Four local guys have created a website through which you can drink, dine and indulge guilt-free by buying daily deals that funnel 10 percent of proceeds to local charities.
Unlike most coupon and discount websites, EatShopGive.com forges a bond between merchant, charity and consumer that goes beyond a one-time purchase. “It is not a hit-it-and-quit-it scenario,” said founder and former restaurateur Sean Coyle, 35, of Manayunk. “Partnership is really important in what we do.”
Coyle, who got the idea while dealing with similar sites as a business owner, hopes to create a feel-good, word-of-mouth type of PR, or what he calls “organic advertising,” as merchants promote the website and chosen charity to sell more deals and charities, in return, promote the site and its merchants to receive more donations.
The website has seen an explosion of growth, Coyle said, with traffic increasing by 1,000 percent since it launched last month and growing by as much as 30 or 40 percent per day.
Coyle and his friends whittled down the list of charities to 12 super-local causes, each of which sign a contract to receive a dedicated week or two per year of donations. This week, the Philadelphia chapter of the National Kidney Foundation benefits from a series of fitness and yoga deals.
