Charity Charge and Stephen Garten’s quest to help non-profits

Yearly’s Co-founder, Jeff Rum, recently sat down with Stephen Garten, the founder and CEO of Charity Charge, to talk about Why—Why we do what we do and Why we’re both on a mission to help nonprofits work better and smarter. Though our Whys share much in common, we’ve gone about our work in very different ways. Jeff, through Yearly, an interactive annual report development tool, and Stephen through Charity Charge, a financial services company helping nonprofits make better financial decisions. Below is a bit from their conversation.

Jeff: For those who don’t know, what is Charity Charge?

Stephen: Charity Charge is based on the idea that traditional credit cards are designed for individuals and businesses, not nonprofits. In fact, because many don’t operate above the $250,000 annual revenue threshold, most of the two million registered nonprofits don’t even qualify for a robust business card of any kind. To try and address this, we created a new kind of credit card—one designed for nonprofits, with no personal guarantor, no annual or per card fees, and automatic cash back generation.

Jeff: Oh that’s interesting, I definitely know a few people who have used their own credit to underwrite a company card. Why is eliminating this process (of a personal guarantor) so pivotal for the nonprofit industry?

Stephen: Often the case, this idea was truly a product of feedback. Charity Charge began as a consumer-facing card that enabled individuals to automatically give to the nonprofit of their choice with each purchase (think: Amazon Smile). When the consumer facing card hit the market, CFOs and nonprofit directors started requesting cards for their organization and employees. They were either using debit cards, despite the known risks, or traditional credit cards, paying annual fees and relying on employees to personally guarantee cards, which entangles a person’s professional and personal financial identity.

Now, the great thing about those who work at nonprofits is the passion and dedication they tend to exhibit toward that work. That being said, it still seems unfair (and potentially dangerous or discriminatory) to ask them to open credit cards in their own names. In addition, nonprofits have above average turnover rates, and that can get pretty complicated when transitioning between employees and leadership. So, its essentially a win-win-win.

 Jeff: This seems like a no-brainer, and yet I’ve never thought or heard of it before. How did the idea come to you?

Stephen: I suppose it’s a classic social entrepreneurship story. Like many of us, I moved to a new city to launch my career. Early on, I began volunteering with Hill Country Conservancy, a local conservation non-profit based out of Austin, TX. As the year was coming to a close, I realized I couldn’t use my cashback points for travel as planned and didn’t want any more stuff either. In that exact moment, I got an email from Hill Country Conservancy announcing their end-of-year fundraising campaign. I thought to myself: instead of using this credit card to reward myself, what If I could use it to reward an organization?

 Jeff: Smart. So much of entrepreneurship seems to be noticing when something that should be simple is actually pretty hard to do. So, for our clients, which run the gamut in terms of size and budget, what do they need to know or do to get a Charity Charge card?

Stephen: Generally speaking, nonprofits need two years of operating financials to quality for a Charity Charge business card, but they can also start with a personal card and upgrade once eligible. We’ve got an incredible range of nonprofits, from those with $50K to $100M in annual revenue. The great thing about Charity Charge is that its success is cyclical: when large organizations join, it motivates a wave of smaller organizations to do so as well, and those smaller, local organizations make up the foundation of Charity Charge and allow the company to be more than a credit card. The common thread, is a commitment to impact.

Jeff: I like that. At Yearly, we’re also all about impact and empathy. How do you integrate empathy into your approach to business?

Stephen: That’s a good question. In our early days, I would get on the phone and actually guide organizations through setup. At the end of one call, a client who was surprised to be talking to the CEO thanked me profusely for my direct support and passion. She said: ‘you won’t always be able to do this, but it’s really great that you’re doing it now.’ I return to that when I think about how to differentiate my company. It’s all about people in the end.

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In an effort to maintain Jeff’s own New Year’s resolutions, he asked Stephen about his goals for 2020. A true testament to Stephen’s character, he believes that his purpose lies beyond Charity Charge. He’s driven by a greater mission to inspire more products and services that add rather than extract value from non-profits. He’s excited to continue what they are already doing: helping nonprofits achieve financial stability, and inspiring other business to operate with a purpose. Check out Charity Charge when you have a chance.

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You can also listen to Stephen and Jeff in conversation on the Charity Charge podcast. Jeff loves connecting with fellow social entrepreneurs, so shout out to Brian Levenson for making this introduction!