Episode 81: Laura Hertz- Gifts for Good

Laura Hertz is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gifts for Good. Gifts for Good is an e-commerce site that sells gifts from over 40 nonprofits and social enterprises throughout the country and world. They encourage corporations to redirect their gifting from items that will just end up in a landfill to purchasing their employees gift from Gifts for Good where every gift purchased gives back. You can also purchase gifts from their site for any occasion as an individual. Laura spent a year of her life doing service work for AmeriCorps right after high school and went on to study Business Administration at UC Berkeley. After spending a few years working in corporate America, Laura got her Master’s in social entrepreneurship at USC. Laura was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Social Entrepreneurship category in 2020. This episode is hosted by Emma Benner. What we talked about: 2:50- Introduction to Laura and Gifts for Good 5:10- How they get corporations on board with their mission 8:30- How Gifts for Good gets connected with the various nonprofits 10:00- Highlighting some of Laura’s favorite products that they sell and nonprofits that they partner with 12:00- How she uses her experience in corporate America to make her business successful while still staying true to her mission of doing good and giving back 15:35- The evolution of Gifts for Good over the years 24:15- How corporate gifting has changed due to COVID 26:20- The sustainability side of Gifts for Good 28:15- The direct impact that Gifts for Good has on nonprofits and social enterprises 31:05- Her favorite part about being the CEO and co-founder of Gifts for Good 32:20- The team of employees that she has brought on to Gifts for Good 35:40- Where her passion for doing good stems from and her experience in AmeriCorps 46:35- What people can do in their daily lives to make an impact on others 50:10- End of podcast questions Show notes: Gifts for Good Website Book recommendation: Lean In Follow The Illuminate Podcast: Illuminate Podcast on Instagram Illuminate Podcast on Twitter Illuminate Podcast on Facebook Follow Sandyboy Productions: Sandyboy Productions on Twitter Sandyboy Productions on Instagram