CafePress Inc., Louisville, Ky., has launched tfund.com, a new apparel-based fund-raising platform.
Tfund enables groups, organizations or individuals to raise funds by selling T-shirts for projects, charitable organizations or events. Users set a fund-raising goal, design custom T-shirts or leverage content from cafepress.com, and pre-sell them to support a cause or event without any upfront expenses. T-shirts are only produced and shipped once the minimum sales goal is obtained, eliminating the need for initial investment or risk, according to the company.
“Fund-raising opportunities have exploded with the advent of crowd-funded campaigns,” says Patrick Cerreta of CafePress. “Tfund is unique in that it gives campaigners a quick, easy and no-cost way to start earning money for a special cause or idea.”
The fund-raising source is generating celebrity interest, according to the company. Rob Cesternino and Erik Reichenbach, contestants from CBS’s “Survivor,” have teamed up to establish a Tfund campaign to raise funds for equipment for the next season of “Rob Has a
Podcast.”
Local governments and non-profits also are using the platform to raise funds for initiatives. Louisville Metro recently launched a Tfund campaign to raise money for Louisville’s open streets block party, called CycLOUvia, where cars are temporarily removed from one of the city’s busiest stretches of road for the community to enjoy the open urban space.
Additionally, Miss Kentucky 2013 Jenna Day established a Tfund to help raise money for Crusade for Children, a fund-raising run by WHAS television in Louisville to benefit special-needs children, and the Louisville Visual Art Association has established a Tfund to support its OPEN DOORS program, which brings art to under-served communities.
“Our platform has no boundaries for the types of campaigns created and has limitless potential for campaigners,” Cerreta says. “Campaign managers can design a T-shirt or leverage a design, create a campaign and light up their social network in a matter of minutes with Tfund.”
Once a campaigner’s threshold goal is met, Tfund collects the money, produces the T-shirts and fulfills the orders, including shipping and customer service. The campaigner then receives a check from CafePress for the net revenue from the sales. If content was leveraged from cafepress.com for a campaign, the designer also may receive a royalty on net revenue.
Tfund T-shirts are available in more than 20 colors, are made from 5.5-ounce, 100% preshrunk cotton and are available in youth sizes XS to adult 3XL.
For more information, visit tfund.com. — L.M.
