March 21, 2011 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Five months after Blake Mycoskie started Toms Shoes, he took his parents to Argentina to give away 10,000 pairs of shoes. He saw his mom take out paper towels to carefully clean the kids’ dirty feet before putting on pairs of Toms Shoes. He teared up. He knew how far his company had come.
“I was so emotional that day,” says Mr. Mycoskie, “chief shoe giver” of Toms Shoes. “I scared away all the kids in my section.”
He spoke about the experience to the opening session of the 48th annual convention of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, in Chicago.
These kids didn’t have shoes before, he continued. They couldn’t go to school, because wearing shoes is mandatory. They now have a pair, courtesy of the company’s “buy one, give one” model that finances a critical part of the for-profit company’s social mission.
Mr. Mycoskie, a skinny guy with wild, curly hair, spent the majority of his time telling the story of the origins of Toms Shoes, how one vacation in Argentina turned him into an advocate, how he began a business in his 900-square-foot apartment, and how profiles from the Los Angeles Times, People, Time, and Vogue got him accounts at Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.
His idea to start a company that did good while doing business appealed to others. (This year, Toms Shoes gave away its 1-millionth pair of shoes.)
Mr. Mycoskie shared three lessons he has learned that he hopes fund raisers will take to their organizations:
* “If you incorporate giving to your business, your customers will be your biggest markets.”
When Mr. Mycoskie was flying out of New York, he casually asked a woman who was wearing Toms Shoes why she chose them. It had been only four months since the company started selling them. She did not know who he was, so she began to tell him about the mission of the company, the founder’s background, and that they weren’t just any ordinary shoes. “That’s why I’m here right now, because of that woman and many more like her.”
* When giving is central to your organization, “you attract the most amazing employees in the world.”
Mr. Mycoskie has hired people from Nike, Asics, and other top shoe companies. He says it’s not just about giving them good salaries, but getting them motivated and excited and “allowing them to be involved in something larger than themselves.”
He acknowledges that because of the bad economy, many companies can’t afford to match gifts by employees to causes they care about, but incorporating “giving in day-to-day operations will have a profound impact” even if it’s just one day of community service.
* “When you incorporate giving to what you do, you attract the most amazing partners.”
He says a year after Toms Shoes was started, the designer Ralph Lauren collaborated with the company and caused “tremendous awareness in the fashion community.” AT&T also did a commercial starring Mr. Mycoskie and his employees giving shoes to kids in Uruguay. The ad alone helped the company put 100,000 pairs of shoes on kids’ feet.
“Giving doesn’t just feel good, but it’s really, really good for business,” Mr. Mycoskie says. “The more we can spread that message, the more good we can create for the world.”
