WATERLOO REGION – Oct. 15, 2019 – Non-profit organizations across the country will get a boost this week from a 24-hour creative ‘blitz’ to help promote their social causes.
Capacity Canada, along with partners Intertek Catalyst, Conestoga College, Google, Manulife, Him & Her, and Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation, will provide free design, marketing and public relations work for 15 non-profit organizations across Canada during a Creative Day for Social Good (CD4SG).
Teams of graphic design and public relations students from Conestoga College will partner with professional art directors, writers, account managers and other creative workers in the one-day event that kicks off at 8 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 17.
For the first time, these creative teams will work at the Kitchener offices of Google, where they’ll develop a range of branding, website or other assets for participating non-profits.
“A brand identity is an organization’s face to the world,” explains Cathy Brothers, CEO of Waterloo-based Capacity Canada. “It’s how potential partners, funders, clients, the public and other stakeholders, first see what they do. Yet those brand materials are often difficult to obtain.”
Among non-profits taking part this year are the Canadian Mental Health Association, Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Pride Toronto. A full list appears at the end of this release.
“It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved,” says Matt Miller, Executive-In-Residence at Capacity Canada and a key organizer of the event. “It’s a fast-paced setting where leading creative professionals have a chance to work side-by-side with students, who gain real work experience to develop assets for non-profits that gain much-needed marketing tools.”
Last year, more than $100,000 worth of pro bono work was generated for non-profits. This year, 72 organizations applied for 15 available spots and organizers hope social impact will continue to grow for Canada’s non-profit community.
For more on this Capacity Canada initiative or other programs, please visit capacitycanada.ca.
Media contacts:
Cathy Brothers, CEO, Capacity Canada
[email protected]
Office: 519-513-2606 x1
Mobile: 226-808-7220
Matt Miller, Executive-In-Residence, Capacity Canada
[email protected]
Office: 519-513-2606 x6
Mobile: 226-749-3893
Non-profits taking part in CD4SG 2019:
- Active Lives After School, Dufferin County, ON;
- Bay Area Restoration Council, Hamilton, ON;
- Boost Child & Youth Advocacy Centre, Toronto, ON;
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Toronto, ON;
- Canadian Mental Health Association, Fort McMurray, AB;
- Engineers Without Borders Canada, Toronto, ON;
- Lakeridge Health Foundation, Oshawa, ON;
- Matthews House Hospice, Alliston, ON;
- Pride Toronto, Toronto, ON;
- Reaching Our Outdoor Friends, Kitchener ON;
- Reep Green Solutions, Kitchener, ON;
- Renfrew and Area Senior’s Home Support Inc., Renfrew, ON;
- Sensity Deafblind and Sensory Support Network of Canada, Paris, ON;
- Skills for Change, Toronto, ON;
- Vera Causa Opera, Cambridge, ON.
How it works:
- Professional Account Managers and Art Directors from community agencies are assigned to each team to mentor the students through the process;
- Before the event, Conestoga College faculty divide students into teams and assign them to work with a participating non-profit;
- Student teams coordinate with non-profits to identify their needs and goals. Students are marked on their creative brief and efforts at the event as part of their curriculum;
- A creative brief is completed to help identify specific assets to meet the non-profit’s objectives during the event;
- On Thursday at 8 am, the creative hands-on work begins as students join various professionals to rapidly co-design assets for their non-profit clients;
- The following morning, 15 non-profits will see fruits of the teams’ work, which could include new identity designs, marketing and public relations materials, or even new websites and videos.
