Matter of Time is a Purpose Driven Community focused on giving. Not only do members agree to give away their watches after a year or two, but as an organization, we are committed to giving away 50% of the proceeds to good causes. What does that mean, anyway.
First, let's clearly define how much will be donated and then we will define where it will go.
The Proceeds are:
Total amount from the watches sold - cost of the goods sold including watches, straps and packaging. We will donate half of this to charitable causes.
Where do the rest of the proceeds go?
We will reinvest the remainder in the future collection(s) and member events. This is because we would like to do a new collection once per year and this way we have to do a little less out of pocket from the founders each time. While we don't have any designs of making this a profitable venture, we would like to spend less of our own money investing in future pieces.
Where does the donation go and how is it decided?
Nominations:
Once we have critical mass of members, we will allow members to nominate worthy causes to receive some or all of the donation allocation. These do not have to be registered non-profits but they cannot be religious or political causes.
Giving Board:
The next step is for a subset of members who will be called the "Giving Board" to narrow down the donations and make the final allocation decisions. The Giving Board will change annually though some members can have a repeat duty on the board from year to year.
This framework will allow all members to have a voice in recommending good causes and ultimately selecting destinations for the funds. Moreover, the fact that we are allowing a diverse subset of causes to be included in the nominations means we may have some official charities as beneficiaries but we aren't limited to that. We expect to help a variety of groups including teachers who need classroom supplies to families in need - there is no limit when a group of motivated people decide to spend their time giving to others!
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