Food Conspiracy Co-op in Tucson, Ariz., made a big impact on the inaugural Small Business Big Impact Day last month, with the help of the financial platform company Intuit (home of MailChimp, TurboTax, Mint and QuickBooks). On Feb. 15, across 17 cities, Intuit purchased $1 million-worth of items directly from local businesses — including Food Conspiracy Co-op — that were in turn donated to local nonprofits.

In Tucson, Intuit chose to focus their giving power on nonprofits Youth on Their Own and I Am You 360. Intuit also doubled the impact of its money by buying $16,000 of organic hygiene products directly from Food Conspiracy Co-op at full retail. At the end of the day, staff helped pack and deliver:

• Backpacks filled with locally purchased school supplies to Youth on Their Own.
• Care packages filled with pet toys, food and treats purchased from local Triple L Feed and Supply, and Dogs and Donuts to Friends of PACC.
• Hygiene packs filled with organic and natural body care products from Food Conspiracy Co-op to I Am You 360.

By buying hygiene products through Food Conspiracy Co-op, Intuit was able to keep its money local at every level, increasing the impact on the co-op and local economy, as well as the local social services that received the product.

The coordination of the sales and products required patience and creativity on the part of both Intuit and Food Conspiracy staff, particularly Grocery Manager Sarah Schwob and Finance Manager Tina Millette, who had to juggle products and credit card payments just four days before the event.

“We plan to continue to stay in contact with Intuit for more such purchases, but we also want to try to establish some ‘shopping lists’ for nonprofits, whereby anyone can purchase products needed by an organization from a list they provide us, then donate the goods directly,” said Andrea Buttrick, Food Conspiracy’s communications coordinator.

A post on Food Conspiracy’s website said: “Intuit chose to do what we at Food Conspiracy Co-op try to do every day: make each and every decision have the most power, the most impact, the most change-making: the most healing and healthy for people, systems and the planet.”