On Thursday, September 20, a group of workers gathered in West Columbia. They began when most workdays do, but they didn’t stop when most others called it a day. They worked all day and all night for nine nonprofits — one as far away as Michigan.
The WECO was again home base for the 15th annual CreateAthon, an epic 24-hour probono event imagined by two women in 1997 – one that's spawned a national network of generosity. The late-night brainstorm of Cathy Monetti and Teresa Coles is now a national corporate social responsibility vehicle. This year, 25 companies, colleges and universities, and creative collectives adopted the model throughout the year – many during National CreateAthon Week, September 17-21, 2012.
What did 41 inspired professional volunteers accomplish in just 24 hours? This:
- 11 : collateral pieces (soup-to-nuts)
- 5 : social media strategies with supporting graphics
- 5 : Powerpoint presentations
- 4 : logo designs (from scratch)
- 4 : website (IA, design and content)
- 4 : full letterhead/ID packages
- 3 : brand strategies
- 2 : logo refreshes
- 2 : fundraising theme ideas
- 2 : outdoor campaigns
- 2 : sticker designs
- 2 : brand standards handbooks
- 1 : brand re-naming
- 1 : marketing strategy
- 1 : campaign creative concept
- 1 : website content refresh
- 1 : fully-written website
- 1 : video (on-the-fly)
- 1: brand jewelry design
Don’t mistake the real value of CreateAthon. It isn’t quantity. It’s the joy we bring to over worked, underpaid nonprofit staffers. It’s the hope we bring to a group that wants to raise money but doesn’t know where to begin. It’s the services we bring to life – programs that shelter pets, help children grow, protect the rights of individuals with disablities, help families in crisis and so much more.
CreateAthon is a buffet of brilliance for people who get by with what they have year after year so others need not go without.
We’re not here to create a truckload of marketing stuff the world doesn’t really need. The heart of CreateAthon is our nation’s nonprofits. Their hard work is what our world cannot afford to be without.