NFP entrepreneur Jeremy Meltzer shares his story
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Meltzer founded iEqualChange, an online platform that partners retailers with charities to turn customers into philanthropists with every sale. An advocate of ‘consumer-driven philanthropy,’ Meltzer believes this will change the face of business in the next five years.
He is passionate about the empowerment and protection of women and girls – Meltzer is a White Ribbon Ambassador and works with the UN and Women for Women International.
Can you describe your journey to becoming a young not-for-profit (NFP) leader?
When I was 21 I lived in Havana and met a lot of girls who had been victims of abuse. The most disturbing thing about this was that they believed that this was normal, that this is what men do to women. I was moved by their stories – for me, from where I came from this was not normal behaviour. This experience highlighted this social issue to me. I then travelled to other countries and found that this was not an isolated incident – this is when I realised that I wanted to make a difference and create some change.
My father and I own an olive oil company, which I thought would be a good platform to assist in giving back to the community via micro donations, whereby we would donate $2 from every bottle purchased to aid in empowering women and girls in different communities – customers would get to choose where the money was sent. We had such a great response that 20 per cent of our customers donated on top of our contribution. The feedback we got was that customers liked that we were giving and this inspired them to give too. This was how iEqualChange got started.
We had such an overwhelmingly positive response with this initiative that I thought it could be developed to further unite the for-profit and NFP sectors. Over the last two years I’ve been developing a cause marketing plug and place solution where people can be engaged to give when making everyday purchases, and at the same time driving value to the business that are making the majority of the donations. We have just gone live with Nine West where they will donate $1 from every shoe purchase.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a young NFP leader?
Often people don’t really understand the importance and impact of the NFP sector, so communicating this can be challenging at times.
What strategies have you implemented to ensure that you are not faced with the same challenge in the future?
Although the barriers have been broken down by social media, we still need to continue to educate the wider community about how important giving back to the community is.
Clear and simple articulation is the key – educate stakeholders, minimise the fine print and be completely transparent. This will help to further break down the barriers and create a harmonious relationship between the for-profit and NFP worlds.
What is the best piece of leadership advice you have been given?
To form partnerships and to trust your instincts – your intentions need to align with your actions.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring leaders what would it be?
Find what moves you most and use this to make a difference.
