Charities Supported By Working Girl Wines
Click Here 

Olympic Cellars’ business goal is to operate profitably while also giving back to the community and being sensitive to environmental concerns. The winery has launched several programs to meet this goal.

When I took the reins at Olympic Cellars, the winery was getting multiple donation requests each week from charitable organizations. I honored these requests with donations of a few bottles of wine, always feeling that we wanted to do more but was limited by the small size of our venture. Eventually we decided focus was the key if we were going to make an impact. In 2003, Olympic Cellars designated the local Gynocare Program its "Charity of Choice." Gynocare provides free diagnostic testing and treatment for low-income women on the Olympic Peninsula, who are at risk for ovarian cancer and other diseases. We established a direct line of funding for Gynocare, donating two percent of sales of all Working Girl wines, plus an additional percentage of every Working Girl branded item sold in the winery gift shop.

Olympic Cellars’ giving campaign doesn’t stop here. The winery is now matching up charitable organizations’ needs for ongoing funding sources with the winery’s need for dedicated volunteer staffing through a program called, "2X Success."

2X Success establishes a formal relationship between the winery and one or more 501(c)(3) organizations centered on sustainable community partnership. The winery agrees to sell wine at its actual cost to a maximum of four 501(c)(3) organizations each year, in return for a committed number of volunteer hours, provided by the non-profits’ membership. The organizations can then host a fundraising event and sell or auction their earned wine.

Olympic Cellars successfully tested 2X Success during the 2004 harvest with Operation Uplift, a local non-profit organization that provides emotional support to cancer patients. Operation Uplift plans to sell its earned wine by the glass at a fundraising event in the summer of 2005. The organization will continue its partnership with Olympic Cellars throughout 2005. Three additional non-profit organizations, Healthy Families of Clallam County, Dungeness Health Clinic and the Soroptomists, will also participate in the program this year.

In May of 2005, Olympic Cellars will begin bottling all of its wines in clear, recyclable glass. There is currently only one other winery in Washington State, Paradisos del Sol, using environmentally friendly bottles. They are lightweight but sturdy Saint Gobain bottles, which also reduce breakage on the bottling line and lower shipping costs. At the same time, Olympic Cellars will switch to a #4 recyclable black NeoCork, which contains no petroleum and are a recyclable capsule.

3-Tier Donation Network

Olympic Cellars will introduce Working Girl™ wines into the California market and selected states in May of 2005. The winery plans to take the label national in 2006. While growing the market for its wines, Olympic Cellars will simultaneously grow the market for philanthropy by kicking off a national 3-tier donation network. The 3-tiers refer to each player in a traditional wine distribution system, the producer (Olympic Cellars), the wholesaler(s), and the retailers. Olympic Cellars hopes to grow a web of support by encouraging each tier in its distribution network to voluntarily participate in a sustained giving program with a charity of its choice. At this time we are working with our distributors and potential non-profit organizations on developing this program beyond Port Angeles, Washington.

Together we can make a difference!