I’ve always believed that the people doing the most vital work in our communities shouldn't have to fund their missions out of their own pockets. This belief wasn't born in a boardroom; it started when I was just a kid. From ages 12 to 18, I was in the Boy Scouts, where I regularly watched my Scout Master pay for our food, uniforms, and camping equipment himself. Despite having almost no funding support, he changed—and even saved—the lives of several scouts in our program.
Hi, I'm Brian Smith, the Founder of A Helping of Greens.
Ultimately, I built this company because I know fundraising is not the mission of your organization. My goal is to take that burden off your shoulders entirely so you can get back to doing what you do best: making an impact in your community.
Stop chasing donations. Let’s start cultivating growth, together.
That single question led to the birth of A Helping of Greens.
After graduating, I focused on my career and put volunteering on the back burner. Yet, my admiration for grassroots nonprofits never faded, nor did my frustration with the traditional fundraising model. The turning point came in 2022 when I noticed a massive shift in how people were spending their money. Inspired by the revolution platforms like Netflix brought to the monthly subscription arena, I realized people were subscribing to everything from their fitness to their groceries. It struck me: Why hasn't philanthropy caught up?
That theme of underfunded community heroes followed me to my sophomore year in college. While volunteering for an organization called Urban Ministries—which tackles the deeply intertwined crises of hunger, healthcare access, and homelessness—I saw the same struggles on a larger scale. The organization relied on government funding, which came with strict requirements that limited the help we could provide to the most vulnerable families. I distinctly remember helping a man successfully secure a job, only to learn it required steel-toed boots that the program wouldn't cover. To get him what he needed, we volunteers had to pool our own money.
Once again, I watched people empty their own pockets to fill the gaps left by a broken system.
To do this, we had to flip the script on how fundraising works. Instead of simply asking for handouts, we entice monthly subscriptions by offering donors premium organic health supplements in exchange for a fixed donation. I wanted nonprofits to provide a product that actually improves the lives of their supporters. Now, when a donor invests in their daily health, they are simultaneously investing in your cause—a true win-win.
More importantly, I wanted to fix the broken profit model. In traditional fundraising, a corporate middleman usually takes the lion's share. At A Helping of Greens, 75% of the net profits go directly to your organization. We handle the e-commerce, inventory, and shipping so you never have to touch a single box, and participation is 100% free.
I founded this company with a singular mission: to give grassroots nonprofits a financial foundation that works for them, not the other way around. I wanted to replace the exhaustion of bake sales and car washes with the peace of mind that comes from predictable, passive, year-round income.