Louisiana nonprofit organization HOPE Ministries joined 29 other nonprofits to create an online shopping mall to benefit the local economy and community.
The site, called Louisiana Community Marketplace, allows more than 100 companies to sell their products through a single portal.
Janet Simmons, director of operations and social enterprise of HOPE Ministries, said the website is growing daily and includes companies like Target, Amazon and Expedia.
Simmons said more than $4 billion leaves Louisiana each year in online purchases. The goal of Louisiana Community Marketplace is to bring some of this money back into the community.
HOPE Ministries has been working on LCM since 2009 and launched the website Aug. 25 during the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organization’s annual conference.
Simmons said the 30 nonprofit organizations involved include HOPE Ministries, Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Special Olympics Louisiana and the Louisiana 4-H Foundation.
The purchases made through LCM bring money back into the community by donating a percentage of the purchase price to nonprofits. Simmons said HOPE Ministries expects the average to be approximately 5 percent per store.
Louisiana 4-H Foundation Director Eric Eskew said the decision to join the Louisiana Community Marketplace was a “no-brainer.”
He said the money donated to the Louisiana 4-H Foundation ultimately benefits the local community, which has more than 50,000 children participating in 4-H across the state.
If people change their spending habits and use the Louisiana Community Marketplace, Eskew said there will be more money going to help people in Louisiana.
“You could help a lot of nonprofits, which would ultimately benefit the community,” he said.
Simmons said the Louisiana Community Marketplace is endorsed by the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations and the Capital Area United Way. Exxon Mobil Corp. is a key sponsor of LCM.
She said HOPE Ministries plans for each nonprofit to have its own sponsors.
 
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Contact Meredith Will at [email protected]