"If every Kiwi replaced one $10 gift with a donation to a good cause, we'd share $47 million of goodness" The Good Registry

The Good Registry is an online giving platform, based in New Zealand, that gives people a way to be more generous by giving to good causes rather than giving gifts that aren't wanted or needed.

Christine Langdon is the Founder and Chief of Good (which is one of the best titles I've come across so far for any founder / entrepreneur). In this week's podcast I talk to her about why she set up The Good Registry and her ambitious plans to generate $2 million dollars in her first year.  

Gift giving is big business and a staple part of our culture here in the UK and in New Zealand but we often receive gifts that we don't want or need and creates an unnecessary burden on the person buying the gift. Recognising this and aligning it to a desire to reduce waste and packaging Christine re-imagined the way we could give gifts. 

And as the starting statement above says, if every Kiwi just gave one $10 gift to a good cause or charity, instead of purchasing a physical gift, Kiwi's would generate an extra $47 million for charities in New Zealand. (That's based on an estimated population of 4.7 million people). 

Christine developed the idea after looking for a way to inspire people to be more generous, Knowing that people don't necessarily think about giving to charities but do want to be more creative about giving gifts she combined the two. 

The registry approach enables people to come together and give as a community. For example, if it's my birthday and I decide I'd rather you 'donate' your gift money to a charity of my choosing. I create a registry on The Good Registry Website and all my friends and family can gift their contribution. We all then get to see how much has been raised and donated. 

Listen to the podcast here:

What we discussed on this week's podcast:

• Why the Gift Registry model was the chosen approach
• How you create your own Gift Registry for a birthday, celebration, wedding etc
• How companies can use vouchers for the Gift Registry
• Simplicity, Goodness & Celebration - the importance of setting the values of your organisation
• The challenge of not knowing and learning quickly as an entrepreneur
• Success as experienced by those who you use the Registry

Find out more about The Good Registry here

You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @thegoodregistry

If you liked this podcast, you might also like these previous episodes from other social entrepreneurs selling gifts:

• Pragya Agarwal from the Art Tiffin and her vegan, cruelty free art, subscription boxes
• Madeline & Lenny from MAMOQ and their curated ethical fashion marketplace
• Tahni Aitken from Kudu & Mimi and their ethically sourced bags