Category Archives: CSR

CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility: Companies of all sizes are considering how their work impacts the world around them, finding innovative ways to contribute positively.

posted by Cathy

May 22, 2013 @ 4:00pm

10 Reasons Your Agency Should Become A CreateAthon Agency

“We should work around the clock at least once every quarter,” I said to my business partner during a late night work session at the agency. “Then we might actually keep up with our workload.”

“Yes, we should,” she said, looking remarkably rational. “But we should do it for charity.”

That little exchange became CreateAthon, a 24-hour marathon during which our agency, and now a number of other agencies around the country, band together to provide marketing services to nonprofits in our communities. In 15 years, more than 1,275 nonprofits have been served with 3,000 projects, valued at more than $15 million.

Our goal is to double the number of partner agencies participating in CreateAthon this year. Here’s why we think you should take a look our program:

1. CreateAthon is the idea tool for managing pro bono requests. CreateAthon is the perfect way to say Yes to every nonprofit. (Or at least it is the perfect way to not say No.) Simply direct them to your agency’s CreateAthon application.

2. The work will have a START and a STOP. Agree to develop marketing materials for a nonprofit during a regular business cycle and odds are 10-1 the work will take months to complete. (Paid deadlines have a way of moving to the top of the traffic schedule, don’t they?) Do it during CreateAthon, and the job will be completed in 24 hours. Guaranteed.

3. The impact of your pro bono work will amplify. We get it—every nonprofit request includes the word “brochure.” But wouldn’t it be great to have a manageable process through which you could dig a little deeper and get to the root of the problem that needs to be solved? In a timely, affordable manner? The CreateAthon model begins with a focus on the challenges the nonprofit is facing. That allows your planning team to do what they do best: solve a business problem with a marketing solution that will actually work.

4. Your creative will soar. Magic happens during CreateAthon.  It is the gift the universe gives us for doing good, I believe. No other way to explain it.

5. Your team will be inspired. Some 15 years ago, in the inaugural year of CreateAthon, I had great worries about whether or not our team could actually work for 24 straight hours. To tell the truth, I wondered if we could even stay awake. So we scheduled activities, entertainment and an away-from-the-office dinner break, just to refresh. But it turned out that no one needed it. In fact, most of us ate at our computers that night, focused on the work at hand.

6. You will make new friends. Those who work in the nonprofit community are not only committed to making the world a better place, they’re also darn nice people. They approach the agency/nonprofit marketing partnership with open hearts and a willingness to share that is refreshing. And they’ll remember you, and the work you did for their organization, long after the 24 hours is over. Nice basis for new friendships, not to mention referral sources.

7. You can create powerful relationships with superstar talent (I). Once we have our nonprofits lined up and know the type of work we’ll be doing, we fill in any gaps with creative volunteers from our community. I particularly like this shuffling of talent; it is healthy, challenging and inspiring to face the challenge of a 24-hour deadline with a team that may be unfamiliar to you.

8. You can create powerful relationships with superstar talent (II). One year, David Carson was on tap to speak at a local ad event the night before CreateAthon. We invited him to tack a little CreateAthon onto his trip, and he agreed—becoming our first Celebrity Designer. Need I describe what a thrill it was to have David Carson IN OUR OFFICES, designing a poster for a Riggs CreateAthon client? The colorful stories he told during dinner were just a bonus.

9. There is nothing more validating than doing work that matters. Something incredible happens when a devoted, hard-working creative staff gets the opportunity to focus—really focus—on work that matters. I am a firm believer that the gift we give to our community in the form of CreateAthon changes lives and makes the Midlands of South Carolina a nicer place to live. We have attacked homelessness, child abuse, pet overpopulation, drug addiction, mental illness, literacy, graduation rates, bullying, spousal abuse, land preservation—and that is just a drop in the proverbial bucket.  Doing work that makes a difference. It fills your soul like nothing else.

10. Your culture will never be the same. Year after year, CreateAthon comes along and refuels our firm. It bonds us together in a way that is lasting, reminding us what is possible when we believe in each other, support each other, cheer each other on.

And when you get right down to it, isn’t that what it’s all about?

We hope you will consider becoming a CreateAthon partner and holding a CreateAthon event in your market. Details here, or call Teresa at 803-799-5972.

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posted by Teresa

Mar 13, 2013 @ 10:26am

Global Pro Bono? CreateAthon Worldwide? Believe.

“YOU are CreateAthon?”

            “Well, uh, yes, I guess I am.”

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s really you! I talk to people in India about CreateAthon all the time!”

That is what greeted me within 10 minutes of stepping into an evening reception at the Global Pro Bono Summit, hosted recently by Taproot Foundation. It was a moment that took my breath away, and the start of a 24-hour experience that filled me with the promise of good in the world like never before.

Joining me at the event in NYC was none other than  CreateAthon Chief Evangelical Officer Peyton Rowe. That, in itself, is enough to get me pumped up on the matter of all things pro bono. Then there were our friends from Taproot Foundation, A Billion + Change, and other swell folks from socially minded corporations we’ve come to know. I expected to see these flag-bearers for pro bono, and to once again be inspired by their leadership.

What I encountered was something altogether different.

I was surrounded by people from about a dozen different countries who were part of Taproot’s global fellows program. Then there were “intermediaries,” people throughout the US who lead programs designed to mobilize pro bono efforts in their respective industries and/or communities. Like CreateAthon.

Before we intermediaries were introduced to the global fellows, Taproot Founder and event organizer Aaron Hurst provided some meaningful context to us on why these people had come to New York, and why we had been invited to meet them:

“Understand that most of the people you’ll meet today come from countries in which pro bono is neither encouraged nor tolerated. In some cases, they are not only putting themselves at professional risk for advocating the practice of pro bono, but also personal. They can go to jail for this.

“You’re here to get to know them, encourage them, and connect with them from now on, so they can be prepared to carry out this work when they go home.”

That got our attention.

Then here they came, 22 of the most delightful people I’ve ever met. Between their broken English and my heavy Southern accent, we often had to repeat ourselves or help interpret each other’s sentences. But what transcended that awkward dialogue was the immediate, shared spark of something between us: the belief in pro bono.

There’s so much to say about this experience — perhaps I shall come back here and unpack all of my takeaways — but for now, I hope you’ll be inspired by three things I now know to be true, thanks to this global gathering of good.

Pro bono is going to become an industry, not a nice to do.

We can capitalize on it and make a living giving it scale throughout the world. What some may have once considered a pipe dream is now quickly becoming a force.

People are different. Their hearts are the same.

The power of human connections around a central cause has never been more palpable to me than in the last two weeks. All it takes is one moment, and an extended hand.

The impact of CreateAthon has only just begun.

Our 24-hour marathon model is being noticed in places far from here, not just in India. In France: “We now have a marathon model in place inspired by CreateAthon.”

In the Netherlands: “Oh yes, we’ve heard of you. What a great program!”

In Germany: “We love CreateAthon, and I am going to get you to Berlin to teach us how to do it.”

Where do we go from here? Global fellows, corporate leaders, and intermediaries like us will reassemble for Global Pro Bono Summit II a year from now. In the meantime, we’ll be connecting with each other, one by one, sharing ideas and offering encouragement. We’ll also be working together on a number of initiatives coming out of the summit that will help to move the global pro bono movement forward in the next 12 months.

The last thing I know for sure?

If you have a little idea, it can be big.

Peyton checks in at our mod venue, Steelcase

 

Telling our stories, one by one

P and T reunite with our global bestie, Armin from BMW Foundation.

Heated debate among the panel of judges for best global pro bono plan

Champion of pro bono and lover of all things CreateAthon: Taproot Foundation founder Aaron Hurst

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posted by Kevin

Jan 29, 2013 @ 3:02pm

The Power of Thank You

Moe’s Southwest Grill recently opened its seventh location in Columbia, donating the first day’s sales to local charity Epworth Children’s Home. This charitable spirit really permeates the brand.

Moe’s president, Paul Damico, appeared on Undercover Boss, visiting Columbia and demonstrating the compassion that is the core of the brand. Moe’s Columbia, together with the local CBS affiliate, WLTX, invited some of its best customers and biggest fans to a private screening.

Undercover Boss Viewing Party, a la Moe's Southwest Grill

Nothing beats having a relationship with your customer base, and Moe’s has done an amazing job building one using charitable giving and sponsorships. It’s proof that giving back pays off—and that includes saying thank you to your customer every chance you get.

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posted by Teresa

Oct 31, 2012 @ 10:48am

A Billion + Reasons to Believe

Earlier this month, we had the honor of officially welcoming A Billion + Change and the national movement for skills-based, pro bono service to South Carolina. Along with our friends at the Central Carolina Community Foundation, we hosted a gathering of 60 or so bright-minded business leaders with the intent of starting a dialogue in South Carolina on the benefits of skills-based volunteerism.

We Riggs folks are always up for a conversion about pro bono, and the Billion + breakfast was a great way to share our belief in skills-based volunteerism as a means of corporate social responsibility. But my new best Twitter friend Paul Klein unearthed a whole new perspective in his Forbes post this week by stating “social change isn’t the responsibility of business, it is the result of business.”

That’s what A Billion + Change is really all about: helping American businesses understand that the fastest and most profound way to create results in the community is to give employees the opportunity to put their best business skills and talents to work for nonprofits. In doing so, they help NGOs and NPOs build the kind of capacity and intellectual resources they need to build sustainability and move their missions forward.

We’re thrilled with the enthusiastic response from the A Billion + Change event, and we look forward to sharing more news very soon about the South Carolina companies that are taking the pledge to create or expand their own skills-based, pro bono programs. As always, we believe South Carolinians will rise to the occasion, expressing our collective belief in doing the kind of work that matters most.

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posted by Teresa

Oct 01, 2012 @ 3:46pm

Prepping Nonprofits for Pro Bono

It never fails. Post CreateAthon, we find ourselves contemplating a certain set of questions related to the work we develop for nonprofits during 24+ hours of caffeine-injected, creative madness.

“Will they really be able to execute this work?”
“How can we know this work will be successful?”
“Should we enforce more upfront parameters?”
“Was this nonprofit ready for us?”

We’re not alone in this line of thinking. Every company involved in a pro bono initiative wants to know its investment of time and professional expertise will make a real impact within the nonprofit organization it supports.

But just when these questions began to creep again in this year, we were greeted by a brand new book from our friends at Taproot Foundation that begins to put it all in perspective. Aaron Hurst and company have put the question of nonprofit readiness to the test in Powered by Pro Bono, a guidebook designed to help nonprofits prepare their organizations in a way that can attract and make the most of pro bono service. The book clearly defines the difference between “getting some free stuff” to integrating pro bono service as a highly strategic tool to help build capacity in a nonprofit organization.

Why should nonprofits care? Every day, more and more companies are developing pro bono programs that allow employees to put their professional skills to work for social good. The flip side of that demands nonprofits must prove themselves as worthy beneficiaries, and it’s not enough just to ask for help: They must be able to both articulate a compelling case for support and demonstrate their ability to act on the pro bono counsel and deliverables they receive.

Every nonprofit that ever hopes to secure pro bono services would be wise to read this book now and immediately put its principles and resources into action. It’s a gift to every nonprofit that recognizes the power of pro bono and has the chops to bring it to bear within their organization.

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