Last May Ketchum celebrated its 90th anniversary. We aimed to mark this milestone not by focusing on the past, but rather, by working together to create the future, one where 90 girls would attend and graduate from secondary school and 90 pro bono brainstorms conducted by our employees would benefit organizations around the world with communications support to solve local, national and even global challenges. As a firm, we set two ambitious goals to work towards by year-end and we are proud to say we exceeded both.
Why 90 Girls?
Today, educating girls is widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful and effective ways to break the cycle of poverty, since girls who complete secondary school go on to earn more money, have healthier families, and are more likely to educate their own children – breaking the cycle of illiteracy in one generation.
Room to Read, an organization that at its core believes “world change starts with educated children” has been Ketchum’s long-term global partner since 2008. One of their focus areas includes gender equality in education so we set a goal of raising $90,000 to support 90 girls through four years of secondary school in Tanzania and India.
From bake sales to auctions, and fashion shows to coin collection jars in office lunch rooms, Ketchum employees didn’t stop at $90,000 – they kept going until they surpassed the goal by thousands of dollars. With $95,000 raised, we will be able to put 95 girls on a life-changing course. (Click to tweet)
Why 90 Brainstorms?
We believe communications can positively change the world, so our employees jumped at the chance to develop communications solutions for a range of causes. The goal of our 90 for 90 Campaign was to mobilize our network by hosting 90 brainstorms for nonprofit organizations.
Beginning on Ketchum’s anniversary date, employees across offices led and participated in brainstorms for local nonprofit organizations of our employees’ choosing. Causes ranged from children’s health to animal welfare to the environment. Since that date, we have conducted 92 creative in-person and virtual storms with nonprofits around the globe. (Click to tweet) Hundreds of colleagues throughout the network rallied behind this first-of-its-kind global initiative and delivered actionable ideas to organizations in need.
We enjoyed setting and exceeding goals in honor of our anniversary but I’m pleased to say our culture encourages philanthropic support year-round, year after year. Our anniversary campaigns showed all of us that we can achieve great things when we set ambitious goals and work together to achieve them. Knowing what’s possible, I’m excited to see what we can accomplish as we move into our 91st year and beyond.
