Since the start of Tuft & Needle, our founders have intentionally made social mission the heartbeat of our company. From creating a now industry-standard return policy, which allows customers to donate unwanted mattresses, to our first small donation in 2014, T&N constantly pursues new ways to do good. In 2017, when we launched our school fundraising program and began to make larger donations, we knew it was time to formalize our commitment to the community—so we created the Gives Back Program.
We wanted to share with our social media followers not only an announcement of the new program but a more in-depth look into why social mission is important to us. We chose to highlight some of the amazing non-profits we had given back to in 2017 through a series of posts on social media. By sharing examples of how T&N donates our resources and time, we shed a light on the spirit of our brand and our mission to make a difference.
From November 18 through November 22 (the week of Thanksgiving), our social media posts focused on T&N's social impact. Three things were important for our strategy: showing both the big and small ways that we serve the community, highlighting the amazing organizations we work with, and featuring our employees, who bring social impact at T&N to life.
1. Range of projects
The biggest donation we made in 2017 was through Bread of Life to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey—the same year, we also built a Little Library for the nearby Phoenix community. We posted about both of these projects on social media to show that T&N is making an impact at both a large and small scale. And both matter.
2. Partner organizations
We wanted to showcase the partners we work with that enable T&N to reach the people who are most in need. One organization we highlighted in a social post as part of this campaign was UMOM, a local Phoenix non-profit that opened an all-women's center in 2017. By tagging UMOM in our post, we offered them exposure to our customer base, increasing brand awareness for them and enabling them to better achieve their mission.
3. Employee participation
Our social impact programs couldn't exist without our employees, who volunteer their time to help make a difference. The social media posts about Gives Back featured real T&N employees out in the community.
By posting about our social impact on our social media platforms, we were able to show our customers a new side of Tuft & Needle and officially launch the Gives Back Program. The goal of this particular social media campaign wasn't necessarily to grow our following—but to engage current and future customers by sharing a unique and special aspect of our brand. The responses from customers were very positive. On Instagram, one fan noted "This alone and your customer service stories posted everywhere is steering me in the direction if a T&N vs a Casper!!! Super excited to buy your mattress soon ❤️❤️❤️." Another commented, "LOVE this picture! You are all SO good at what you do!!!"
Today, the Gives Back Program itself is thriving. We donate 2.5% of our sales to charitable organizations and our school fundraising program is available in all 50 states.
