“This has definitely been a marathon, not a sprint,” said Beth Bellanti, marketing, Tito’s Handmade Vodka. “Really, that’s the story of Tito’s in general.”

Although the partnership between Tito’s Vodka and Emancipet, a low-cost spay/neuter clinic that started in Austin, officially began about a year ago, Bellanti said their relationship goes back more than a decade past that.

“Honestly, it started back when Tito built the distillery,” Bellanti said. “It’s out in a very rural part of Austin out by the airport, and a lot of people just dump and abandon dogs out there, sadly…Tito brought is dog to work every day, and the dog packs out there would smell his dog’s food and come up to the distillery. So, Tito just started feeding them, too.”

The child of dog rescuers, Bellanti said she didn’t think twice about helping Tito take care of the stray dogs that came to the distillery. And because Emancipet was nearby, that’s where they took the dogs for help.

Bellanti said many of the early Tito’s Vodka employees were also dog rescuers and that many people in the office, including herself, brought their dogs to work with them every day.

“It became a dog office where we were all helping each other foster, giving each other breaks for the night, and taking the distillery dogs for the night,” Bellanti said. “We’re always in Emancipet, even now.”

After becoming regulars at the nearby Emancipet clinic, Bellanti said they offered to give some of their vodka to Emancipet for fundraising. The relationship between the two companies evolved organically from there into the partnership that is now known as Vodka for Dog People.

Tito’s Vodka has grown from its beginnings as just a man and his dog to being available nationwide. And now, with the help of Vodka for Dog People, Emancipet has grown, too, enabling them to make an impact in communities outside of Austin.

Joining Bellanti for “Vodka for Dog People: Matchmaking a Business Heart” is Emancipet CEO Amy Mills. Their discussion will cover how to find the right partnership for your business from the perspective of both a company and a nonprofit.

Bellanti said she and Mills hope to encourage businesses and nonprofits who have felt a spark between them to take the next step together.

“We’re just trying to inspire more good and give people an example of what a spark can turn into,” Bellanti said.

When, Where & More:

Monday, March 16
3:30-4:30 p.m.

Austin Convention Center
Room 6AB
500 E. Cesar Chavez St.

More information on this session can be found here: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2015/events/event_IAP34718.