Gift Giving and Giving Back

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, Dallas residents are beginning their frenzy of holiday shopping. They are making their gift guides, writing lists for Santa, and mapping out their plan-of-attack for Black Friday. One place where Dallas residents are flocking to for holiday gifts, decor and treats, is St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange in Highland Park Village.

Beginning in 1958, St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange was one of the inaugural stores added to Highland Park Village, located next to the Dallas Country Club on Mockingbird Lane, in Highland Park, Texas. It operates like any other boutique, selling products designed and created by artists that are often sold at vendors, international markets, and locally. However, St. Michael’s differs from other boutiques in Dallas because it operates as a nonprofit. All but three of the sales associates are volunteers, devoting their time to assisting customers and generating revenue to give to charity. The three paid volunteers are the store director, the assistant store director, and the housekeeper.

“The backbone of this operation truly is the volunteers. We could not do it without them,” Lisa Riggert, the Exchange’s store director, exclaimed proudly.

Despite being a nonprofit, the Exchange still sells high-end merchandise for high-end prices. The merchandise can range in price from $45 for a coffee table book filled with photos taken by photographer Gray Malin, to $220 for a hand-crafted whiskey decanter and stopper, designed by Jan Barboglio. The Exchange’s merchandise is mainly purchased from the Dallas and New York international markets, allowing them to sell products from name brands, such as Jan Barboglio, Gray Malin, and Julie Voss.

The Exchange and its 140 volunteers have had a substantial impact on charities throughout Dallas. According to the Exchange's website, when the Exchange began in 1958, the business’ revenue for that year was $2,200, which the nonprofit gave to charity. Over the 66 years of operation, the nonprofit has raised over $12 million, which has been disseminated throughout the city of Dallas to several outreach and charitable organizations, according to the store’s website.

The Women of St. Michael’s, a community within St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church of Dallas, own St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange, and have an elected committee assigned to choose the charities that receive donations every year from The Exchange. However, none of the proceeds benefit the church or any offshoots of the church. The Exchange takes pride in the fact that all of its revenue goes to local charities within the Dallas community.

Riggert explained, “The grant process is very rigorous. Every year, charities fill out a grant request. Not every grant is the same. We give grants anywhere from $1,000 to $15,000. For a small nonprofit, $1,000 can make a huge difference.”

At the end of each fiscal year, the revenue is handed over to the committee of women at the church, who are tasked with disseminating the funds accordingly among the selected charities in Dallas. This is a difficult task that requires hours of dedication. The committee’s main priority is to create as much positive change as possible within the city of Dallas. Therefore, the committee strategically gives specific sums to different organizations in Dallas based on the needs of each organization.

The Exchange gives the proper amount to each selected organization to optimize the amount of money the store can provide in the Dallas community. Disseminating the sums of money is difficult work, but rewarding, as the committee decides how much money would benefit each organization in the most optimal way so the Exchange is able to create the most positive change it can throughout Dallas. Each year, the volunteers on the committee must decide how they can create the largest impact in Dallas, whether that is through many smaller donations to more outreach outlets or fewer, but larger grants to more prominent efforts within the community. Every year’s decision is different based on the needs of the community and the state of the city.

Judy Russell, a Dallas resident who has volunteered with St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange for over 30 years, worked as the chair of the purchasing department for much of her time with the Exchange. In an interview with Dallas Doing Good, she said that the Exchange began as a consignment shop, with a gift-wrapping department. While still in the same location today, with the same gift-wrapping service, “The Exchange has certainly grown in 64 years,” Russell said.

“We have a sophisticated computer system, printed tags for merchandise, and an online store for our customers’ convenience,” Russell said about the changes she has seen over her more than 30 years with the nonprofit.

Aside from selling the boutique goods separated into categories named titled, gifts, inspiration, stationery, gourmet, jewelry, and kids, their mission is quite different. Like any other business, they operate efficiently and do all the necessary marketing online and in-person to maximize profit, but all of the revenue goes directly to charities, including Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support, Catch Up & Read, Inc., and Elevate North Texas.

“What I like is that the proceeds go directly to the charities,” Riggert said, explaining that the proceeds do not benefit the church with which The Exchange is associated, but instead go directly to outreach efforts within Dallas.

An avid shopper at St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange, Allison Hart, said, “If I can get a purse this cute and know that I am helping children in Dallas, that is good enough for me. The fact that I am giving to charity while shopping makes me want to buy even more.” During her last visit to the Exchange, she discovered a handbag made entirely of magazine paper for $88 which she happily bought knowing she was giving to charity and adding to her wardrobe.

Sources:

Lisa Riggert

lbrdesigns@att.net

Allison Hart

allison.hart@me.com