Revolutionizing the Role of Local Businesses in Community Development
BELLEVUE, WA, UNITED STATES, February 27, 2024
In a groundbreaking partnership, Rotary District 5030 and Our Mayberry proudly announce the launch of a revolutionary Community Benefit Business Network, designed to optimize Rotary-led community outreach, support, and engagement efforts. This digital initiative will replace the district’s existing online directory with an active commercial networking site, fostering powerful interactions among local businesses, nonprofits, and causes.
The network will be a place where Rotarians can transact with one another and with consumers to support the district charitable foundation and other causes Rotary selects. The network lives on the district website and participating businesses can support causes by contributing a portion of each sale directly to the chosen nonprofit. Our Mayberry’s platform allows all types of businesses to participate by featuring ecommerce, invoicing, and in-store purchasing options. In return, these businesses gain valuable exposure and recognition from their association with the Rotary district business network, benefiting from increased sales and enhanced customer loyalty due to their philanthropic efforts.
“For Rotary District 5030, this business network is a significant evolutionary step to showcase our commitment to help members unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves,” said District 5030 Governor, Kaj Pedesen. “It is a place where members can come together and support Rotary-connected businesses that support our communities and causes,” he added. “Better yet, Our Mayberry has given our district its own Rotary sourced “Amazon Smile network” where all of our transactions support Rotary causes. This is a powerful tool that we are really excited about!”
Roughly 300 businesses were listed in the old district business directory, which fell short of the objective to engage users and attract buyers and had no links to the broader community. In contrast, the new business network technology Our Mayberry has developed helps drive member and community engagement by empowering merchants to include with each sale an instantaneous contribution to a local cause, with the funds sent directly to the beneficiary. Neither Our Mayberry nor the contributing business touches the money. The transparency built into the platform engenders trust and promises businesses enhanced visibility, not as mere listings in a directory but as active participants in community development. It equips them with tools and opportunities to echo their social responsibility, tap into a wider audience base, and drive meaningful engagement.
That’s why a growing number of community organizations – like chambers of commerce and local media companies – representing hundreds of businesses are lining up to create their own Community Benefit Business Network where organization supporters can do business together and with their local communities and where belief-driven buyers can shop their values.
“It is time for local communities to start recapturing the power that has increasingly been ceded to centralized online platforms and marketplaces,” said Our Mayberry CEO, Shawn Tacey. “Those platforms siphon funds out of our local communities and transfer that wealth elsewhere. Our focus is to empower communities with cutting edge technology that makes its simple and mutually beneficial for local businesses to engage more closely with their communities and support one another and the causes that matter to them,” he added. “The District 5030 Community Benefit Business Network is a place where Rotarians can connect their work and service lives to use the transactions of their work life to support the causes they hold dear. It is the highest expression of the Rotary motto: ‘service above self.’ We want Rotarians to feel that this network is a place where they can live their best lives and make the biggest impact.”
ABOUT OUR MAYBERRY
Seattle-based Our Mayberry leverages technology to empower communities by building custom “Amazon Smile-like” Community Benefit Business Networks that support local nonprofits and reinvestment. Our cloud platform expands on the discontinued Amazon Smile initiative, democratizing it and enabling citizens to fund their needs through values-driven commerce. This approach represents a significant step forward for commerce, laying the foundation for a new economic model. We complement our business network technology with customizable fundraising tools, facilitating collaborative advocacy and fundraising efforts. Our mission is to empower individuals to use their purchasing power for positive change – it’s about harnessing the collective power of how we spend to create a better future. Join us in building a more equitable and sustainable world. Learn more at www.ourmayberry.com. Welcome to Our Mayberry!
ABOUT ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.4 million members of more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. Learn more at rotary.org.
