256. Meet the Fashion E-Commerce Startup Fueling a Charitable Impact - Jeannie Barsam
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Overview
Meet Jeannie. She left the corporate world after leading Fortune 500 retailers including Gap Inc, Michaels, Talbot's, and Signet Jewelers to create a business that was more than just fast fashion. Gifting Brands was born out of a passion for helping women, children, and families in need with an innovative solution to an ongoing problem in the fashion world — what to do with excess inventory.
💡Learn:
Founding story of Gifting Brands
Inventory Philanthropy Model
Lessons learned from starting a nonprofit (during a pandemic!)
How nonprofits can access Jeannie's swag for your event
Today’s Guest
Jeannie Barsam, CEO & Founder Gifting Brands, Non-Profit eCommerce Luxury Brand Marketplace
“My dream is to be able to donate millions and millions of dollars every year, but also help the environment and reduce the amount of inventory that goes into landfills.”
Episode Transcript
Download Full Episode Transcript Here
Episode highlights
Jeannie’s story and journey to where she is today (3:30)
Overview of Gifting Brands (7:00)
The charities Gifting Brands are supporting (11:00)
Inventory philanthropy model: a 3 sided marketplace (15:00)
We partner with brands
We partner with consumers
We give back to charities
Jeannie’s dreams for Gifting Brands (18:00)
Scaling Gifting Brands and what is next (19:00)
Nonprofit startups: lessons learned so far starting her organization (22:00)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in Jeannie’s life (27:00)
Jeannie’s One Good Thing: Be bold, take risks, and make a difference. and Everyone is a philanthropist. (31:00)
powerful quotes
“So I realized there's got to be a better way that we can fundraise for charities.” -Jeannie
“About that same time, there were big news reports out there of brands like Burberry, or Louis Vuitton or H&M or even Nike that were destroying or burning their inventory and putting them in landfills, because they didn't want to compete with their higher priced inventory.” -Jeannie
“There was no solution out there for brands as well.” -Jeannie
“Everyone can be a philanthropist.” -Jeannie
“In a 5 year period, over $650 million of inventory was burned.” -Jeannie
“The impact is huge that we can all make, and I’m just thrilled to be able to use my skillset and do something that I love to do.” -Jeannie
“Your passion runs so deep. It’s not just the passion for the impact, you also have the passion for turning retail for good. You are solving big problems that people didn’t have an answer to.” -Jon
“Consumers get to go shop and make a difference. You can choose the charity or cause that you want to support, so anyone can be a philanthropist.” -Jeannie
“We don’t just give money to charity, we also give products.” -Jeannie
“When you shop we give.” -Jeannie
“I mean, my dream is to be able to donate, you know, millions and millions of dollars every year, but also help the environment and reduce the amount of inventory that goes into landfills.” -Jeannie
“We want to have fun, and how much better is it when you shop that it’s going back to a charity.” -Jeannie
“He said, if you change one kid's life, you change a generation.” -Jeannie
"Be bold, take risks, and make a difference.” -Jeannie
“You can donate your skillset to charities. You may not have $5,000 to donate to a company, but you can donate hours a month to make a difference to help out these organizations that need help.” -Jeannie
“It’s about expanding the way people can pour into your mission.” -Becky
connect with jeannie and gifting brands
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