Juice in the City shares “juice” with The 3/50 Project

Earlier this summer, two interesting (read: brow raising, eye popping, make-you-gasp-for-air) posts appeared on The 3/50 Project’s Facebook page, each beginning with the following line:

Good news! Juice is donating $1000 to The 3/50 Project….

For a grass roots organization in need of capital, comments like that tend to get one’s attention. Fast.

Emails were swapped, phone calls made…

…and Juice in the City sent a $1,000 check to The 3/50 Project. Color me thrilled.

Then my self-built pothole appeared. 

If you’re a frequent reader of the blog, or a fan of the Project’s Facebook page, you know the past few weeks have included some :::ahem::: ”lively” conversations about daily deal sites, most specifically (but not exclusively), Groupon (here and here and here). Which is why this fabulous donation suddenly became a concern.

You see…Juice in the City is a daily deal service (a unique one, however, built to empower moms, with a sales force of moms, finding businesses that moms will frequent, “vetting” merchants to be sure they’re mom-worthy).

Which is why I called Sarah Eisner (Juice in the City co-founder and CMO) to explain my concerns about potential conflict…and to return the money.

Which she promptly talked me out of.

Sarah understood why accepting a donation from a deal-based business could be perceived as a conflict, but made one thing abundantly clear—the reason for the donation was not to make them look good. It was to help the Project do good. To help us continue reaching consumers, which in turn brings business to merchants, which in turn bolsters local economies.

Which is an ideal we both believe in, even if we’re approaching it from different directions.

Juice in the City didn’t enter the game like most deal sites. It wasn’t about “take no prisoners” slash-and-dash discounts. It was about helping moms who needed a financial boost, including creation of the Groupmom Fund. Does that mean their system is perfect for merchants? Probably not (no one has cracked that code…yet), but they have a lot of positive feedback from merchants who have tried them, and are determined to create a win/win for local businesses.

That alone makes them worth watching.

We visited about what locally owned businesses need for “deal” models to work. We talked about how many hats we each wear, and how sometimes, doing so gets complicated. And we confirmed a sincere appreciation for what the other strives to accomplish, for two very, very worthy groups.

She’s helping moms. I’m helping independent merchants. Both are vitally important.

So yes, Juice in the City has graciously donated $1,000 to The 3/50 Project without a single string attached. The 3/50 Project is deeply grateful for their kind generosity.

And “Altruism” should be Sarah Eisner’s new middle name.

I couldn’t be more proud.