human tribe project

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Our Way Works Better

One of the first questions we always get is, “Why aren’t you a non-profit?” It’s a reasonable question. I can understand the cynics’ concern that we’re profiting off of sick people. I get it, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The truth is that we can’t operate our business and give back as much money as we do if we were a non-profit organization. According to the IRS, we can’t sell a product and give away profits the way we do if we were incorporated as a 501(c)(3). So, instead of giving up on our dream, we came up with an innovative way to give to those in need.

When we sell a Tribe Tag, there are two elements of the sale. The first is the straight sale of the necklace for $5. It’s a necklace that could easily retail for more than $20, so the $5 retail price of the necklace is not only reasonable, our business advisers thought it was crazy.

The second part of the sale isn’t actually a sale. It’s a monetary gift from you to your friend for $15. Essentially what we’re saying is that in order to get this necklace for slightly more than it costs, you have to give your friend $15. That’s it.

So where does that $5 go to? Well, first of all it pays for the necklace itself, which also has an extra 2 inch detachable chain so you can convert it into a key chain if you prefer. And we throw in a free website to boot. That website allows your friend to communicate with family and friends about their ordeal. It allows you to build them a living pillar of support in their guestbook, complete with photos.

It pays mundane stuff like our rent and our maintenance on the site. It pays for our phones and our server and internet connections. It doesn’t yet pay for any salaries. We all work as volunteers right now. We hope to someday pay ourselves modest salaries, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Non-profit organizations are wonderful institutions that provide funding for a number of much needed projects. But we want to help people as individuals. We want to use our capitalistic talents for socially responsible purposes. Since we don’t fit into the traditional non-profit organization framework, we had to be creative as to how we could accomplish that goal.

We’re pretty proud of what we have accomplished. We can help give more money to more people in need, in a very efficient way. We don’t rely on outside funding and we don’t seek donations from any other agency. We are 100% self-sustaining. We hope to have started something that causes people to re-evaluate how they look at business and support. Human Tribe Project is as much about changing business as it is about changing lives.

That’s why when people ask why we’re not a non-profit, I’m happy to have the opportunity to explain. The truth is, well, because our way just works better.

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