBillionShirts.org is a sponsor of Selfishgiving.com and CauseTalk Radio. They also sponsor the Halopreneur board on Pinterest, which is additional content for my next book "Fundraising for Businesses: 40 New (and Improved!) Strategies for Nonprofits."
Albion "Albi" Calaj (pictured above with friends from Horizons for Homeless Children) knows the importance of charity. As a 14-year old boy growing up in Ferizaj, Kosovo, Albi's life changed forever when the Kosovo War broke out in 1999. His home was seized by the Serbs and used as a military command post. But thanks to the efforts of several charities, Albi and his family were safely moved to the United States.
A 2001 United Nation investigation concluded that the war was marked by murder, rape, arson and severe mistreatment. These were facts Albi didn't have to read in a UN report. He witnessed them firsthand.
Albi stayed in the United States and embraced the American Dream. He put himself through college in Boston and went to work for an all-American company, Morgan Stanley. But the charity shown to him in his teens lit a fire in Albi to give back. But how?
Albi got part of his answer when he met Greg Berry. A seasoned entrepreneur in the custom goods industry since college, Greg helped shape Abli's passion into a business from which they both could give back. They decided on custom tee shirts.
"It's the ideal business to support causes," said Albi. "Every screen printer out there uses the same shirts, ink, and printing process. The difference is what we do with the profits. They pocket theirs. We give a portion of ours to charity."
When Greg and Albi were brainstorming a name for the company, they wondered how they could have the biggest impact. "We would need to get every tee shirt order in the world," said Greg. "That's like a billion shirts a year!" They both had a good laugh, and agreed on a name: OneBillionShirts.org.
"What we're offering is very simple," explained Albi. "For every tee shirt you buy from us, we donate 25 cents to a charity. And the customer gets to choose the charity."
"Everyone buys tee shirts," added Greg. "Companies, road races, nonprofits, schools. Why not choose OBS and get a great price on your order AND help a good cause?"
Customers can pick a charity from the OBS's database, or suggest their own.
You can find out for yourself how much you can save and give by visiting the Quick Quote tab at OneBillionShirts.org. You can choose your charity, pick your product and quantity, get a real-time price and see the impact your order will have.
Greg and Albi know that despite their noble intentions, they're in a tough industry with plenty of competition. "It won't be easy, but I've been here before," said Albi. "I like our chances."
Related Pinterest Board: FWB - 40 Halopreneurs
