*Information provided by Cone Communications & 5W Public Relations (source, source)

Empowering shoppers to do good easily

Corporations can no longer sit quietly on their laurels. Customers expect them not only to speak up, but also to demonstrate their values with concrete actions.

Many merchants offer a donation option at checkout, however, the charity is predetermined and the customer foots the donation. Sparo is flipping the script, allowing the shopper to choose the cause they’d like the store to support with the merchant making the donation on the shopper’s behalf. This means that each shopper helps the cause that matters most to them—at no cost—whether that is saving forests or giving towards the medical costs of providing a dying child a new heart.

Sparo compiles the results of the donations as “Impact Stories” which companies can share with their customers, celebrating how donated funds—fueled by purchases—have made a difference. 

As one of the only Microsoft Partners with a CSR focus, Microsoft views Sparo as a critical player in enabling social impact into business flow. Sparo has already run several highly successful pilots with corporations such as Staples, which translated to millions in additional sales.

Sparo’s goal is to democratize corporate charitable giving so that donating to charity is accessible for everyone and beneficial to those in need. We believe it’s time that consumers are able to Purchase with a Purpose®, and ensure that the merchants they choose to shop with are supporting causes they care about.

Sparo is currently pre-revenue.

Consumers expect more from corporations

Corporate giving is out of date. There is a growing demand among consumers for greater demonstrations of social responsibility from corporations, and despite rapid digital advances, approaches to corporate giving have barely changed.

Large corporations and small businesses donate to charity regularly, but rarely ever take into consideration the causes their shoppers care about. Consumers (especially millennials and younger) say they want to contribute to companies that share their values. They also can easily see when a business is not genuine in its social, environmental and other practices. And when the business does want to align with customer values, there has been no clear way for companies to know which charities their customers want to support as an expression of these values. Additionally, many companies still don’t know how to get involved in the first place, while shoppers who are keen to support critical causes lack the resources to do so on their own. 

Pressing global issues are in desperate need of support and are shining a brighter light on public desire to support critical causes than ever before. We believe there’s an untapped opportunity for companies to make a meaningful difference while building stronger brand loyalty with their shoppers.

Build brand loyalty by supporting the causes customers care about

At Sparo, we’re looking to overhaul and upgrade the outdated landscape of corporate giving by making charitable donations more streamlined, customized, and accessible. In doing so, our service will provide a powerful triple bottom line. Companies boost their ESG (Enterprise for Social Good scorecard rating) and reputation while supporting meaningful causes, acquire new customers, build stronger brand loyalty, and increase sales and profit—all while becoming more user-friendly.

We believe shoppers are more likely to return knowing that a portion of their purchases—at no cost to them—will go to a cause that matters to them. Seeing that impact is valuable, which is why Sparo compiles the outcomes from the charities donated to, providing companies with “Impact Stories” which they can share with their customers to celebrate exactly how their purchase made a difference. Functionality for Sparo's "Impact Stories" is planned to become available in late June 2022.

With the meteoric rise in eCommerce, now is an excellent time to introduce online shoppers to the Sparo eCommerce platform, which integrates seamlessly into any eCommerce website.

*Functionality for Sparo's "Impact Stories" is planned to become available in late June 2022.

When a customer is browsing products, they’ll see the option to designate a percentage of their sale to a charity—at no cost to them—and can then choose from hundreds of vetted nonprofits via a searchable directory. The retailer chooses the percentage of each sale for donation, and how it’s being funded (e.g. marketing budget, ESG funds, etc). All purchases are eligible for donation, and both donations and fees are tax deductible.

Sparo also allows merchants to customize the platform so that it matches their site, and they can also decide where to activate the “donate” option in the shopping or checkout journey. Plus, we’ll assist clients in featuring key charities in the midst of a national or global crises.

An untapped niche within a burgeoning market space

Sparo has found a unique niche and USP within a rapidly growing industry. The global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Software Market was valued at over $673M in 2020 and is projected to reach USD $1.3B by 2027, at a CAGR of 8.34% from 2021 to 2027 (source).

(source)

Demand for sustainable corporate giving initiatives from big brands is reaching new highs, with Gen Z and Millennial shoppers in particular holding brands accountable for their actions, impact, and values. As these younger generations gain greater economic power and social influence, corporations must pay attention and respond with more than surface-level statements. Brands must provide authentic connections with consumers and back up their words with meaningful actions. (source, source)

(source, source)

Our initial core audience will be enterprise businesses, whose accounts will drive enough revenue for these charitable efforts to be justified in our early stages. Later on, Sparo plans to develop a business model designed for smaller organizations, where for a monthly fee and a portion of proceeds, they can also take advantage of a toolkit to assist with marketing.

Successful pilot programs driving millions in additional sales

Sparo has experienced enthusiastic uptake and outstanding results in a short period of time. We’ve already completed pilot programs with brands including Staples® and Citron, and we’re now publicly available in the Microsoft Application Store with an incentivized offer to the internal Microsoft sales teams as a Co-Sell opportunity. Sparo was selected as one of the only Microsoft for Startups companies to represent the program at the 2022 National Retail Federation conference (source, source).

In our case study with Citron, an L.A.-based retailer, sales increased by 20% in the first month of partnership. In October 2021, we were selected by the Government of Curacao to be the CSR partner for their online shopping portal. In the same month, we launched Vote4Good® with the Sparo WordPress platform as a demonstration of the alignment of charitable gaming and democratized philanthropy.

We’re actively talking with a number of big brands in addition to potential investors. Sparo is planning to put the funds raised from our StartEngine offering towards hiring and business development, legal, technology and operations, sales, and marketing.

An opportunity to make a life-changing impact, right at checkout

Sparo’s service aligns with today’s customers who are looking for corporations to share their values and demonstrate care and responsibility beyond their bottom line. 

By democratizing corporate social giving and supporting personally meaningful causes with every purchase, Sparo is looking to bring companies and shoppers together.

We’ve already seen the life-changing impact Sparo can achieve, and from here, there’s a whole world of possibilities for expanding that impact, including a mobile app, Sparo credit card, sweepstakes, and point-of-sale donations at brick-and-mortar stores slated to be accomplished by Q4 2022.

This is an opportunity to support a fast-growing startup that’s creating incredible good in the world. We hope that you agree, and join us on this journey.