Category Archives: News

posted by Teresa

Dec 19, 2011 @ 12:35pm

TEDx: Exponential Impact for Nonprofits

Earlier this fall, I was both surprised and delighted when I discovered my dear friend Julie Turner had nominated me as a potential speaker for TEDx Columbia. Founded as a four-day video conference in California 25 years ago, TED is now an international program committed to Ideas Worth Spreading. Presenters are asked to talk about their passions, inventions, beliefs, observations — the ideas they have that can spark change in the world. Talks are captured on video and viewed worldwide.

TEDx events allow people to use the “talk” model as a tool for effecting change in their own communities. On January 16 (MLK Day), I’ll have the honor of joining seven other speakers in the first-ever TEDx Columbia event. I’ll be talking about CreateAthon, and the incredible things that can happen when you let a big idea go in the world. Others will share stories on topics ranging from First Amendment Rights and brain damage research to urban farming and a program that uses rescue dogs to teach compassion and character development.

To say I was a bit overwhelmed at the thought of joining the distinguished ranks TED presenters is an understatement indeed. So being me, I began the task of preparing my presentation by researching other TED presentations. I was amazed to find the types of topics that were tagged at TED.com: the arts, humanities, animal rights, environmentalism, social justice, health, education, energy, philanthropy. A treasure trove of good.

Meanwhile, back at TEDx Columbia, I thought about the amazing story of Anna Bigham, one of my fellow presenters. She founded a nonprofit organization called Hidden Wounds that provides interim and emergency counseling services to combat veterans and their families. Her work honors her beloved younger brother, who took his life while struggling with PTSD. To realize I will be sharing a stage with someone like her — with such a noble and noteworthy cause — has humbled me even more. And what a gift the TED organization gives by lending a stage to nonprofits and their causes, as well as commercial endeavors that can make a difference in the world.

If you have a cause you’re passionate about, or just looking for a little inspiration, I encourage you to spend some time with TED. If you have a TEDx event in your area, consider how you might introduce your cause to the audience of inspired doers and thinkers in the TED universe. If you don’t have TEDx nearby, organize a team and make it happen now.

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posted by Teresa

Nov 04, 2011 @ 5:07pm

A Billion + Opportunities for CreateAthon

Twenty-four hours have passed since Peyton Rowe and I attended the launch event for A Billion+ Change, the national campaign to mobilize pro bono services. To say we are still reeling from it all is the understatement of the year. All day long, we tried to talk about what was going on around us, and we could barely form a sentence. The words simply would not come. You know when Teresa and Peyton are rendered speechless, something big has happened.

And large it was.

Teresa Coles, panelist at the Billion+ luncheon

We were asked at the end of the day to share an interesting takeaway. I’ll start with my response to that question, but I just can’t limit it to one. Instead, here are five takeaways that illuminated the day for me:

  1. There now exists a whole new professional sector of people who are trained and committed to seriously pursuing corporate social responsibility, not just managing donations. I think that’s amazing.
  2. The opportunity to experience the vibe that exists among these people. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, other than CreateAthon: open, selfless, joyful. “Let me know what I can do to help” ended every conversation.
  3. The willingness to readily connect with others. Never have I been approached by so many people who wanted to trade cards, connect online, stay in touch. There’s a sense that we can all benefit by upholding each other, and it’s readily embraced.
  4. The chance that pro bono can become a permanent fixture of corporate culture. Jean Case stated it repeatedly, and I had never thought about it in those terms. Imagine if pro bono service became a given in every company in America.
  5. The grace that filled every corner of the room, be that a handshake, a smile, a hug. The opportunity to meet and develop relationships with so many incredible people dedicated to doing incredible things will carry me for the days and weeks to come.

in pretty good company

My heart beats a little faster today with the promise of so many good things to come through A Billion + Change, as well as the opportunities for CreateAthon. I truly believe the new relationships that have been formed will impact our ability to help CreateAthon grow in leaps and bounds. Today, Peyton and I are off to tell the CreateAthon story to friends at the ONE Campaign. Just imagine where that conversation could go: CreateAthon International?

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posted by Teresa

Nov 03, 2011 @ 9:30am

CreateAthon Goes to Washington

Not once in the last 14 years did I ever dream of doing what I’m about to do: Go to Capitol Hill to talk about CreateAthon. It comes in the form of the launch event for A Billion + Change, a national campaign to mobilize $1 billion of pro bono services by 2013.

This morning, I will attend a kick off breakfast in the Russell Senate Office Building hosted by Sen. Mark Warner, honorary chair of the initiative. Later on, I’ll participate in a panel discussion alongside leaders in corporate social responsibility from companies who are also involved in the program. I’ll be asked to share our experiences with CreateAthon as a model for how a small business can generate large-scale probono impact.

 

Teresa

So how does a Billion + Change work? Participating companies define a pledge amount toward the cause and report on their progress throughout the initiative. A majority of the companies involved are major corporations with significant CSR programs, like HP, Microsoft, IBM, Walmart, and Discovery Channel.

On behalf of CreateAthon, we’ve pledged to more than double the number of partner agencies, universities and professional organizations involved in the program. Our estimates tell us if we reach this goal, we will move from generating approximately $2.3 million in pro bono services each year to an annual impact of $5.6 million.

As if it couldn’t get any better, I’m joined today by none other than Peyton Rowe, Chief Evangelical Officer of CreateAthon. She’s just in from Richmond, and we are truly beside ourselves with the prospect of meeting so many folks who are committed to sharing professional talents for social good.

So know that today, the CreateAthon story will be told from the one place in America that was most meant to inspire servant leadership. Who knows? Maybe some good karma will rub off down the street.

 

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posted by Kevin

Nov 02, 2011 @ 4:42pm

Persist or Advance

Occupy Wall Street is proving to be the definition of persistence. Meanwhile, the European debt crisis continues one week after the next. In a better world, crises would at least be short, especially such severe ones. The congressional stalemate continues despite national frustration. I can’t imagine anything worse than being on a “Super Committee.” A regular committee is painful enough.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola does something beautiful. They turn their cans white for the World Wildlife Fund . This profound gesture reminds me why I love the business of branding. Amidst all the chaos, Coke’s Arctic Home campaign feels like a refuge. A company doing something good, just because it is a good hearted company.

Coke’s white can inspired our marketing strategy for our client Moe’s Southwest Grill. Moe’s is incredibly supportive of schools and children’s charities, and we’re working on ways to further deepen their support at a neighborhood level.

Moe’s reminds me that we have to continually raise the bar. They are constantly tweaking their menu. They were the first retailer in town with Coke’s incredible new Freestyle machine. Better training, improvements to the prep line, and monitoring measuring customer feedback all followed a discussion about marketing strategy.

As the economy continues to strain business, brands easily fall into a mentality of persistence spawned by risk avoidance. I would argue that today’s challenging business climate demands constant improvement and innovation. I invite you to share a Coke with a colleague and start exploring how you might change things for the better.

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posted by Teresa

Oct 31, 2011 @ 10:39am

CreateAthon: Grown up and ready to go.

For 14 years we’ve labored through September nights, consuming ungodly amounts of coffee, Coke and cheese puffs in the name of CreateAthon. It hasn’t always been pretty, and it never is when you’re facing drastic shortages of time, money, manpower and supplies. Yet somehow the work always gets done, and every year we leave CreateAthon pondering the same question:

Why doesn’t everyone in our industry do CreateAthon?

The simple, truthful answer has to do with resources. If only we had the time to put more into CreateAthon. If only we had more money to spend on marketing it. If only we had the resources to hire someone to run the program, full-time, we could recruit more people into the program to do more good for more nonprofits.

For as long as we’ve faced this conundrum, we’ve known what we had to do to address it. So I’m thrilled to announce that CreateAthon has become a 501(c)3 in its own right, joining the ranks of the organizations we’ve proudly served over the years. As a 501(c)3, CreateAthon is now in a position to pursue funding opportunities that can help us build much-needed organizational capacity — with a goal of adding full-time personnel and other resources to help the program grow.

When this sheet of paper arrived in the mail the other day, there was a collective gasp, immediately followed by parental-caliber squeals normally reserved for a child’s college acceptance letter. Proof again that our little idea is growing up.

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posted by Guests

Jun 01, 2011 @ 2:22pm

Mast General Store and Environmental Stewardship

By Rebecca Jacobson, project manager

Downtown Columbia scored a major economic victory last week with the opening of Mast General Store.  With their vast selection of shoes, clothing, home goods, gifts, ole-timey toys and barrels of candy, it’s a fun, feel-good kind of place to shop, and city leaders and residents alike are all hoping it will be the catalyst for change in downtown Columbia.

What we believe makes Mast Store an even more exciting addition to Columbia is the fact that they are a company with values deeply rooted in corporate social responsibility (CSR).  All the way back to their original store in the late 1800’s, Mast Store has always maintained a culture of contributing to their local community.

If you just consider their business philosophy of locating in cities where they believe the store can be a catalyst for Main Street revitalization, as was the case in Greenville, SC and Knoxville, TX, that in itself is a pretty significant way to make a difference.  They are an employee-owned company, supporters of United Way, very active in promoting community events, and they hold several annual projects to benefit local food banks, shelters and others in need.

What I’m really excited about and energized by is Mast Store’s commitment to the environment.   Their sense of environmental stewardship runs deep and is evident in these very progressive programs:

  • Green Power – the company purchases carbon credits in North Carolina and Tennessee to help offset the impact made by their delivery trucks.
  • Recycling – all stores recycle plastic, glass, paper, aluminum, bi-metal cans and cardboard, and their shopping bags have a special additive that quickens the decomposition process (I mean really, who does that?)
  • Mast Transit – employees earn incentives for carpooling, riding their bike to work, walking to work or taking public transportation (If only I could get an incentive for carpooling my daughter to school the past couple of years!)
  • Local Land Trust Day – the first Saturday of every June, Mast Store donates 20 percent of the day’s sales to their partner land trust in the community of each of their stores; think about it, on this one day, 20 percent of the sales from every store goes back into the local community specifically to support land conservation – I’d say that’s some pretty impressive CSR.

The Columbia partner for Local Land Trust Day is the Congaree Land Trust (CLT), a small organization that has conserved more than 27,000 acres of land in central South Carolina.  CLT board members, volunteers and staff will be on hand all day to educate shoppers about land trusts, conservation easements and the status of land protection in central South Carolina – something you might not have ever considered it weren’t for Mast General Store and their tremendous sense of corporate social responsibility.

If you’d like your shopping dollars to have an impact on the local community, head downtown to Mast Store this Saturday, June 4 and see first-hand this great company that has moved in on Main Street in Columbia.

– Rebecca Jacobson

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posted by Cathy

Nov 04, 2010 @ 3:24pm

getting ready for debbie millman

debbie millman     aiga south carolina     columbia     december 1

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posted by Teresa

Sep 13, 2010 @ 1:59pm

New Crop of CreateAthon Clients

You’d think it would be easy by now. But it still gives us heartache when we’re forced to choose from among the many CreateAthon™ applications we receive.  Nevertheless, we’re happy to announce the 10 nonprofit organizations that will be beneficiaries of free creative marketing services during our 13th annual CreateAthon on Thursday, September 16th.

Organizations selected this year include:
·  Children’s Advocacy Center of Spartanburg
·  Gills Creek Watershed
·  Girls on the Run
·  Healing Species
·  March of Dimes
·  Ladies Armed with Knowledge
·  Partners for Active Living
·  Recovery Works
·  STARS of SC
·  ScienceSouth

With less than one week to go before the big event, we’re in full CAT mode. We’ve met with each of these organizations, developed briefs, assembled the teams, and held our official preview party. Now if we could just get that snack list filled up. Any volunteers?

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posted by Cathy

Aug 17, 2010 @ 8:31am

Where interesting people congregate, interesting things happen

What's in store for the WECO?

We’ve long dreamed of converting the infamous WECO building, a former grocery store/pool hall/charity thrift (and our current home) into a creative salon. It makes sense with the Riggs Partners modular business model; it makes sense with our partnership philosophy; and quite frankly, it makes sense given the real estate we’re sitting on.

So we’re pleased as punch to (officially) announce that interactive usability consultancy firm truematter and inbound marketing specialists keelysaye.com are taking up residence with us, here, in the WECO building at 750 Meeting.

The vision of all parties is that the open, bullpen space of the building be a shared community environment in which the creatives of all three companies work in hive fashion, herman-miller-hexagon to herman-miller-hexagon. While there will undoubtedly be instances in which the companies are collaborating on projects, each remains an independent company with its own clients. And not one new wall is being built to divide the three.

We love this description from Wikipedia:

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation.

It’s a French concept we believe applies parfaitement to the way smart businesses are functioning in this new economy: connected, specialized, synergized.

you get the general idea

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posted by Cathy

Aug 16, 2010 @ 2:06pm

Welcome to the Blogosphere, First Community Bank!

It is with great gusto that we welcome our dear friends (and client) First Community Bank to world of blogging. “First on Main” will shine a spotlight on entrepreneurs, businesses and happenings in the Midlands of South Carolina. We’ve been the marketing partner for First Community for many, many years, and we can speak first hand: No one has a better view of all that is happening in the local economy than “the local bank for local business.”

We hope you will stay tuned, as well!

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