Giving back, and why we do this as an agency
All of us at FUSE believe in giving back to our community and the organizations that have made a difference in our lives. Here's how we choose who to work with.
FUSE Create and all our employees and stakeholders have benefitted significantly by the simple fact that we live and work in this wonderful country.
As such, and in an ongoing effort to balance our for-profit motives, all of us at FUSE believe in giving back to our community and the organizations that have made a difference in our lives. Since 2003, FUSE has worked with charities and not-for-profits that help make Canada a better place and improve the lives of Canadians. And we’re not using this platform to brag; we want to show people that paying it forward works. We get back in spades what we put in and we believe other businesses would benefit from the same.
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In the past, we have done (pro-bono) work for Canadian Tire Jumpstart, True Patriot Love Foundation, Pinball Clemons Foundation, Casey House and, most recently, The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund and Reel Start, among others. It’s a part of who we are – Great People doing Great Work for Great People. However, with government cutbacks and the challenges – some new, some old – present in today’s world, we all need to do more. For example, we’ll be hosting a shoe drive at OSSFEST on July 27 for Soles4Souls Canada (if you’re in the Ossington area that day, come by and bring a donation!).
If you’re a business looking to get on board with some worthy charities, create a filter so you can evaluate whether that it is a good fit with your company and your stakeholders. Here’s the filter we use to consider our charity partners at FUSE Create. We consider these questions in this order:
Why do we care about this charity?
– Do we have a personal connection to the charity?
– Do we have a business connection to the charity?
– Do we value their contribution to our ‘community’?
– Does the charity and the people we will be working with have a good reputation?
Do they have a core issue/opportunity that is in our sweet spot of experience/capabilities?
– Is this work we are really good at?
– Is the opportunity clearly identified?
– Are they experienced marketers?
– Do we have experience solving this challenge?
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Can we afford and have the resources, to help at this time?
– What is the scale and scope of the challenge?
– Is this a one-off project or an ongoing commitment?
– Do we have a team that connects with this cause and are available to work on it?
– How does this fit with other pro-bono commitments this year?
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The demand by smaller charities for marketing expertise significantly exceeds the supply of resources (agencies and freelancers) that make themselves available. However, when the fit is right, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience for all parties involved.
If you have any questions about our “pro bono filter”, shoot me an email at garo@fusecreate.com.
