involveMINT Inc.

Change is our currency.

We advance community ChangeMakers' missions by showcasing proofs of their impact through our network, enabling them to utilize untapped goods, services, and expertise offered by our member businesses. These proofs can be traded among businesses to build local supply chains, fostering a community-driven economy rooted in change and social good.

Problem: Money’s scarcity within the nonprofit sector often triggers fierce competition among community-serving organizations. These groups must navigate lengthy funding applications, diverting their focus from their core missions, and often in deference to the funder’s priorities. The unpredictability of funding creates planning challenges, which can benefit established organizations with existing connections. Unsurprisingly, the demand for social and environmental services continues to rise, placing additional strain on these organizations. To meet this growing demand, the means of accessing resources must be driven by those closest to the issues.

Member businesses offer their untapped resources, also known as extra capacity, within their business to accept and trade these proofs with one another. This extra capacity can be thought of in terms of a theater. If a theater seats 100 people, but only 70 attend the performance, that is 30 extra seats that could have been sold. Businesses using involveMINT will fill those 30 extra seats. What's more, businesses participating in involveMINT have the satisfaction of knowing that they are benefitting their community, simply by participating.

We all believe that community development should improve the quality of life in communities, there are too many communities that experience underinvestment. There are still volunteer community members that volunteer and work hard to improve these communities however they need more resources to succeed.

Background:
I want to highlight the incredible impact involveMINT has had in 2023.

Hazelwood Food Recycling Site:
In 2023, ChangeMakers (CMs )diverted 30,000 lbs of food from landfill, restoring nutrients to soil & local produce.
** Sequestered 1,410 pounds of carbon
** generated 25,000 in CCs – creating $25,000 in new community wealth
Oct 2023 - CMs contributed 167 hours generating 2,500 CCs - Most amount ever!

Catalyze Your Cause (CYC):
Late 2022 early 2023 - partnered w/ ReImagine Jobs, to empower CMs through experiential learning workshops, fundraise through the CC
Eight CMs gained clarity on their causes structures, and launched:
Urban Spore, LLC - Nutrient rich mushroom farming and education
TradeCraft - Wiklinburg- focused economic and personal developmentBreak IT (Institutional Trauma) - incubator for LGBTQ and Returning Citizens
How Mountain - programming teaching people to live with purpose & adventure
Cleansumer, LLC - browser plug in giving equitability ratings to corporations
1 CM hired by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable business w/ CYC help
1 CM started a community center in Swissvale

Your Invitation:
We have a goal of raising $10,000.

Network Development - $500:
A $500 donation can connect 6 CMs with the additional resources from local businesses to support their impact-driven missions.
Contribution multiplies to 3-4 times its value, enabling CMs to access a greater number of resources - including services like equipment hauling for our food recycling CMs and building supplies for CMs retrofitting housing in Wilkinsburg.
Monetary contribution + matching CM contributions have bigger impact than donating alone (x2 impact)
What’s more we are capturing that value and generating revenue for struggling local businesses so they can access goods and services from each other (avg. x2 impact)
Share the potential ripple effect this contribution could have on our projects, ensuring our sustainability beyond grant funding.

Testimonials:
“involveMINT allows me to not just contribute my time to meaningful causes, but also have my time time translate into tangible resources that actively support the community”
-Cindy Underwood, involveMINT ChangeMaker

“Thanks to involveMINT, I was able to get access to accounting services that I wouldn’t have been able to access with just my existing revenue.”

• Laura Codori, Worm Return