Like a Craigslist for good karma, KarmaGoat is online marketplace that lets people both buy and sell items, with proceeds going to a charity of the seller's choice -- there are almost 1,000 to choose from!
"We all own tons of stuff," KarmaGoat says on their site. "Some of it we love, but some of it we don't really use anymore. What if you could transform this unwanted stuff into the stuff people really need in the world? Like medical kits, school supplies, or a goat!"
Not surprisingly, the option to give a goat is where the business took its name from.
"The gift of a goat is such an awesome thing that we picked it as the symbol of all the causes we can support, and all the good we can do, through KarmaGoat," they say on the site, and go into further detail about the life-changing benefits a goat can have in the developing world. By empowering families to become micro-entrepreneurs with a goat through Heifer International, they can actually lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Think of that karma!
Similar to Craigslist, sellers can list items, and buyers peruse them, yet unlike Craigslist, KarmaGoat members make all their purchases via credit card and a secret password online. Sellers are also encouraged to promote their listings on Facebook and Twitter.
KarmaGoat functions as a for-profit social enterprise, giving 85% of the profits to charity, and keeping 15% to further the business. Among the featured KarmaGoat sellers can support is Heifer Project International, American National Red Cross, Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, Invisible Children, and Doctors Without Boards USA Inc, to name a few.
KarmaGoat was started by Jonathan Lehmann and a few of his fellow MBA grads at UCLA, Jamie Voytko, James Chung and Tony Vassiliadis. The team now includes a few others, along with an extended KarmaGoat family. Finally, the site has a section for KarmaPeople, which showcases the names of sellers, their profile photos (optional) and the amount of money each has raised.
Introducing KarmaGoat from KarmaGoat on Vimeo.
Contact Information
KarmaGoat website
KarmaGoat on Twitter
KarmaGoat on Facebook
Online Marketplaces for Good
KarmaGoat is Like Craigslist But Proceeds Go to Charity
Trend Themes
1. Online Social Marketplace - Creating novel online marketplaces enabling social responsibility and charity.
2. Credit Card-based Sales - Designing marketplaces for online credit card-based sales.
3. Heifer Project Fundraising - Creating platforms that enable charities to gather funds for their projects.
Industry Implications
1. Charitable Donations - Developing platforms that connect sellers and buyers to promote charitable donations.
2. Ecommerce - Creating ecommerce sites that offer goods for charity purposes.
3. Social Impact - Designing online platforms to empower global communities and facilitate social impact through business.