Not everyone is suffering through this pandemic
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?
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?
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.
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?