Friends of TOMS

Founding and History

Friends of TOMS was registered as a trade name by the left-of-center New Venture Fund, managed by the consulting firm Arabella Advisors, in October 2006. This appears to have been done to facilitate the creation of a nonprofit that would run in conjunction with TOMS Shoes’ charitable initiative to provide one pair of shoes to children in developed countries for every pair the company sold, known as the One for One program. Friends of TOMS appears to have been created to expand the company’s charitable reach by administering shoe drives, primarily across the United States, for people to contribute shoes for distribution. The organization shut down in 2012, distributing its assets and ceasing operations. ^{2  3  1  4}

The trade name expired and was not renewed by the New Venture Fund in October 2008. ²

Finances

In its last year of existence, 2012, Friends of TOMS reported $5,794 in revenue, all of which came from grants and contributions. It reported $127 in expenses. It began the year with $129,475 in net assets, which were liquidated when the organization ceased operations. ⁴

In 2014, the New Venture Fund reported a grant of $25,000 for environmental programs to Friends of the Earth. However, the New Venture Fund seems to have incorrectly listed the group’s EIN number as being 20-5555180, which is the number for Friends of TOMS, rather than 23-7420660, which is friends of the Earth’s EIN number. By that time, Friends of TOMS was defunct. ⁵

Organization Philosophy

Friends of TOMS was an outgrowth of the TOMS Shoes “One for One” program that distributed a pair of shoes in developing countries for every pair of TOMS shoes that was purchased. The program is aimed at poverty alleviation. However, the program has come under fire by critics of the current development-aid paradigm as being rooted in a paternalistic conception of poverty that fails to adequately consider why people are in need of shoes and unable to acquire them, and is ultimately a perpetual program rather than one aimed at generating a solution to poverty. ^{6  7  3}

Projects and Initiatives

The main project of Friends of TOMS was a Shoe Drop program that collected shoe donations from around the U.S. and distributes the collected shoes with the donated TOMS shoes. The group also worked to facilitate the treatment of podoconiosis, a debilitating foot disease that is common in some developing countries. ¹

Leadership

The head of the board of Friends of TOMS was Thomas Blake Mycoskie, the founder and face of TOMS Shoes. Mycoskie is no longer involved in the company and does not own any shares, having transferred them when the company was taken over by creditors in 2020. He faced criticism for allegedly having a paternalistic attitude toward people in developing countries and for not fully understanding the effect that his charitable contributions had on developing communities. Notably, research commissioned by TOMS found that children who were gifted shoes developed a more dependent attitude on outside aid, in contrast to self-provision. Research also found that TOMS donations had an undermining effect on local shoe sellers and manufacturers. ^{8  7  6}