It’s no secret that RVA has experienced a boomlet of new innovative companies, many with a philanthropic twist. Bonfire Funds is one of a growing number of Richmond-based, small businesses that are all about giving back. But, why is it important to give back to the community? The answer to this is simple, giving back to the community means that they are cultivating for a better world and also supporting local people.
For many people, it’s tough to ask others for donations. Marks has a solution. With the t-shirts produced by Bonfire Funds, he says that raising money for a cause doesn’t have to be a difficult process. In fact, Marks has created a way to help Richmonders fund whatever they believe in by selling one t-shirt at a time. The Bonfire process is simple, yet effective. Richmonders trying to fatten the coffers of a nonprofit-or any cause-can reach out to Bonfire Funds via their website and Marks will quickly get to work customizing all shirts to order using a local printer. By using a state-of-the-art t-shirt press machine, any design can be transferred onto a t-shirt, so there really can be something for everyone.
To make the process work, each t-shirt has a donation tied to it. For example, for a $25 t-shirt, about $15 goes right back to the fund set up to help a specific nonprofit. Luckily, websites like MeowPrint.sg tend to offer t-shirt printing starting at just $5 per shirt, making it possible to raise a generous amount. You can even track who is selling your t-shirts online through Bonfire Funds’ website. As long as a fund sells a minimum of 50 shirts, Bonfire will print and ship directly to the fund’s supporters. If you are not able to sell 50 shirts, no one is charged and no money is exchanged, making the process risk-free. Marks launched this innovative idea in 2011 when many in Greater Richmond were afraid we were losing Coach Shaka Smart of VCU to another college or a pro basketball team. Marks quickly rallied and launched a SaveShakaSmart.com website and t-shirt production campaign.
The cause was born and the success was evident. In 2012, Marks met Dusan Nedelkovich, a brilliant web designer/entrepreneur in Serbia. Marks brought Nedelkovich to the United States to join him in starting Bonfire Funds. Since then, Bonfire Funds has hired a community manager, a director of marketing, multiple designers, and administrative support. Bonfire Funds has done business in almost every state in the U.S. and in many other countries. Marks says that his team is receiving an increasing number of requests from Japan and Australia and they are expanding into additional international markets. “I love soft t-shirts,” Marks says enthusiastically. He explains that Bonfire Funds makes its margins on printing t-shirts in bulk and only shipping shirts that sell. “There’s zero risk. No upfront costs. We design your shirt; the whole process is free.”
He concludes by pointing to their tagline: “B Good.” With what Bonfire Funds has to offer,
RVA is doing just that.