Not everyone is suffering through this pandemic

Out in the Boons - Gaming Image.png

When I sat down to write this blog post, I wanted to title it: Not everyone is in the sh*tter, but then thought, “Be a professional, Jess.” 

Anyone else’s professionalism dwindling by the day?

I swear, if one more person tries telling me, “This too shall pass,” or “What a gift this is,” or “Just think of all the TIME you have to do XYZ,” I might stab myself in the eye. YOU try running a business, serving clients and having your three-year old home with you 24/7. 

Ahhhhh that felt good to get out. 

So last week I was talking to my neighbor during our daily (socially distant) throw-the-ball-and-let-our-kids-run-around session who said his company has had their most profitable month EVER during this pandemic (and the month isn’t even over! 😱). He works for a gaming company and well yeah - people are home playing a lot of video games right now. The industry as a whole is up 15%. Another friend of mine works in the CBD world and surprise, surprise - they are up too!

But that made me think - who else has a business that is thriving during this once in a lifetime pandemic?

And a brainstorm began. With the new CARES Act, Corporations traditionally can give away up to 10% of their profits to nonprofits and receive a tax benefit. Under the new law, what I’ve read is that that has been upped to 25-percent! That means that corporations now more than ever have a huge reason to give. Especially those that are making bank 💰. 

Here is a list of what I’ve come up with and towards the end, I’ll share what YOU can do about it. 

The Gaming Industry:

  • Sony Computer Entertainment

  • Nintendo

  • Mojang

  • Electronic Arts

  • Activision Blizzard

  • Rockstar Games

  • Epic Games

  • Valve Corporation


Here is an article linked to many more.

The Food, Beverage, and Household Items Industry

  • Procter & Gamble

  • Johnson & Johnson

  • Nestle

  • Unilever

  • Kimberly-Clark

  • Henkel

  • Nestle

  • Kroger

  • Albertsons

  • Publix

  • Trader Joe’s

  • Del Monte

  • Dol

  • Heinz

  • Campbell’s (no relation, unfortunately)

  • Amy’s

Delivery Service

  • DoorDash

  • Grubhub

  • Instacart

  • Amazon

  • Imperfect Produce

  • UberEATS

  • Postmates

  • Caviar

The Streaming Industry:

  • Netflix

  • Hulu

  • Twitch

  • Zoom

  • Amazon Prime

  • HBO (Warner Media)

  • Disney

  • SlingTV

  • YouTube (Google/Alphabet)

Pharmaceuticals:

  • Johnson & Johnson

  • Novaritus

  • Merik & Co. 

  • Roche

  • Pfizer

  • AbbVie


So what do you do with this information?

  1. Do your research. Obviously, this is just a starting brainstorm of the hundreds if not thousands of companies that are profiting big time from people being on lock down. Find out which ones already have a CSR program - do they align with your work, mission and/or values?

  2. Find a connect: After doing your initial research, put that list of companies you’ve identified as being a potential fit in front of your board, your advisors, and perhaps any funders you think might be willing to make a connection. Provide these people with ready made assets such as draft email copy or your 1 page summary sheet so that they can pass the info along to their company contact to make an introduction. 

  3. Know what you are asking for: If you are able to get connected (victory!) you better be crystal clear on what you are asking for. For example, are you asking Procter & Gamble for 25,000 hygiene products or are you asking for $25,000 to pay your front line staff that have been working overtime to supply your warehouses? You need to be able to say: “We need $_______ for _________ to be able to ____________.” That simply. 

These are unusual times so I implore you think outside your normal corporate funding box and brainstorm some non traditional funding sources. You never know - they might be thrilled you asked and happy to give. 

What industries do you know to be profiting during this crazy time?