Beginning in March 2026, and in response to the ever growing scarcity of pennies and possibly nickels in the near future due to changes within the United States Mint.  Avant-Garde was faced with a problem, cash transactions that do not end in five cent ($0.05) increments.

We knew that we unfortunately had to round up these transactions to the nearest nickel and pass that cost on to the consumer as we simply could not absorb this cost.  However we didn't feel that we should profit from this rounding up and instead decided to use these extra funds for the good of the Greater Milwaukee Area.  And so "Change 4 Change" was born.

How does it work?

"Change 4 Change" utilizes the additional pennies that are not needed to pay for sales tax and groups them up to be donated to a 501(c)3 that operates within the Great Milwaukee Area and/or performs a majority of it's charitable work within the Greater Milwaukee Area while having it's office(s) located outside of the Great Milwaukee Area.

To make our change fundraising a bit more useful than a few dollars, and to plan for the future, that we would round all cash sales up to the nearest dime (ex. $11.47 rounds up to $11.50).  Clients paying with credit or debit may voluntarily elect to participate as well by simply informing staff during their checkout.

Suggestions are encouraged for charities to benefit from this program and there are no restrictions for the mission of the 501(c)3 organizations with obvious exception to hate groups and other common sense guidelines.

Please remember, we are a body piercing establishment and not experts in non-profits.  Rules for eligible organizations will grow and be added as needed when needed, if you know something about a charity that has recieved funds that you think isn't cool, please let us know so we can learn and grow.

Thank you for your understanding and support.  We hope we can make this grow to improve our community and leave a better world for the future generations to come.

Avant-Garde's Change 4 Change - Piercing for a Purpose