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Media
The Girls in the Vineyard: School Fundraiser Grows Into Something Much Bigger
Sometimes a good idea grows beyond any expectations. That’s what happened to The Girls in the Vineyard. The Napa Valley winery started out as a school fundraiser but has turned into a successful business with a unique twist on charitable donations—one that offers wine lovers a generous way to support Carbonfund.org.
The Girls in the Vineyard is the product of Rob and Kat McDonald and Matt Stone. (The McDonalds are Australian, and in Australia it’s common for winemakers to refer to their vines as girls: hence the name.)
Stone and the McDonalds met when they were trying to think of ways to raise money to support the new independent school their children were attending. Deep in the heart of California’s wine country, they decided to start a small vineyard and sell wine to benefit the school. The original plan was to sell a few cases locally as a fundraiser, but the partners fell in love with the vineyard, and the wine turned out to be better than they’d ever expected. Now The Girls in the Vineyard is available across the country.
Stone and the McDonalds have continued to use The Girls in the Vineyard to benefit their childrens’ school, but they’ve expanded the range of charitable causes. “We felt that if it worked as a donation maker for our school, it could work for, well, anyone,” said Stone. “We gave it some thought and decided we wanted to work differently from other businesses and charities out there.” This is what they came up with: for every case that is purchased directly, The Girls in the Vineyard makes a $30 donation to a nonprofit of the buyer’s choice—any nonprofit!
As a further incentive, until the end of the year, The Girls in the Vineyard is doubling any donations made to Carbonfund.org—so simply buying a case of delicious wine sends $60 to fund reforestation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency projects.
“We wanted to let our buyers choose for themselves, because everyone should be able to choose their own favorite charity,” said Stone. “When they buy directly from us, that cuts out the middleman and retail, so we can put the savings toward a good cause. The money we would have given to the supply chain we’ll give to a worthy cause instead.”
The Girls in the Vineyard has donated to schools, the Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, hospices, and environmental organizations—including Carbonfund.org. “It’s not a sales gimmick,” said Stone. “The wine stands on its own. It’s just the right thing to do, and a nice way to say thank you.”
