First off, thanks for your comment! Your questions are very well-deserved, albeit rather blunt. Let me take some time to answer you though…

1) The money helps by contributing to charities with like goals to Angel Strata. Currently, there is a vast number of groups sending clothing, food, and other supplies to Haiti. The amount of help these groups provide is unknown currently and I am concerned about an over-supply of some goods and under-supply of others. The leading candidate as far as charities goes is the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (Donate here: https://re.clintonbushhaitifund.org/), but they are also using several charities to channel their donations. I am researching which charities these are to help ensure a greater percentage of Angel Strata’s donation money is directly applied to the relief.

2) Yes, I make profit from these sales. However, this shirt is considered “emergency relief” and all clothing Angel Strata makes for emergencies will donate all but $1 to the cause. The $1 is applied to growing the brand and forging connections which will allow Angel Strata to have a greater impact in leaving this world a better place than I found it. I’m not interested in buying myself a yacht, don’t worry.

3) You do NOT have to contribute by purchasing through Angel Strata. I actually encourage you contribute directly to the charity of your choice. However, these shirts are a great way to build awareness for the situation and to market relief efforts, so as to incite more contribution and more enthusiasm for those who are risking their money, health, and time into helping Haitians get back on their feet. Different strokes for different folks, of course—Angel Strata is about fashion as much as it is about helping people. If you are going to buy clothes, I encourage consumers to buy tasteful clothes that also happen to support great causes. Some people wish to take the more low-key approach, and some just want a cool t-shirt. It’s not anyone’s position to judge how anyone else chooses to spend their money; and besides, I believe a good percentage of my customers will be of the type who would not have donated to the cause without purchasing my shirts. That’s who I am targeting here.

4) They may want to go through Angel Strata because it takes effort to make plans or to choose. Making a choice easier for people has proven to increase participation. Again, if you have the time and energy to do the research on your own, be my guest to donate directly to charities.

5) Angel Strata is not a registered 501(c)(3), not will it become one. I am a social capitalist, not a charity. I will not ever pretend to be a charity either.

6) I will gladly look up information about tax deductions. I have a hunch it should be possible though.

7) 100% less $1 goes towards the cause here, minus production cost.

Please, if anyone else has questions, feel free to ask! I hope this helped settle your mind a little bit Unanswered.

why should anyone donate through angel strata to help haiti? Is angel strata a registered 501 (c) (3) organization? are the donations tax deductible? do 100% of the donations go to an aid group?