Island Jay is Donating 25% Of All Florida Strong products To the Florida Disaster Fund
Island Jay is donating 25% of all FLORIDA STRONG products sold to the Florida Disaster Fund.
We started with a goal of $5,000 and shortly reached that. Another $5,000 goal was set and then reached that one as well. So why not keep going?
Why do this?
Because we want to help our fellow Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian. Many Floridians have helped support the Island Jay brand over the past 10 years. We would like to give back when we can.
Who funded this?
Island Jay & of course those that did the most, our customers.
Did Island Jay use cheap garments and products for the Florida Strong promotion?
Island Jay is known for offering good quality products and that is exactly what we did with all Florida Strong products sold. We did not go "cheap" or compromise anywhere.
Why didn't Island Jay donate more than 25%?
That is a fair question. The short version is we could not afford to. Do you want the detailed version? Read on!
Island Jay is not a charity nor is it setup to operate as a charity. We do not have any volunteer labor or free warehouse space to produce and ship the Florida Strong products.
Island Jay is a small Tampa, Florida business with a dozen employees. Traditional business has costs associated with operating a business. Utilities, insurance, and many other fixed expenses need to be paid regardless of the goods we are producing.
Our costs to product the Florida Strong products are extremely high.
We spent over $15,000 on advertising to help bring awareness of the Florida Strong program. Our organic sales (Sales not credited to paid advertising) have generated approximately $2,000 for the fund. Our advertising efforts so far have yielded 5 times more than that for the fund.
By advertising and building that into our cost, we have generated over $10,000 for the fund instead of $2,000. Advertising yielded more funds for the Florida Disaster Fund.
Here are the approximate costs of printing a short sleeve double sided t-shirt at $27.95.
* Garment Cost $7.00 (25%)
Donation $7.00 (25%)
Advertising $7.00 (25%)
Labor $3.00 (11%)
** Postage $2.00 (7%)
The remaining 8% of revenue went to cover our business operating expenses..
* Includes the cost of a high quality garments and ink. We don't use cheap materials.
* Includes our average contribution to shipping. Some customers received free shipping because they reached our free shipping threshold.
Wait, if Island Jay spent $15,000 on advertising, why didn't Island Jay simply donate the $15,000 to the fund?
As a small business we cannot afford to hand out $15,000. The advertising costs were offset by the sale of the products. The more we spent on advertising the more revenue it generated.
We realize that not everyone understands this or may get upset at us for only donating 25%. We have received some negative feedback on our 25% donation as too low or that we are "profiting" 75%.
To those individuals I would only suggest this. Don't buy a Florida Strong t-shirt from us or anyone. Seriously, you do not have to buy anything from us and that is OK! But I would ask that you make a donation directly to a registered charity that is helping the Hurricane Ian victims. Here is the link to the Florida Disaster Fund.
Island Jay is extremely proud of what we accomplished.
This was the best way we know how to generate revenue to help support the Florida Disaster Fund.
The Florida Strong products not only provided donations, but also a sense of community. Our posts on social media have generated thousands of comments. Many of them are Floridians speaking about their hardships or helping to support others in need.
Did you know that Island Jay also donated? Island Jay donated $5,000 worth of clothing to the Southwest Florida region.
👉 You can shop the Florida Strong product line at
https://islandjay.com/collections/florida-strong?utm_source=blog
Records:
$10,000 Donation Receipts
(PDF DOWNLOAD 1.8MB)
Additional receipts will be posted soon.
