My Biz: One Mission Fundraising in Mount Vernon growing quickly

MOUNT VERNON - One Mission Fundraising has grown a lot since opening two years ago.

'The workload is high,” said Amanda Rhomberg, who owns the business with her husband John.

Amanda said John now does the work of two to three full-time employees.

'We are growing very quickly and our plans are to add staff to stay ahead of our growth,” John said.

The Rhombergs also recently received an $8,000 grant through the Iowa Economic Development Authority's (IEDA) Open 4 Business competition.

John said their website, www.onemissionfundraising.com, combines crowdfunding with product fundraising. Those wishing to raise money for a cause begin by creating a profile on the site and sharing it with supporters. Those supporters then have the chance to purchase a variety of products offered on the site, such as T-shirts, soy candles and art prints, many of which are made in Mount Vernon. Forty percent of the proceeds go to the cause. Supporters also have the option of making a cash donation to the cause at checkout.

Amanda said they don't take a cut on cash donations.

'Many of our crowdfunding competitors have to charge a 5 percent platform fee, in addition to credit card fees,” she said. 'It's how they make their money. Since we have the product side of our business, we don't need to charge a fee for cash donations.”

'That turns into real money, and real savings for these causes,” John added.

John said he and Amanda are proud to offer high quality products.

'There's no junk food, low quality trinkets, or unwanted stuff. These are products that supporters really like and will use or wear again and again,” he said.

John said they are delighted to have worked with such a variety of causes since getting started.

'We work with missionaries, adoptive parents, non-profits, medical causes, churches and youth ministry, and community benefits,” he said. 'We've had a lot of successful funds in each of these categories.”

John said spreading the word about One Mission remains the biggest challenge.

'We are pretty solid marketers, but still, it takes a lot of time, energy, and good breaks to let people know how our fundraising platform may be a better fit for them versus the competition,” he said.

'We really hope to be a household name someday,” Amanda added. 'People are always needing to fundraise; the market is huge. We are the first company to be doing exactly what we're doing. We have beautiful, responsibly-made products that people really love and often, that results in repeat support for the funds, because people purchase from us time and time again, continually supporting the causes they love.”

AT A GLANCE

Owners: Amanda and John Rhomberg

Company: One Mission Fundraising

Address: 108 First St. NE, Unit 1, Mount Vernon

Phone: (319) 895-4072

Website: https://onemissionfundraising.com/

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