Start a MovemenTEE
A local man with a passion for fashion and philanthropy recently launched a site featuring limited edition art and clothing to support various charities.

Brad Gilpin has two loves in life: fashion and philanthropy. He recently decided to marry the two when he launched MovemenTee.org. His site assists various charities by featuring them for two weeks on his site, allowing visitors to purchase clothing items and art prints that benefit the featured charity. For each purchase made, Movementee.org donates $8 to the featured charity.

Prior to launching in March 2012, Gilpin says more than nine months went into getting the site ready for its debut. "I thought the hardest part would be to get all of the amazing designers on board," he says. "But the hardest part is getting charities to allow [us] to create and sell products to help raise money and awareness for their organization."

Because they feature a new charity so frequently - every two weeks - Gilpin wants to get more strategic with his partners. "At first, we just took on any charity that would give us a shot," he explains. "No one wants to be the first to take part in something new, but as soon as one does then the doors open."

Now, with four "Movements" under their belts, Movementee.org is adjusting is adjusting its approach to choosing charities. "[We] set up charities according to the relevant cause for that month, week, or even day," Gilpin explains. For example, Movementee.org focuses on raising awareness for child cancer in September, and will solely feature child cancer charities during that month.

As for the t-shirt and art design, Gilpin says he went through thousands of designers and hand-picked six from around the world. "There are artists who have done designs for Michael Jackson, the boxer Manny Pacquiao, Universal Studios, Urban Outfitters, Nike, and Adidas just to name a few. So you know these guys are good," he says. "Every Movement's design will be created by a different designer that will not be released until that movement begins."

Every design style will be different from previous and future designs. For instance, one of Movementee's latest charities was a water charity. "We decided to print the shirts with water based ink," Gilpin says, and one of their next designs will be printed with a bleached style print.

Gilpin says social media has been helpful in finding and connecting with charities thus far. If you're interested in getting your charity involved with Movementee.org, feel free to contact them through their website , Facebook fanpage, or Twitter.

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