Daily deals website giving portion back to area charities

There are a number of deal-of-the-day coupon sites that have hot offerings with various businesses. But how many of them make it a priority to give back to the community?

Coupons 4 Humanity's website, coupons4humanity.com, was launched March 17. The Summerlin-based company is the brainchild of Sheryl Best.

"I'd been sitting on a lot of committees, and the last one I sat on was Dancing with the Las Vegas Stars, and ... the Candlelighters (Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada) lady was explaining it was $200 to buy wigs for five children who were going through chemotherapy," she said.

"I wasn't in a position to write a check ... if I did that for everybody I wanted to help, I'd be homeless. So I thought to myself, (this coupon site could work). I knew I wanted to get into the Internet business ... and I loved the charity aspect of it. I did some research and realized that online daily deal is a booming industry."

A recent offering gave half-price admission to the International Latin Taste & Music Festival at the Rio. Unlike some coupon sites, there is no level of participation that must be met before the coupon kicks in.

Jordan Schubert, a student at the College of Southern Nevada, bought a Brazilian bikini wax deal for half off.

"I'd talked about it (getting waxed) with my friends, ... but never really got the chance," she said. "Then I saw it online and said, 'OK, this is a deal. I can try this instead of spending $50 on it.' "

Best is an entrepreneur who's already had success. Her two other businesses involve a dance studio and a firm that helps new companies set up their limited liability companies.

Starting a daily deal site, she said, was something she'd been considering.

"The beauty of it was that we didn't have to reinvent the wheel ... I looked at Groupon and other daily deal sites and learned from how they did things," she said.

The biggest hurdle was finding the right information technology person. Glitches arose just when KTNV ABC Channel 13 ran a story on the business.

The good news was the TV coverage brought an investor her way: Dee Clark, who was affiliated with Pat Clark Enterprises.

Best called her an "angel investor ... I basically told her the whole story and how I wasn't in the position to throw more money into it ... she said, 'Whatever it takes, whatever you need.' "

Taking her on as a silent partner resulted in finding a new IT person, handling the glitches and getting the ball rolling again. Lesson learned: Be sure all aspects of the business are in the hands of capable people and keep an eye on things.

Now Jason Soto handles Internet marketing, and Dan Feldman writes the online copy.

Best has a database of all 501(c)(3)s in Nevada and plans to give to both big and small nonprofit groups, donating each quarter after 90 days of coupon sales. She estimates an average of about $1 per coupon would go to charity.

The company is concentrating on Las Vegas first, with expansion to other cities planned within a year.

Luba Sasowski, owner of WAX Hair Removal Bar, 9809 W. Flamingo Road, jumped on board right away.

"It's nice to work with a company that gives back ... we're a new business, so we definitely want to get our name out there as much as we can to get new clients and retain them," she said.

Some companies see the benefits of doing a Groupon or Living Social model right away, while others need the concept explained, Best said.

"Our philosophy is group giving," she said. "The more we all buy, the more we can give."

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.