How to Make Giving a Commercial Lever | #655

There's a link in ecommerce that mostly goes unsaid, and it's a slightly awkward one: the connection between giving and commercial benefit. When a brand partners with a charity, they're doing it for the right reason . But to get it off the ground and keep it alive when budgets tighten, they usually have to rationalise it commercially, and that's the part that feels a bit icky to say out loud. It shouldn't. Generosity carries a real commercial upside, and being honest about that is often the very thing that lets the good happen at all. The thing worth chasing is the win-win-win: a win for the retailer, a win for the charity, and a win for the community in need. Get all three and it's powerful. Miss one and it falls over. Rohan McCloskey, founder of GoGenerosity, a pay-it-forward platform that turns small customer donations at the checkout into full-value gift cards for people in need, without ever touching the retailer's margin. Rohan has since sold the business. This episode was co-hosted by Rosa Willis. In this playbook, we cover three things ecommerce operators need to know about making giving a commercial lever: Let purpose lead, but give it a commercial backbone so it isn't the first thing cut when the year gets tight Weave the giving into the problem you're already solving for the customer, rather than a guilt trip at the checkout Make the impact visible and pick a cause that fits, because alignment plus visibility turns a giving feature into a real relationship Connect with Rohan McCloskey Explore GoGenerosity Subscribe to the Add To Cart newsletter SMS us to Suggest a Guest Connect with Nathan Bush Join the Add To Cart Community