While bringing you opportunities to support state, national and international non-profits, we have learned that many of your efforts to raise money are locally focused. That’s where our new fundraisers come in!

We’ve developed a new fundraising program for groups that is especially helpful when hosting events, distributing materials throughout the community or meeting constituents in person. You can rally people to your cause by selling your own branded apparel and use the proceeds to benefit your group.

Our fundraising efforts operate much like our Exclusive Partnerships, except sales are handled primarily by the organization. We work with each group to provide free artwork - the design is donated at no cost to you.

We will also provide paper order forms for your event or to keep on hand, as well as post the fundraiser on our website. When the order forms are turned in and the money is collected, Greater Than Goods will produce the shirts. Again, at no upfront cost to the organization. You are only charged a wholesale cost when orders are turned in.

Are you looking to generate money for an important cause? We can help! Some inspiration for fundraisers include:

• Offsetting a friend or family member’s medical expenses
• Paying for new hospital equipment
• Restoring a historical site
• Building a new animal shelter

We hope that by adding yet another way to raise funds, we can help your group as much as possible! Contact me to chat more about Greater Than Goods and how we can help your organization!

Many children faced with surgery or hospitalization for a craniofacial defect are enjoying the comfort and support of a cute n’ cuddly companion. Thanks to a very special partnership between Dylan’s Smile and Greater Than Goods, this beary special effort as been able to continue - even through tough economic times.

The short-sleeve t-shirt and the long-sleeve thermal offered through Greater Than Goods have not only garnered lots of attention, but have certainly done their job in promoting our incredibly popular smile-producing free teddy bear program!

Thank you, Greater Than Goods! {And, for a limited time, enjoy $5 savings on both shirt designs!}

I love fishing. The floppy hats, nomenclature like doodlesock and hawg and its ability to serve a metaphor for self reliance and independence.

At some point everyone has come across the aphorism ‘Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Teach a person to fish, they eat for a lifetime.’ Down in West Virginia’s Jefferson & Berkeley Counties, Friends in Action of the Eastern Panhandle is teaching people how to fish. The non-profit pairs low-income families with mentors who serve as role models and provide emotional support; help with budgeting and parenting skills; tutor a child or help a parent acquire a GED or obtain a job; celebrate the good times and help get past the rough spots.

My original thumbnail didn’t actually have the Give/Teach quote. Rather, it was a bunch of fish with a hook hanging there all cryptic. This would’ve pushed the boundaries of our screen printing department, requiring multiple screens and locations unlike any shirt we have produced yet. But it didn’t convey the Give/Teach message very well. Or at all.

Speaking of the Give/Teach quote, traditionally it has been known as “give a Man a fish/teach a man to fish” which left me to wonder about women…wouldn’t they like to learn how to fish? I changed my phrase so that everyone can enjoy fishing.

The next drawing tested the waters with integrating the text with the fish. I started working on refining the drawing with pencil. This helped flesh out the style of the letterforms and fish.

I’m a very raw designer, instead of tight and technical, so I wasn’t concerned with making everything perfect for the final product.  I traced over the pencil with a pen and scanned it. From there I worked on the computer, redrawing it yet again, refining the forms and tweaking the colors. And ta-da, the completed design!

You can land yourself one over here.

This week, our good friend Mark Wyatt, Executive Director at the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, is making his yearly bike ride across Iowa with RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI is an annual event that draws thousands of Iowans who bike from border to border. The event has attracted celebrities such as Lance Armstrong, Sheryl Crow, Tom Arnold and presidential candidates over its 37 year run.

This year, Mark brought a little bit of Greater Than Goods on the tour. He’s selling our “Another Way to Roll” bicycling shirts as well as the exclusive Iowa Bicycle Coalition shirt. Of course, $5 from each shirt sold goes directly to his group.

Help support biking, bike safety and alternative transportation by checking out this line of shirts. And good luck to all the bicyclists on RAGBRAI this year! Keep pedaling!

Food. Clothing. Shelter. Love.

That’s what our partner Orphan World Relief provides to hundreds of orphans across the world.

Most of us may not see firsthand what these children go through. (I know the closest I’ve gotten is seeing Slumdog Millionaire and commercials on TV.) But I also know that even though I may never make it across the world, there are other ways to help.

We’re trying to make it easier for people to get involved in whatever way they can. You can start with our new “Food. Clothing. Shelter. Love.” T-shirt. Not only do you send $5 to an organization that will use it to do good, but you raise awareness for orphan relief every time you wear your shirt.

Plus, check out Orphan World Relief’s other ways to get involved on their website!

P.S. We came across Orphan World Relief thanks to a co-worker who had family involved with this great cause. We’re always looking for other non-profits to serve with our cause apparel - email us your suggestions!