26 | February 2014 • www.specialty-coffee.com
C
oee houses are known for very direct, local giving eorts.
From the spare change dropped in a plastic container on
the counter to help a sick child in the community to specialty
brews to help coee growers. Even in a recovering economy,
consumers' desire to do good cannot be overstated and they
look to their local businesses as an extension of their desire to
help others.
"American demand for cause is stronger than ever,"
according to 20 years of benchmarking data released by
Cone Communications in December 2013. According to the
2013 Cone Communications' Social Impact Study, "Despite
a marketplace saturated with cause-related programs and
messages, the U.S. consumer appetite for corporate support of
social and environmental issues appears insatiable."
e start-up egood.com believes that too, matching
consumers with socially responsible businesses and causes.
Egood is a new Foursquare-style (where you check-in online at
each location you sign up for) mobile payment and merchant
loyalty platform that gives consumers the option of contributing
to a charity when they check out at a local retailer.
"At the heart of egood is a social good movement, powered by
real-time connections via a mobile app, online community, and
an in-store iPad system," says the company's CEO Zack Swire.
Consumers check in and shop at egood businesses in their
area, making everyday purchases count while being rewarded
for their loyalty. rough planned and organized giving,
egood allows companies to narrowly focus on what they want
to support and then track their giving, Swire explains.
"Companies donate one, three, or ve percent of egood sales
to the charity of their choice in return for real-time CRM,
customer acquisition, surprise loyalty, and social good tools,
increasing both purpose and prots," Swire says. "Causes drive
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