Causes: Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy, Economic Development, International, International Economic Development, Microfinance, Philanthropy
Mission: Shopping for a Change®(SFAC), a web-based non-profit organization, is a fair trade marketplace where artisans, predominantly women from developing countries, sell their handmade creations, enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. Our net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad, focused on clean water, healthcare and education, as well as help fund U. S. -based charities of the consumer’s choice. Individual shoppers choose their nonprofit from a vetted list provided at checkout, while our corporate clients may choose any U. S. -based charity.
Results: During our first year, as a result of support through purchases and direct donations, we helped to fundThe Tibane Water Project directed at enhancing the lives of our artisans in the Lavamisu Region of Swaziland, Africa. Now over 400 community members have clean water for the first time. Q1 of 2012 we funded the Enkutoto-Elangata-Enterit Group Ranch Education Project. Half our net proceeds from sales during 2011 have gone to provide a year’s salary for one teacher at the Enkutoto-Elangata-Enterit Group Ranch in Kenya, where the artisans of The Leakey Collection reside. With our financial assistance, their class size has gone from 1 teacher per 80 pupils, down to 1 teacher per 40 pupils. With the help of Katy and Philip Leakey, founders of The Leakey Collection, and their nonprofit organization T. R. A. D. E. , Trust for Rural African Development and Enterprise, the student teacher ratio in the area has been lowered from 80/1 to 40/1.Currently out of the 23 teachers employed, The Leakey Collection directly funds 9 of them; and rural families at great financial hardship support the rest. 2013: The Nutritional Empowerment Project is a collaborative effort between Shopping for a Change and the Faire Collection, formerly known as the Andean Collection. It was jointly funded with net proceeds from our 2013 sales, and an in-kind contribution by the Faire Collection. Our efforts are focused on supporting local Kichwa artisans in the Ecuadorian Amazon region in a sustainable farming project. The Kichwa's persistent issues with access to food and the effects of malnourishment are problems we are determined to help them solve. Details of the project are available as a downloadable pdf file. Click to Download. Read about how the project is progressing on our blog. Half of the net proceeds from our product sales during 2014 financed the opening of two new preschools in Cox’s Bazar, a seaside and fishing town on the southwestern coast of Bangladesh, on the Bay of Bengal. The Bangladeshi Preschool Project, was a collaborative effort between Shopping for a Change® and our partnering artisan organization, Pebble Child. Pebble employs over 6800 disadvantaged women, living in 65 rural places throughout Bangladesh. Beginning February 9,2015, forty children, ages 3-6 whose mother’s handcraft Pebble’s adorable handknit toys and apparel, proudly began attending our two preschools in Sirajgonj and Mouliribazar, free of charge. Their preschool attendance will enable them when they are of age, to begin primary school as tigers, due to the head start in education they received at preschool. In early 2016 we funded the Future Looks Bright project, donating eyewear for 2500 artisans across three (3) continents, who needed glasses for their detailed work. In 2017 we funded high school scholarships for 10 orphans in Swaziland.
Target demographics: artisans, primarily women, lift themselves from poverty
Direct beneficiaries per year: Thousands of artisans and their communities in the regions of Africa, South America, & Asia. Also, US-based nonprofits which are chosen by our customers during checkout, receive one half of our net proceeds.
Geographic areas served: Artisan groups in Africa, South America, Asia. We ship to the United States & Canada.
Programs: our fair trade marketplace for them to sell their exotic, handmade goods. Each purchase through our website helps these artisans, mostly women, to consistently feedtheir families and send their children to school. In addition, our netproceeds help fund both community improvement projects abroad andselect US based charities of the consumers' choice.
This organization's nonprofit status may have been revoked or it may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.
Mission: Shopping for a Change®(SFAC), a web-based non-profit organization, is a fair trade marketplace where artisans, predominantly women from developing countries, sell their handmade creations, enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. Our net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad, focused on clean water, healthcare and education, as well as help fund U. S. -based charities of the consumer’s choice. Individual shoppers choose their nonprofit from a vetted list provided at checkout, while our corporate clients may choose any U. S. -based charity.
Results: During our first year, as a result of support through purchases and direct donations, we helped to fundThe Tibane Water Project directed at enhancing the lives of our artisans in the Lavamisu Region of Swaziland, Africa. Now over 400 community members have clean water for the first time. Q1 of 2012 we funded the Enkutoto-Elangata-Enterit Group Ranch Education Project. Half our net proceeds from sales during 2011 have gone to provide a year’s salary for one teacher at the Enkutoto-Elangata-Enterit Group Ranch in Kenya, where the artisans of The Leakey Collection reside. With our financial assistance, their class size has gone from 1 teacher per 80 pupils, down to 1 teacher per 40 pupils. With the help of Katy and Philip Leakey, founders of The Leakey Collection, and their nonprofit organization T. R. A. D. E. , Trust for Rural African Development and Enterprise, the student teacher ratio in the area has been lowered from 80/1 to 40/1.Currently out of the 23 teachers employed, The Leakey Collection directly funds 9 of them; and rural families at great financial hardship support the rest. 2013: The Nutritional Empowerment Project is a collaborative effort between Shopping for a Change and the Faire Collection, formerly known as the Andean Collection. It was jointly funded with net proceeds from our 2013 sales, and an in-kind contribution by the Faire Collection. Our efforts are focused on supporting local Kichwa artisans in the Ecuadorian Amazon region in a sustainable farming project. The Kichwa's persistent issues with access to food and the effects of malnourishment are problems we are determined to help them solve. Details of the project are available as a downloadable pdf file. Click to Download. Read about how the project is progressing on our blog. Half of the net proceeds from our product sales during 2014 financed the opening of two new preschools in Cox’s Bazar, a seaside and fishing town on the southwestern coast of Bangladesh, on the Bay of Bengal. The Bangladeshi Preschool Project, was a collaborative effort between Shopping for a Change® and our partnering artisan organization, Pebble Child. Pebble employs over 6800 disadvantaged women, living in 65 rural places throughout Bangladesh. Beginning February 9,2015, forty children, ages 3-6 whose mother’s handcraft Pebble’s adorable handknit toys and apparel, proudly began attending our two preschools in Sirajgonj and Mouliribazar, free of charge. Their preschool attendance will enable them when they are of age, to begin primary school as tigers, due to the head start in education they received at preschool. In early 2016 we funded the Future Looks Bright project, donating eyewear for 2500 artisans across three (3) continents, who needed glasses for their detailed work. In 2017 we funded high school scholarships for 10 orphans in Swaziland.
Target demographics: artisans, primarily women, lift themselves from poverty
Direct beneficiaries per year: Thousands of artisans and their communities in the regions of Africa, South America, & Asia. Also, US-based nonprofits which are chosen by our customers during checkout, receive one half of our net proceeds.
Geographic areas served: Artisan groups in Africa, South America, Asia. We ship to the United States & Canada.
Programs: our fair trade marketplace for them to sell their exotic, handmade goods. Each purchase through our website helps these artisans, mostly women, to consistently feedtheir families and send their children to school. In addition, our netproceeds help fund both community improvement projects abroad andselect US based charities of the consumers' choice.
Donor & Volunteer Advisory
This organization's nonprofit status may have been revoked or it may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.
Civil Rights
