User:Theflyingmelon/Finnegans Irish Amber

Finnegans Irish Amber is a Minnesota beer that donates 100% of profits to local charities fighting the cycle of poverty.

Finnegans Irish Amber is a craft beer contract brewed at Summit Brewery in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is an Irish amber ale, light in body brewed with three malts and a dash of potatoes. It is available at over 1000 bars and liquor stores across Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.

History

In 1999, Jacquie Berglund had a big idea: create a tasty, locally-brewed beer that gives 100% of its profits to local charities. After first being turned down by the IRS (non-profit beer companies were not possible), an acceptable, sustainable, dual-organization business model was found: a for-profit beer company and a non-profit community fund. The James Page Brewing Company of northeast Minneapolis was approached and agreed to brew and bottle an Irish Potato Ale, the recipe another one of Jacquie’s creations.

The world’s first 100% charitable beer, Finnegans, debuted later that year at Kieran Folliard’s Twin Cities Irish pubs: The Local, The Liffey, and Kieran’s Irish Pub. With Jacquie having worked previously as Kieran’s Marketing Director, it’s no wonder that Kieran has been a big supporter of Finnegans Irish Amber from the very beginning.

Through a grass-roots effort to increase awareness dedicated volunteers and pro-bono partners helped get the Finnegans brand off the ground in September, 2000. As the word began to spread about “the good beer doing good deeds”, more and more volunteers signed up to help the cause, and the Finnegans Volunteer Brigade was created. Pub crawls and other exciting fundraising events designed to raise awareness started to take hold. In 2002, the St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl makes its first appearance and is now an annual Finnegans fundraising event.

In 2003, when the James Page Brewery runs into financial trouble, Finnegans starts its contract with Summit Brewery in St. Paul, Minnesota. Meanwhile, Finnegans begins expanding into new Minnesota markets, including St. Cloud, Owatonna, and Monticello.

After 4 years of hard work and dedication, Finnegans becomes profitable in 2003 and through the Finnegans Community Fund (a 501(c)(3) ), 100% of its profits are donated to local charities fighting the cycle of poverty. An example of a Finnegans grant recipient is Boulder Options — a Minneapolis-based youth mentoring program that teaches the skills to succeed in all of life’s races through athletic activities. A complete list of Finnegans grant recepients are available on the website.

In 2004, the Finnegans Volunteer Crew was created to carry out the operational tasks of the company. It’s a win-win partnership between Finnegans and Volunteer Crew members: volunteers are given the responsibility to engage and expand their creativity and talents, while Finnegans helps them grow personally and professionally. The original Crew had 4 members: new business, creative/marketing, web-tech and later, a volunteer coordinator.

2007 was a year of tremendous growth. Through a partnership with the Cabooze, Finnegans debuts its first big outdoor music festival, Finnegans Summer Fest, renamed Finnegans ShamRock the following year. Finnegans ShamRock raised $10,000 in 2008 for Heading Home Hennepin. Also partnering with its retailers and distributors, Finnegans rolls out the first annual “Drink Like You Care” campaign, kicked off by Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Ryback. For the first time, retailers and distributors participated in the charity selection process and matched Finnegans donations. Also, a spirited group of former Miss Shamrock princesses took the initiative to become the Finnegans Lasses, a light-hearted promotional team that spreads the Finnegans story as well as random pints of kindness. By the end of 2007, Finnegans had experienced an unprecedented 64% growth — available in more than 400 bars and restaurants, and 570 liquor stores throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, this amazing growth allowed Finnegans to make the goal of donating $100,000 to charities.

In 2010, Finnegans will be celebrating it's 10-year anniversary. Growing from 'the little beer company that could', Finnegans is now positioned as a leader in social-entrepreneurism and will be expanding its product lines — and as with everything Finnegans does, 100% of profits will go to local charities. The Volunteer Crew grew along with the brand and in 2010, is now organized into departments— Operations, Marketing and Sales. Each department has a volunteer director and each director has a team of volunteers to carry out the tasks.

Business Model

Finnegans Inc., is a social enterprise established in 2000 by social entrepreneur, Jacquie Berglund. Finnegans Inc., is built on a social business model of a for-profit company fully funding a non-profit that benefits the community in a socially-conscious manner. Thus, Finnegans Irish Amber is a for-profit beer that donates 100% of its profits from sales, merchandise and events to its sister non-profit, the Finnegans Community Fund, a 501(c) 3, that in turn disburses grants to local charities with the mission of fighting poverty. Both Finnegans Irish Amber and the Finnegans Community Fund are self-sustaining and do not accept government grants.

Finnegans, Inc. has one full-time employee, the founder, Jacquie Berglund. A team of over 1000 volunteers supporting the Finnegans cause help run the business— from marketing to sales to events.

Finnegans Community Fund

Since becoming profitable in 2003, profits from Finnegans Irish Amber reached over $150,000 by 2009 year-end, thus grant distribution through the Finnegans Community Fund has also reached over $150,000. Minnesota charities receiving grants from Finnegans Community Fund include; Heading Home Hennepin[3], Admission Possible [4], The Link[5], Cheerful Givers[6], and Bolder Options[7]. The criteria charities must meet to be considered for funding include; being designed to improve the quality of life of the homeless and working poor, men, women, children and families in the community. It must also address the core issues and barriers identified with keeping the homeless and working poor from enjoying a self-sustaining livelihood. From these criteria, the Finnegans Community Fund Board of Directors review grant applications and decide which charities will receive funds. Funds are disbursed on a quarterly basis. A full list of grant recipients is available on the Finnegans website[8].

References

The Hop Press, Brewing for a Cause: Social Entrepreneurship in the Beer Industry, March 2, 2010 [9]

WCCO 4 News (CBS) Finding Minnesota: Drinking Beer For Charity, Dec 13, 2009 [10]

NEED magazine, Every Sip Counts, July 28, 2009 [11]

Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune, Beer firm brews funds to help troubled teens, June 6, 2009 [12]

Minnesota Monthly, Women of Influence, February, 2009 [13]

Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune, Party All Winter, December 26, 2007 [14]

External links

• Official website