Daily CSR
Daily CSR

Daily CSR
Daily news about corporate social responsibility, ethics and sustainability

Empowering ‘Great Ideas’ Is A Way Of Giving Back



10/23/2019

Sappi North America supports and nurtures designing talents to make “a difference in communities”.


Dailycsr.com – 23 October 2019 – Sappi has been instrumental in empowering “great ideas” by providing supports to designs with talent for the last nineteen years. Through the “Ideas that Matter program”, Sappi has so far made a donation of more than “$13 million in grants” to over fifteen charities.
 
Sappi’s way of giving back is to encourage local initiatives and to make “a difference in communities” across the globe. Here are some of the examples:
 
The “Prosperity Gardens” in Illinois offers “hands-on, garden-based education and green business employment opportunities” to the “Champaign-Urbana community” while catering to the low income city residents to grow “affordable, nourishing produce from two city-owned lots and a new one-acre urban farm site”. Prosperity Gardens helps urban areas to cultivate healthy communities by bridging the food scarcity gap.
 
In fact, Prosperity Gardens has collaborated with “Mark Taylor and Natalie Smith from the University of Illinois Department of Art and Design, as well as Eric Benson, CEO of the design firm Re-Nourish” to develop and design “new signage, packaging, merchandise and experiential items”, whereby creating job opportunities in the field of agriculture and food production.
 
Moreover, Prosperity Gardens along with “Ideas that Matter grant” programme of Sappi came out with “400 copies of a recipe book” which showcased community grown vegetables. The said book attempts to teach the community about seasonal vegetables and “easily accessible recipes”. It also promotes home composting, whereby influencing people to make healthier choices while shopping, cooking and reducing landfills.
 
Here is yet another example about the “ProPublica ‘Factivism’ fundraising project” wherein the non-profit newsroom battles “fake news and alternative facts” through direct mail amid the “ever-changing media landscape”. Recognising the need to reach out to “new and longtime donors”, the newsroom collaborated with “an Ideas that Matter grant from Sappi North America” and raised more than “$500,000” to give out “printed pieces by direct mail” imploring the people to show their support for “investigative journalism”.
 
In 2018, the donors were reached for the same purpose through “a multi-channel fundraising approach” that used “high-quality direct mail appeal” while leaning on “email and social media” wherever possible.
 
Similarly, the Riverside Arts Center of Ypsilanti, Michigan, saw vibrant transformation as it turned into a “community arts hub” through “environmental graphics, promotional material and fundraising efforts”. The work was made possible by “Leslie Atzmon, Ryan Malloy, and intermediate graphic design students from the Eastern Michigan University School of Art & Design”. Today the center “promotes and nurtures dynamic cultural programs through arts education, performing arts, visual and fine arts”.
 
Sappi Ideas that Matter grant helped the project by providing “creative ideas and outcomes” and made it possible for them to apply in “Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Buhr Foundation, DTE Energy Foundation, the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and many others” for grants. These efforts led to a surplus amount of “$50,000” following the Riverside Art Center’s altered “fundraising efforts”.
 
 
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com