Michigan Gifts that Give Back this Holiday Season

12.05.2017 | 3 min read

If you’re looking for ways to be charitable this holiday season and your gift list is a mile long, these Michigan ideas make perfect gifts that also give back!

Give great eats

Buying desserts from Pauls’ Moms’ Cookies will not only please any sweet lovers on your list, but their purchase benefits Dégagé Ministries’ Open Door Women’s Center, a safe haven offering shelter during the overnight hours for women in crisis in Grand Rapids.

Give a Traverse City Pie Company pie. Their Community Shop gives its profits to the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, which earmarks funds to improve the quality of life of children in the local community.

Give Michigan cherry products and gifts from Cherry Republic. Annually, the company donates one percent to a cause making a positive influence in the region. Past recipients have included the TART (Traverse Area Recreational Trails) Trails, Friends of the Sleeping Bear Dunes and the National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center.

Gift good java

Fill their stockings with coffee from Higher Grounds Trading in Traverse City. The company donates one percent of sales to On the Ground, an organization that empowers coffee farming communities through gender and social equity, environmental sustainability and economic security.

Pamper them

Fresh Coast Botanicals’ luxury creams and lotions make for a perfect hostess gift to keep on hand and will also please the hardest-to-buy-for person on your list. Plus, 10 percent of all revenues support the life-changing programs and services of 70×7 Muskegon, a not-for-profit organization serving men and women in Muskegon County re-entering society after incarceration.

Support furry friends

If you have pet-lovers on your list, the Michigan Humane Society Shop has a wide variety of logo gear, calendars and gifts for your four-legged family members. Sales from the shop benefit the Humane Society’s mission.

Get glam

Getting party-ready in Detroit? Head to Detroit Blows for a perfect blowout and know that $1 from every service and a percentage of retail sales will flow into Detroit Grows, the company’s philanthropic arm. Money is reinvested in women in Detroit in the form of micro grants to female entrepreneurs or as donations to organizations and programs working to help women re-enter the workforce.

Go artsy

Many of Michigan’s art museums, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City have great gift shops filled to the brim with unique and interesting gifts. Recipients will be delighted and you’ll have the satisfaction of supporting local cultural institutions.

Lots of local destinations such as zoos and museums have programs that allow people to donate money in someone’s name. If you have someone impossible to buy for who is passionate about a local cultural institution, this could be a great way to check their name off your list while honoring their passions and supporting a local community asset.

Certified B corporations are another good avenue to pursue for gifts. B Corps, as they’re otherwise known, are for-profit companies certified to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. If you live in or near Grand Rapids, you can give gift cards to Brewery Vivant or eateries included in the Essence Restaurant Group, which includes Grove, Bistro Bella Vita and The Green Well Gastro Pub. Find other Michigan B Corps here.

Where do you find gifts that give back? Let us know in the comments.

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