Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

Many successful businesses try to give back to the community by donating part of their proceeds to a certain charity or charities. A great example of a business that gives back is Nike. Nike is a multi-billion dollar enterprise and is a household name. Forbes has named Nike as #1 on Forbes’ Fab. 40 list of the most valuable names in sports. Nike is valued upwards of $15 billion, which is a 40% increase from the previous year. “Nike arguably claims the most global of the brands and businesses on the list, leading by a 38% share on the footwear market, and values a 9% increase on the Nike branded apparel (slotted at $5.4 billion), compared to last year’s standings.” (http://business.transworld.net/74449/news/forbes-names-nike-most-valuable-brand-in-sports/) With all this success, Nike has partnered with (RED), to raise money for The Global Fund. “Each (Product) ^RED Partner contributes a portion of their profits to the global fund to help fight AIDS in Africa” (http://www.joinred.com/aboutred/red-partners/) After partnering with (RED), Nike launched the Lace Up Save Lives campaign. This campaign centered around (NIKE)^RED shoe laces. Nike stated that each purchase of these laces “contributes 100% of its profits from the sale to the Global Fund and to sport for development programs in Africa like Grassroots Soccer.” (http://www.sportanddev.org/newsnviews/news/?1885/Nike-RED-Campaign-battles-AIDS-in-Africa) Funds from these laces also provide the Global Fund finance for HIV/AIDS programs, medication, training, and equipment in Africa.

In addition to these (NIKE)^RED laces, Converse (which is owned by Nike) has also released (Converse)^RED shoes. With each purchase of these shoes, 5-15% of the net wholesale price from each pair is donated to the Global Fund.

In conclusion, Nike has gained much success in their market, and they have taken steps to give back to the community and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.