Ben's Bells
Ben's Bells is a Tucson-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2002 that delivers kindness education programs and tangible kindness tools (ceramic bells, Kindness Coins, murals) to K-12 schools, workplaces, and community organizations across Arizona, Connecticut, and beyond.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersTucson, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Ben's Bells does
Ben's Bells is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Jeannette Maré and headquartered at 40 W Broadway Blvd in Tucson, Arizona. The organization educates communities about the practice of intentional kindness through a portfolio of programs delivered to K-12 schools, workplaces, and community organizations. Its flagship offerings include the Kind Campus school program, Kind Colleagues workplace program, Camp Kind summer programming, school assemblies, speaking engagements, and group bell-making sessions known as Bellings. Tangible products anchor the model: handmade ceramic bells hung in communities as findable symbols of kindness, Kindness Coins sold in themed packs, downloadable and purchasable Kind Notes in English and Spanish, and Kindness Murals installed in three standardized designs across Tucson, Phoenix, Connecticut, and beyond.
The organization generates revenue through a diversified nonprofit model: tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations (Tax ID 76-0779755), unit-priced product sales through an e-commerce storefront and Shop Kind retail locations, quote-based speaking fees for school and corporate engagements, and signature fundraising events such as the Millions for Tucson raffle, in which the Jim Click Automotive Team donates vehicles as grand prizes and over 120,000 tickets are distributed annually via a network of Southern Arizona 501(c)(3) partner organizations. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on thousands of annual volunteers, school and corporate speaking engagements, earned media from public art installations, and an email newsletter distributed via Constant Contact. Co-Executive Director Autumn Rentmeester leads operations alongside the founder, and a Science and Culture Advisory Council supports the research-backed programming that distinguishes Ben's Bells from generic kindness initiatives.
Ben's Bells firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ben's Bells
- Legal name
- Ben's Bells, Inc.
- Website
- https://bensbells.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ben's Bells is a Tucson-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2002 that delivers kindness education programs and tangible kindness tools (ceramic bells, Kindness Coins, murals) to K-12 schools, workplaces, and community organizations across Arizona, Connecticut, and beyond.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ben's Bells industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Kindness Education Services
- NAICS
- Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Jewelry and Silverware Manufacturing (33991)
- SIC
- Greeting Cards (2771), Costume Jewelry & Novelties (3960)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Greeting Cards, Wrap & Party Supplies Retail (CRALAJAE)
Keywords
Where Ben's Bells is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tucson
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ben's Bells business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Product Sales: Sale of kindness-themed products including Kindness Coins (10-pack), In Memory of Coins, In Honor of Coins, Kind Notes, and other kindness tools available through their online shop and retail partnerships.
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations supporting the organization's mission to educate communities about kindness. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax ID: 76-0779755).
- Speaking and Program Fees: Revenue from speaking engagements at schools, corporate events, and conferences where education team members deliver presentations on kindness science and practices.
- Community Fundraising Events: Raffle events like Millions for Tucson generate significant community fundraising, with proceeds supporting community outreach programs. The Jim Click Automotive Team donates vehicles for raffle prizes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Kindness Coins available in themed packs |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Kind Notes sets available in multiple language options |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Mural installation fees vary by design and size |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ben's Bells product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ben's Bells is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates community art studios where volunteers produce handmade ceramic bells, Kindness Coins, and related kindness-themed products. The organization delivers kindness education programming for schools, workplaces, and communities, including assemblies, curriculum integration, murals, speaking engagements, and summer camps, supported by donations, product sales, and fundraising events.
Product overview
Ben's Bells is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of kindness education programs centered around its core products: ceramic bells and kindness coins. The organization provides educational programs including Kind Campus (schools), Kind Colleagues (workplaces), Camp Kind (summer programs), and Speaking Engagements. Physical products include ceramic Ben's Bells ornaments, Kindness Coins (standard, In Memory, and In Honor versions), and Kindness Murals (Flower, Tree, Cactus designs). The organization also offers Tools for Kindness including downloadable Kind Notes in multiple languages, phone/Zoom backgrounds, and activity guides. Additional offerings include Bellings (group sessions), Assemblies (school presentations), and the Celebration of Kindness annual event with the Millions for Tucson raffle. All offerings are designed to educate communities about the benefits of intentional kindness and help develop awareness and compassion through education, visual reminders, and ongoing practice.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ben's Bells Ceramic Ornaments Colorful ceramic ornaments hung in communities throughout the world as symbols of kindness for people to find and take home. Made by thousands of volunteers in studios, each bell represents the efforts of an entire community coming together.
- Kindness Coins Handmade ceramic coins that serve as tools for practicing kindness. Each coin comes with a tag reading 'This is a Ben's Bells Kindness Coin. Thank you for sharing your kindness. Pass it on.' Available in standard, In Memory, and In Honor versions, sold in 10-packs through Shop Kind retail locations and the online store.
- Tools for Kindness Educational resources including Power of Kindness guides, #BekindChallenge materials, downloadable Kind Notes in English and Spanish, phone backgrounds, and Zoom backgrounds for virtual settings, designed to support kindness practice in daily life.
- Kindness Murals Kindness-themed mosaic murals installed in communities, created by students, local artists, and community members. Available options include Be Kind Flower (6ft x 6ft), Kindness Tree (8ft x 7ft), and Kind Cactus (8ft x 4ft). Custom mural inquiries available via email.
- Speaking Engagements Educational presentations delivered to groups of any age in settings including team meetings, conferences, classrooms, and corporate groups, in-person or virtually, using knowledge of the science of kindness and personal storytelling.
- Kind Campus School-based program that helps students develop awareness and compassion through kindness education and visual reminders integrated into the K-12 campus environment.
- Kind Colleagues Workplace kindness program that brings intentional kindness practices into professional environments through education, tools, and ongoing practice to improve workplace culture and team dynamics.
- Camp Kind Summer camp program focused on teaching children kindness skills through experiential learning and community connection.
- Bellings Group bell-making sessions where participants create ceramic bells together, fostering community connection through collaborative art-making.
- School Assemblies School assembly programs that introduce students to the science of kindness and inspire the practice of intentional kindness in educational settings.
- Celebration of Kindness Event Annual community event celebrating kindness, including the Millions for Tucson raffle that supports community outreach programs with grand prizes including donated vehicles.
- Kind Notes Downloadable and purchasable notes including Kind Notes, Thank You Notes, I'm Sorry Notes, and Valentine cards designed for practicing kindness through written expression. Available in English and Spanish versions in sets of 50.
Quantifiable outcome
- Dozens of community murals installed across Tucson, Phoenix, and Connecticut areas since 2009
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Ben's Bells
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ben's Bells technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Ben's Bells partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Jim Click Automotive TeamflagshipJim Click Automotive Team sponsors the Millions for Tucson raffle, donating vehicles (such as the 2026 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Roush Edition valued at $55,000) as grand prizes. 100% of raffle ticket proceeds support Ben's Bells community outreach programs. The raffle is a major annual fundraising event involving over 120,000 tickets sold by Southern Arizona 501(c)(3) organizations.
- Marshall FoundationcoreMarshall Foundation partnered with Ben's Bells and TUSD's Community Transition Programs to bring world-renowned mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar from Philadelphia to Tucson in December 2009. This partnership resulted in the first large-scale Kindness Corridor Mosaic Art Mural using the Zagar Method.
- TUSD Community Transition ProgramscoreTUSD's Community Transition Programs partnered with Ben's Bells and Marshall Foundation for the inaugural mosaic mural project in 2009, working alongside Isaiah Zagar and community members to create public kindness art.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of TucsoncoreBoys & Girls Clubs of Tucson is the official sponsor organization for the Millions for Tucson raffle, which is a community-wide fundraising campaign benefiting charitable 501(c)(3) organizations in Southern Arizona.
- Isaiah ZagarminorWorld-renowned mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar taught his Zagar Method and worked alongside students and community members in December 2009 to create mosaic art installations in Tucson.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ben's Bells competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kindness.org: Kindness.org is a 501(c)(3) that runs kindness challenges and kindness-based education programs targeting individuals, schools, and workplaces. It competes directly with Ben's Bells in the kindness-curriculum and awareness-campaign space, with a stronger digital/app distribution model.
- Random Acts of Kindness Foundation: The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring kindness in schools, workplaces, and communities through educational resources. It is the most direct peer to Ben's Bells given overlapping kindness-education mission, school/workplace programming, and community-engagement model.
- Life is Good: Life is Good is a purpose-driven brand that runs the Life is Good Kids Foundation, channeling apparel/product profits into children's optimism and well-being programs. It is comparable to Ben's Bells as a nonprofit-supported, product-sales-funded positive-psychology mission targeting children and communities.
- Project Happiness: Project Happiness is a nonprofit providing social-emotional learning and well-being curricula for schools and communities, with classroom and experiential programming. It is comparable to Ben's Bells because both deliver kindness/wellbeing education to K-12 and community audiences through structured curricula.
Regional players
- Random Acts of Kindness (community programs - Tucson): Local Southern Arizona community programs that host kindness drives or supply kindness kits offer a regional comparator to Ben's Bells' Tucson-anchored community programs. Comparable because they overlap in geography and kindness-product distribution, though smaller in scale and brand recognition.
Emerging players
- Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley): The Greater Good Science Center studies the science of happiness, kindness, and altruism, and publishes educational content and programs for educators. It is comparable to Ben's Bells as a research-driven kindness/wellbeing education resource, though it operates primarily through content rather than community programming.
Others
- DoSomething.org: DoSomething.org is a youth-focused nonprofit that mobilizes millions of young people around social-impact campaigns. It is comparable as a similarly structured mission-driven nonprofit engaging K-12/young-adult audiences through programs, though its focus is broader social action rather than kindness education specifically.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a large youth-development nonprofit providing afterschool programs and SEL/wellbeing content. It is comparable as a similarly structured youth-focused nonprofit with school and community partnerships, but at vastly larger scale and broader programmatic scope.
- Points of Light: Points of Light is a nonprofit focused on volunteer engagement and civic service across the U.S. It is comparable to Ben's Bells in mobilizing volunteer-driven community impact and offers a relevant structural parallel for scaling volunteer-powered programs nationally.
Broad incumbents
- Born This Way Foundation: Born This Way Foundation, co-founded by Lady Gaga, is a nonprofit focused on youth mental health, kindness, and community-building, with large-scale donor-backed programming. It is comparable as a youth-mental-health/kindness nonprofit but operates at a much larger national scale with broader celebrity-driven brand reach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ben's Bells social profiles
Digital presenceBen's Bells financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ben's Bells leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Ben's Bells funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ben's Bells M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ben's Bells
What does Ben's Bells do?
Ben's Bells is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates community art studios where volunteers produce handmade ceramic bells, Kindness Coins, and related kindness-themed products. The organization delivers kindness education programming for schools, workplaces, and communities, including assemblies, curriculum integration, murals, speaking engagements, and summer camps, supported by donations, product sales, and fundraising events.
Is Ben's Bells a public or private company?
Ben's Bells is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Ben's Bells founded?
Ben's Bells was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ben's Bells based?
Ben's Bells is headquartered in Tucson, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ben's Bells make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are donations and Charitable Contributions, speaking and Program Fees and community Fundraising Events.
Who are Ben's Bells's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kindness.org, Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, Life is Good and Project Happiness. Random Acts of Kindness (community programs - Tucson) is listed as a regional player. Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley) is listed as an emerging player. Others are DoSomething.org, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Points of Light. Born This Way Foundation is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Ben's Bells have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ben's Bells.
What industry is Ben's Bells in?
Ben's Bells's product category is Nonprofit Kindness Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALAJAE, Greeting Cards, Wrap & Party Supplies Retail. Its NAICS code is 813 and its SIC code is 2771.