“RI Tech and Innovation Report” - Swipe for a Cause on the Rise

“RI Tech and Innovation Report” - Swipe for a Cause on the Rise

When Andrew and Margaret Kinnecom founded Swipe for a Cause—a credit card processing company that donates a portion of all its sales to local nonprofits—the idea was very specific.

The pair had each had significantly impactful experiences with hospice prior to becoming a couple. Talking about ways in which they could support local charities led to a lightbulb moment, according to Margaret Kinnecom.

“We were on a plane going to Arizona when Andy, who had dabbled in credit card processing as a referral partner when he worked in hospitality, got an email that his residual payment had been deposited,” Kinnecom said. “We thought, why not use credit card processing as a fundraising mechanism.”

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The Kinnecoms founded Swipe for a Cause in 2010, selecting HopeHealth’s Philip Hulitar Center as its beneficiary. Nine years later, they’ve grown as a businesses and recently began supporting other local charities, including Save the Bay, PAWS New England, Child & Family and Operation Stand Down Rhode Island.

“We knew that no one was going to switch to us just to support a charity,” Kinnecom said. “We knew we would have to prove that we were a smart business choice that allowed them to save money while using their fees to help the community. All things being equal or better, why wouldn’t everyone choose to do business with a company that gives back to their community?”

GoLocalProv: Did you receive any seed funding?

Kinnecom: We financed the company ourselves. The upfront costs were not very much, however, between on-going monthly expenses and giving hospice five percent of our monthly gross income—(that’s still) the first check we write every month—we went two years without a paycheck.

GoLocalProv: How important were the services provided by SEG to your growth as a budding venture?

Kinnecom: SEG was great. They reached out to us and asked us to join their Newport incubator. We were further along than most of the businesses we went through, but their encouragement was inspirational and the networking opportunities it provided were very, very helpful.

GoLocalProv: How did you find the business climate in Rhode Island when starting out?

Kinnecom: Credit card processors are not always known for delivering on their promises, so many of the merchants we approached had not had good experiences. The result was we ran into a lot of skepticism. Being thoroughly vetted by Hope Hospice…as well as being vetted by many local Chamber of Commerce…helped. We then got some key Rhode Island businesses that lent to our credibility. Since Rhode Island is such a small community, this helped more than it would have in other states. Today, most people we approach for processing know who we are and know other companies that use us. This makes our fundraising efforts much easier.

GoLocalProv: How do you choose which charities you will support?

Kinnecom: We try to choose businesses where we know our donation is going to make the biggest difference. We also listen to our merchants about the charities they want to support.