I was able to talk to Laura Hertz, CEO and Co-Founder of Gifts for Good right before the New Year. We grew up in the same hometown, and hadn't seen each other since we spent a couple of days together in Cambodia 6 years ago. It was amazing to catch up and hear all about her work and studies that led her to build her business, Gifts for Good. Here's her story...
Laura, it’s great to hear your voice! The last time we were together was in Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2012. A lot has happened since then. Bring us up to speed!
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long! I’m currently in LA and have been for the last 2.5 years. Before that, I spent 6 years in the Bay Area at UC Berkeley, with a stint in the financial services practice at Deloitte post- college graduation. I came down to LA for school at the USC Marshall School of Business, and started Gifts for Good a year ago after completing my master’s program. My co-founder Jerry and I met while at business school, and we spent the last year building out the foundation of our business. Our e-commerce site officially launched a few months ago, and we’ve been doing lots of good since then!
Tell us about Gifts for Good, what’s the story?
I did a year of national community service work with AmeriCorps, and worked with Fair Trade USA. While in these roles working with nonprofits across the country, it became clear how much reliance there is on donations and grants, and how hard it was to raise capital and apply for government funding. Without that funding, these amazing cause-based enterprises couldn’t reach a reach a greater audience and grow their impact.
While working in financial services, I noticed we’d give gifts to employees and clients; or we’d receive corporate swag at conferences and employee training events like water bottles, stress balls, keychains. It was all junk - things you would just throw away or never use, and that money spent was immediately lost.
I was in a program at business school specifically for social entrepreneurship - the intersection between giving back and business. It made perfect sense to bake in doing good into business gift giving. Billions of dollars are spent every year on gifts, and those funds can be used to change the world by purchasing high quality goods that people want to give and receive.
At Gifts for Good, we use product sales of gifts to scale up the reach and impact of cause-based enterprises. We offer premium gifts for companies and individuals that are made by nonprofit or social enterprise partners who make and sell their own products to support their mission. We bring products from 40 different cause-based enterprises to you in one place, generating impact in 65 countries. We’re proud to be the only one-stop-shop for business gifts that give back!