GiveGood
In 1993, Patricia and David Dunavant’s oldest son was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. With such a high percentage of young adults on the spectrum remaining unemployed after high school, Dunavant felt a responsibility to change those odds. “The inspiration was my son,” says Dunavant. "He received his degree in journalism from the University of Memphis, yet has been unable to find meaningful employment. There is an 82 percent unemployment rate among this group, and yet many are highly intelligent and able."
David and Ken Dunavant are responsible for GiveGood, the first B-Corp in Tennessee. The company creates handcrafted food products and aims to employ individuals on the autism spectrum. “We currently have two employees with college degrees and one with a master’s degree,” Dunavant says. It also employs six part-time workers and has an extensive waiting list. The company offers an intentional solution to empower individuals with work, place, and purpose in the community by showcasing their talents and hardworking nature. “Our model assesses the young person’s skills and personality, and we employ in several areas of the business," Dunavant says. "From packaging and fulfillment to sales and marketing, we are able to use their talents in an area of our operations that can produce a successful outcome.”
David has been in the financial business for 35-years and brought an entrepreneurial vision to creating a company that is for-profit and for-mission. Ken is a supply chain expert with 25 years of experience and has developed the platform that will allow GiveGood to be a national company.
Initially, the company began offering a gourmet toffee bar through local retail and e-commerce channels until they discovered an opportunity in the $125 billion gift market. Dunavant states that many businesses want to give their customers gifts that are memorable and impactful but have a difficult time finding suitable options. As a result, in August 2018, GiveGood began offering a service that helped businesses create their own customizable gift program, which also included written and visual content for a business’s social media platforms.
David comments that “companies want to be socially impactful, and their customers respond with enthusiasm.” So far, the program has proven to be a success. In the fourth quarter of 2018 alone, sales were five times greater than the previous year.
“We create unique and memorable gifts that allow businesses to connect with their customers and to communicate their corporate social responsibility,” says Dunavant. “As a benefit corporation who believes that business can be a force for good, we also have created an employment model that allows young persons on the autism spectrum to find their place and purpose through meaningful employment in our company.”
GiveGood is currently taking a break from participating in as many public events as they have in years past, instead participating in more symposiums and conferences to get out the message about a group of workers who can truly make a difference in a company’s operations. GiveGood is changing the way businesses impact the larger community, and Memphis couldn’t be more receptive to the change.
