African American Expressions (www.black-gifts.com), the largest black-owned greeting card company in America, released its new Holiday Fundraising catalog today, containing over 250 items.
The company is known for its large selection of quality gifts at affordable prices, all designed for the African American consumer, and this year’s catalog shows why: shoppers can choose from dozens of Christmas and Kwanzaa cards, eleven new 2012 Calendars, and hundreds of gift items, including Bible Organizers, Journals and Christmas decorations.
The catalog’s release brings more than just new products; it starts a season of fundraising for African American Expressions’ customers. The company’s fundraising program is very similar to candy drives or Avon sales: fundraisers use the Fundraising catalog to take orders in their community, selling products at the retail price. Once they gather over $200 in sales, African American Expressions ships the products at a 40% discounted price to fundraisers, who keep the profits to help fund their causes.
Company owner, Gregory Perkins, designed the fundraising program two decades ago to help the African American community and worthwhile organizations make money. In these tough economic times, African American Expressions’ fundraising program is particularly influential in helping many individuals and groups stay afloat.
From its inception in 1991, when the company sold just three greeting card designs, African American Expressions has grown into a multi-million dollar enterprise that sells over 2.5 million greeting cards per year. Perkins, a born again Christian, attributes his company’s success to his own personal faith in God. “I could not have done this without Jesus looking out for us,” he says. “Anything is possible when you have faith.”