Introducing PIPs Rewards: A New App for Those Who Give a S#*!
New York, NY (April 14, 2016)—Consumers who embrace a healthy, responsible lifestyle can now be rewarded for it. PIPs (Positive Impact Points), a virtual social good currency that incentivizes people to do better every day, today launched the first of its kind app to complement its online rewards platform.
Dubbed by its founders “FourSquare meets Groupon for good,” the PIPs Rewards app combines the best of smart tech plus games and rewards to steer people toward and prompt them to make better, healthier, more responsible everyday choices.
With the PIPs Rewards app, users discover beneficial brands and valued services in their neighborhood and online, and “at ‘rewardable moments’ in their day are nudged to make better decisions, like renting a bike, enrolling in a yoga class, repairing a cellphone or choosing a certified pre-owned if it needs replacing.
“We take the location-based marketing concept at the heart of Foursquare, coupled with the daily deals Groupon concept and add a bit of surprise and delight for those who make meaningful and thoughtful decisions throughout their day,” said PIPs co-founder Wendy Gordon. “Our founding philosophy hinged on the idea that it would be nice to get reward points not just for spending money but for spending money wisely and for making other smart choices.”
Gordon hatched the idea for PIPs alongside David Sand, a friend and fellow Princeton alum. Both career veterans in environmental responsibility, Gordon had worked with NRDC, started the non-profit Mothers and Others with Meryl Streep and launched The Green Guide (later acquired by National Geographic). Sand was the first program officer at CERES, a non-profit organization advocating for sustainable leadership for businesses, and then went on to have a successful career in impact investing. The pair knew the power of rewards and wanted to leverage that power to incentivize positive behaviors. They teamed up with two software developers—Yaniv Eyny and Evan Sable, technology experts with backgrounds in behavioral science and flexible software design—to develop the PIPs platform.
Whether or not you have the app, you can access the PIPs Rewards website, which houses a consciously curated marketplace with a multitude of ways to earn, redeem or donate their PIPs. An ever-growing list of participating vendor partners include ThredUp, Zady, Honest Co, Seventh Generation, Fitbit, Cotopaxi, Patagonia,Zipcar, Ethical Electric (renewable energy), Sungevity (solar energy), Klean Kanteen,recycling electronic site Gazelle and many more.
Once you’ve earned PIPs, you can use them to purchase more sustainable items from retailers like REI and Whole Foods. PIPs rewards can also be donated to organizations like Girl Rising, Wild Aid, 350.org anddosomething.org.
You can even gift your PIPs to a friend as an act of kindness or to your staff for a volunteer day of service. Over the next few months, the PIPs team will be adding more features to the app, including group games that motivate positive behavior, like daily fitness.
Gordon hopes that, like Candy Crush, Words with Friends and Fitbits, PIPs will become addictive, grabbing hold of users who by making better everyday choices rack up valued points.
“Mindful consumers and fanatical coupon clippers are primed for PIPs,” added Gordon. “PIPs puts the ‘good’ in ‘good’ deals.”
To get PIP’n, download the PIPs Rewards app for free in the iTunes store and/or visitPIPsRewards.com.