Shop Small. Give Big. Spread Good.

Pop-up markets that turn a joyful afternoon into real support for our neighbors.

We gather local makers, welcome families, and raise money for a local cause at every market. Two markets in, two nonprofits funded, and we're building the team for what's next.

Next market · Saturday, December 12, 2026 · 11am–3pm

Want to help plan it? Join a team. Most roles are a few emails or a couple of hours on market day.

A shopper and a maker exchanging a handmade gift across a market table
$0
Kept by organizers
2
Markets in our first year
2
Local nonprofits funded

About this initiative

A volunteer-run market with giving built into it.

Markets for Good brings people together through pop-up markets that celebrate shopping local, giving back through fundraising, and honoring diverse communities. It's a volunteer initiative that invites business owners and families — including children — to experience the joy of giving back while supporting nonprofits that strengthen our communities.

  • Vendor fees and sponsorships first cover the venue. Everything after that goes to the market's nonprofit partner.
  • Vendors keep 100% of their own sales, with the option to donate a percentage to the nonprofit.
  • Built for families, with kids' activities at every market.

Founded by Heba Saleh. Sponsored by Key of Life Ventures.

Hear the story behind Markets for Good, from the start. Watch on YouTube

What's next

Two markets in the works.

Saturday, December 12, 2026 · 11am–3pm

The Gratitude Exchange

Our holiday market, returning for a second year

The market that started it all, back for the season it was made for: a warm, festive afternoon built around gratitude, handmade gifts, and a holiday fundraiser. This year's nonprofit partner will be announced soon.

Artisans & gift-makers: pottery, jewelry, fashion, art, candles, home goods.

Free to attend · Family-friendly

Early June 2027

Blooming Together

A wellness festival for families

Our spring market grows into a festival: practitioners, growers, and local farms sharing what they do through talks and demos, alongside the family experience our markets are known for.

Practitioners, farms & growers: talks, demos, plants, flowers, herbs, and nourishing food.

In development · Seeking a local nonprofit partner

We'll announce December's venue and nonprofit partner soon. Want to help plan it? See the teams.

Choosing our nonprofit partner

Each market raises money for a local cause, chosen for the season. December's partner will be announced soon. For spring, we're looking for a local organization working on food security, nutrition, or family health.

We choose partners who will co-promote to their own list and followers, bring volunteers, and show up on event day. If that's your organization and food security or family health is your work, tell us about your work for spring.

Past markets

Two markets, two local nonprofits.

April 25, 2026

Blooming Together 2026

Raised$1,300
BeneficiaryFaith & Valor
VenueCoWo & Crèche

A spring market and community fundraiser rooted in care, creativity, and collective impact. Hosted at the family-friendly CoWo & Crèche, local makers, families, and neighbors gathered to raise funds for military families. Highlights included live music, a Spring Fairy photo backdrop, a bouquet cart, kids' crafts, a Lebanese lunch, inspiring talks, childcare, and a silent auction.

Sponsors & contributors

Potomac Music Orphans to Royalty Bud Ireland · Live Music Amaris Campbell · Fairytale Tea Parties Will Paulson · Wayward Purpose Amazing DMV · Photo Booth Key of Life Ventures

December 13, 2025

The Gratitude Exchange 2025

Raised$1,400
BeneficiaryCommunity Lodgings
Attendance~75 people

Our very first market, and a holiday fundraiser that beat every expectation we had for it. Funded through vendor fees, childcare, and activity tickets, it established Markets for Good as a joyful, community-centered initiative. Community Lodgings put the money into their Youth Education Program, their transitional and affordable housing, and nutritious snacks for students.

Sponsors & contributors

NefertiTea Dulles Psychological Services Potomac Music Haroun Education Ventures Key of Life Ventures

Market moments

What a market actually feels like.

December 2025 and Spring 2026.

Volunteers in Leaving The Jar shirts serving food at their table
Children in fairy wings making crafts beside buckets of spring flowers
Two shoppers choosing from a long table of homemade dishes
A speaker with a microphone in front of the flower shop backdrop
A visitor talking with a volunteer at the Community Lodgings table
Four friends posing together at the spring photo backdrop
A Markets for Good tote bag hanging from a holiday-plaid vendor table
Irises, roses and tulips in buckets at the flower table

Get involved

Seven ways to help build the next market.

Pick the team that fits how you like to show up. You don't need to commit to a whole season. One role at one market is a real contribution, and it's how most of our volunteers got started.

Before the market

1

Location & Foot-Traffic

Scout and secure a visible, accessible venue with built-in foot traffic.

2

Partnerships & Sponsorships

Bring in sponsors and donations, and manage the silent auction items.

3

Nonprofit Selection

Choose a beneficiary that will actively co-promote and show up on the day.

4

Vendor Relations

Recruit local makers, handle applications, and support vendors on site.

Promotion & event day

5

Media & Promotion

Press, newsletters, social content, and photo & video on the day.

6

Event-Day Operations

Check-in, kids' activities, silent auction, setup, breakdown, hospitality.

7

Community Experience

Decor, music, seasonal touches, and the gratitude moments people remember.

Not sure where you fit?

Tell us what you enjoy and we'll find the right place for you.

Want to take on a little more?

The Gratitude Exchange is volunteer-led, and each team could use someone to help lead it. It's a good way to learn how a market comes together, and you're welcome to share a team with a friend.

We read every one and reply personally.

Next planning call

Saturday, October 10 · 9:00–10:00 AM · Zoom

Open to anyone thinking about helping. Come listen, no commitment needed.

Register

Vendors & sponsors

Sell your work. Fund a cause.

Applications for The Gratitude Exchange open as soon as we confirm the venue. Join the interest list and you'll be the first to hear, before we announce anywhere else.

We'll email you when applications open.

What to expect as a vendor

Curated to the theme
Each market has its own focus, so we match applications to it. December is artisans and gift-makers; spring is wellness, growers, and farms.
Food & beverage slots
Each market has two or three food and drink vendors so people can eat and stay a while, usually something savory, a drink, and something sweet. We don't take two of the same. Let us know in your application if you need electricity, will cook on site, or need a health permit.
Nonprofits as vendors
Nonprofits are welcome on the same terms as everyone else: pay the vendor fee and keep what you sell. The silent auction and donation stations belong to the market's partner nonprofit, so please don't put out separate donation jars or raffles at your table. Collection drives are usually welcome; just ask us first.
Service businesses
Welcome when the service fits the theme and there's something to do at your table: a demo, a mini-session, a bookable consult. A brochure hand-out table is a harder fit. If what you really want is visibility, sponsorship does that better and we'll happily point you there.
Vendor fee
Collected only after acceptance. Fees first cover the venue, and the rest goes to the market's nonprofit partner.
Your sales
You keep 100% of your sales. We warmly encourage — but never require — a donation of 10% to the fundraising effort.
A curated mix
We cap how many vendors we take in any one category, food and baked goods especially, so the market stays varied and nobody is competing with the table beside them.
Shared values
All vendors sign a simple agreement affirming care for the space, courtesy toward others, and a commitment to honesty and safety.

Sponsorship opportunities

Sponsorships help cover the venue first, so more of every vendor fee reaches the cause. Everything beyond our costs goes to the market's nonprofit partner. Underwriting pays for the experience it names, like Santa photos or the craft corner, and anything left over goes to the partner too.

Community Sponsor · $150+

Recognition on Eventbrite, social media, print materials, and event signage.

Impact Sponsor · $250+

Everything in Community Sponsor, plus three minutes at the welcome to share your mission or message with the whole room.

Underwrite an experience · $500

Put your name on the thing families remember: Santa photos, the kids' craft corner, the silent auction, or childcare. Your money pays for that experience directly. Everything in both tiers, plus recognition on that experience's signage and in our recap video. One sponsor per experience.

Sponsors who don't wish to vend don't need a vendor application. Just email us to confirm your support.

Looking ahead to spring

Farms, studios & local experts: come teach something.

Blooming Together, our spring festival, is built around short talks and demos alongside the market itself. We're inviting local farms, studios, and independent experts to give a talk and host a signup table. No inventory to haul. These are teaching sessions rather than sales pitches, which is why they're curated: you bring something people learn from, we bring the room.

Topics we're looking for, and who this is for
  • What's actually in season here in spring
  • Spotting the real thing: olive oil, honey & pantry staples
  • What food labels actually mean
  • How a CSA works, and who it's right for
  • Starting a garden in a small yard or on a balcony
  • Cooking one seasonal dish, start to finish
  • A short movement session families can do together
  • Feeding kids well without the battle

Pick one or propose your own. Open to growers, CSA and buying-club operators, yoga and fitness studios, chefs, dietitians, midwives and lactation consultants, and clinicians. We're after practical skills people can use, not health claims, and every talk is reviewed before we confirm it.

Spring details firm up after December. Tell us what you'd talk about and we'll be in touch when planning starts.

Vendor safety notice

Markets for Good never accepts applications or payments through Facebook, DMs, or third-party individuals.

Vendor fees are collected only after acceptance, and only through an official email from info@marketsforgood.co.

If anyone contacts you claiming to represent us, please verify with us before sending money.

Stay in the loop

Want to hear when the next market is happening?

Market dates, vendor applications opening, and how each fundraiser turns out. A few emails a year, nothing else.

No spam, and you can unsubscribe any time.

Follow along

Instagram is where everything happens first.

@marketsforgood.co

  • Market dates and venues, announced the moment they're confirmed.
  • Vendor calls and applications, before they go anywhere else.
  • Other local family-friendly events worth your weekend, not just ours.
  • Recaps from every market, so you can see what you'd be joining.