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Ed and Lisa Mitzen established The Business for Good Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission to build thriving communities by owning, accelerating, and assisting businesses in the greater Capital Region.
All profits from BFG Owned businesses go directly to local, charitable causes.
Mitzen, a philanthropist and entrepreneur who successfully launched several independent, marketing agencies, including the healthcare agency Fingerpaint based in Saratoga Springs, and wife, Lisa Mitzen, a humanitarian with a strong background in mortgage lending, created Business for Good to give back to their community in an impactful and lasting way.
They hope the Business for Good Foundation will pioneer venture philanthropy in the Albany greater Capital Region.
Since the start of its official launch in October of 2020, BFG has donated $4.4 million in grants and resources across New York state.
Business for Good reimagines business as a seed for social change, with the power to change lives and shape communities. To fight the inequities of access to resources and support, Business for Good’s mission is to share resources, strategies and connections to help others build their dreams while giving back to their communities, said a statement released by the organization.
With a focus of healing the underserved and breaking cycles of food insecurity, housing instability and education inequity, BFG strives to open doors and opportunities where they haven’t been before.
The Mitzens said a great amount of consideration was put into a unique model that tackles BFG’s ambitious goals:
• BFG Owned. BFG owned “businesses become family and we take care of them like our own. We provide employees with free healthcare and competitive salaries and foster a healthy working environment. All profits from Business for Good owned businesses go directly to local charitable causes.”
• BFG Accelerated. “As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know that the challenges that lie in wait for those attempting to build and grow their own business are many. BFG offers entrepreneurs customized support to accelerate the development of their business and ensure that they achieve their vision, including capital, marketing, mentorship and community networking opportunities.”
• BFG Assisted. “The BFG impact giving effort identifies already existing programs doing GOOD, because we are all in this together. Many organizations in our communities are committed to the common goal of ending inequity and helping those in need, and BFG is here to support them with capital and resources.”
The foundation seeks to give back to move forward and is rooted in the core principle of “for good, not gain,” officials said.
The foundation “believes no challenge is insurmountable through hard and thoughtful work. With a goal to provide businesses and organizations with sustained support, BFG invests in people for the long term and in every way.
Hatties Chicken Shack and the Bread Basket Bakery, both in Saratoga Springs, are among those owned by the organization.
Through the bakery, the Mitzen family already presented a check for $25,000 to Capital Roots, a Troy-based nonprofit focused on public health.
The group also purchased the former Lombardo’s Restaurant in Albany, a mainstay Madison Avenue building for about a century. There are plans to renovate it “installing a business that will employ locally, and return all profits to local charities,” according to the Business for Good Foundation website.
Its website is www.businessforgood.org.