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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

charity

Samaritan App Helps Feed the Homeless

Anyone who walks around Seattle knows that the city has a homeless problem. In the downtown core, it’s hard not to encounter someone who is sleeping in a shop doorway or street corner. Passers-by may want to do something to help, but might either be hesitant to hand out cash or not have any on them.

This is where the app Samaritan comes in. The Seattle Times reports that the app works with a Bluetooth beacon that a homeless person wears around their neck, and notifies your phone when you pass by someone wearing the Samaritan beacon.

Beacons are handed out on the streets and at non-profits to homeless people who want to participate (not all of them do). Samaritan staffers help write up that person’s story in the app. If you pass by them on the street, you can read their story and, if you choose to give, can do so through Apple Pay, PayPal or a credit card. Monies donated can be redeemed by the recipients at participating local cafes, restaurants and stores (but not for alcohol). In order to collect the money, however, participants must check in every 30 days with a participating homeless non-profit.

According to the Times, Samaritan launched in 2016, has 7,000 downloads in Seattle, and channels $2,500 worth of donations a month. The company behind Samaritan is for-profit, charging 7.5 percent fee on top of the donation, and has funding from angel investors as well as a grant from Paul Allen’s Vulcan.

It can get a little depressing sometimes, when you read about (and report on) yet-another startup raising millions of dollars to focuses on catering lunches and snacks for corporations. So it’s heartwarming to hear of technology being put to good use.

Samaritan is another startup in the same vein as Action Hunger, which uses vending machines to provide food and other sundries for homeless people in England. And All_ebt, which uses Facebook Messenger and virtual Visa cards to help people on food stamps shop for groceries online.

While Samaritan only works in Seattle right now, the company has plans to expand to New York City and Austin, TX.

Miir Makes Connections Between Consumer and Charities

I love getting swag at conferences, but there is a certain amount of guilt that comes along with it. Do I need another coffee mug? (No.) Could the money that went into making this coffee mug have been put to better use in the world? (Yes.)

Seattle-based company Miir can help takeaway take away that guilt. They connect their products (which include water bottles, coffee mugs, and messenger bags) with a variety of charitable projects — and connect consumers with the impact of their purchases.

Every quarter, the company picks a new charitable project.  During that time, three percent of all of Miir’s sales goes towards that project. For example, Miir recently worked with the non-profit Splash to create safe drinking water facilities in two schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

What makes Miir different from other companies that donate a portion of their proceeds is the code put on all their items. Once they purchase a water bottle or bicycle bag, consumers can register that code online and track what their money is going towards. (The project still gets the money even if the code is not registered.)

“We are bridging the gap between the things we sell and the things they [customers] support,” said Eric Akines, Miir CMO.

In addition to clean water projects around the world, Akines said Miir is bringing their charitable acts closer to home. This summer it will be partnering with Viva Farms in the Skagit Valley of Washington to irrigate a huge plot of land, so it can become a working farm that teaches people about agriculture.

Consumers can purchase Miir products directly through its site, or in its real world flagship store in Seattle. Miir also partners with national companies such as Starbucks, Patagonia and Blue Bottle to sell branded Miir product directly through those stores. For example, a recent project Miir did with Starbucks helped fund a clean water project in a coffee growing community in Honduras.

Additionally, companies looking to create some conscientious corporate swag can commission their own branded Miir gear as giveaways for employees or conferences.

Founded in 2010, Miir since has donated more than $650,000 to various charitable projects. The company has grown to 50 people and has been friends and family funded to this point, though it is now going through the process of raising a Series A round.

And while your cupboard may not need another water bottle, buying one from Miir at least lets you help make a positive impact in the world (yes!).