"In Lieu of Gifts:" Inlu May Be the Solution

In this month's issue of The Champlain Business Journal there is a great write-up about a new business called "Inlu." Inlu is creative, relevant and simple...although the idea itself is very innovative! The idea of Inlu is to be a specialized gift registry which benefits charities. Inlu is similar to a gift registry because "the recipient's gift or charitable wishes are revealed to celebration attendees." They direct funds to a recipient's charity choice and can act as a collection point for anything from funding group presents to school fundraisers. Personally, I think this would have been a fantastic business plan idea for the St. Mike's Enterprise Plan Competition.

Monica Ostby and Jamaica Jenkins are the co-founders of Inlu and have made the entire process very straightforward and easy. Participants can sign up online at www.inlu.com and Inlu sends out invitations and coordinates receipt and allocation of the funds. Inlu was actually started in 2009, but as with any business, it takes a little while to really be recognized in the community. Ostby says that what really sets them apart is the fact that "Inlu is a time saver for the purchaser, but also guarantees that the recipient receives that longed-for special gift." The article states that a big part of being recognized is the partnerships the women have made with local area businesses. As far as the numbers go, Inlu has issued payments in 25 different states and some participants have already been a part of over 30 Inlus!

Both co-founders want to always remember why they began the business in the first place: to reduce consumption and one's carbon footprint. So, for every 10,000 points users accumulate, Inlu will plant a tree. As an organization, they are currently up to 160,000 points! Do you think the notion of gift giving will change because of business like this and that people will decide to go more "green" in their purchases for gifts? Do you have any suggestions for the future of Inlu?