Meg and Cindy were friends and neighbors in Virginia when, at a neighborhood gathering in 2014, they chatted about how to dress up their fitness tracker bands. Meg, who has a background in fine arts, came up with a few prototypes. After a few items were posted on Etsy on a whim, Fitness Bitsy grew into a successful business. They call it their “accidental business.” Cindy contributed her engineering and business background to running the business, while Meg was the primary designer.
During their years of making bracelets, Meg was caring for Gavin. She designed a poncho for him, and his poncho went with him to the hospital each time he was admitted. Nurses and other staff would ask Meg where he got his poncho. Meg wanted to make ponchos for other children in the hospital, knowing that they provide comfort. This was a way that she could support other families going through what she and her family did.
And from there, Cape Ivy was conceived. Using the business skills Meg and Cindy learned from their first business, they were able to quickly start providing ponchos to children.
.
Our Board of Directors
The Board of Directors met for the 1st time on March 10, 2020. 2 of our Board Members were connected electronically.
From L to R: Beth Cox, Cindy Hargroves, Meg Smith, Bic DeCaro, Shawn Cox
Missing: Jennifer Graham Clary and Dee Flaherty
Our Funding:
We are manufacturing and hand-sewing as many capes as we can so that children are comforted while receiving medical treatment. We are funding our production in these ways.
(1) Donations
Donations can made in our SHOP. We are a registered IRS 501(c)(3) charity. Any monetary donations made after January 1, 2020 will be tax-deductible.
(2) Sales of Capes
The proceeds from all capes sold in our SHOP are used to provide more capes to children and young adults undergoing treatment for chronic illness.
(3) Proceeds from our other product line, Fitness Bitsy.
Fitness Bitsy has financed the launching of Cape Ivy. During 2019, we operated under our current business license, allowing us to start quickly and focus on our core mission, while using profits from prior years to purchase ponchos from our manufacturer. In 2020, we split the companies, with Fitness Bitsy continuing as an LLC and Cape Ivy becoming a 501(c)(3) corporation. All profits from Fitness Bitsy are donated to Cape Ivy. We have designed both businesses to be as cost efficient at possible, including doing our own web design and accounting. Meg and Cindy do not take income, owner distributions or salaries from either company.
Our Policies
https://www.capeivy.org/returns-and-policies/
