BOSTON, Sept. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Sappi North America today announced the grant recipients of its 16th annual Ideas that Matter program, aimed at helping designers create and implement print projects for charitable causes. Since 1999, as an integral part of Sappi’s corporate social responsibility program, Ideas that Matter has funded over 500 nonprofit projects, contributing more than $12.5 million to causes that use design as a positive force in society. The program is open to North American designers who are partnered with a nonprofit organization and have created a solution that is ready for implementation. This year’s eight winning projects highlight how designers can use the power of paper as a catalyst for social change and innovation.
“Nearly two decades ago, Sappi saw a need to invest in a platform that combined design excellence with charity, hence Ideas that Matter was born,” said Patti Groh, Marketing Communications Director, Sappi North America. “We could not be more proud of the work that has come out of the program because our grant recipients are truly making a positive, measurable impact around the world.”
For the first time, this year Sappi is offering a chance for the design community to participate directly in the grant program by voting for their favorite projects. The project that receives the most Facebook “LIKES” by September 30 will receive a $5,000 bonus to escalate the reach, impact and influence of the project. The People’s Voice winner will be announced on October 1, 2015. All participants can vote for their favorite project here.
For more information about Sappi’s 2015 Ideas that Matter grant recipients in North America, please visit our website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
The Call for Entries for next year’s Ideas that Matter program will be announced in the spring of 2016.
Selection Criteria
Ideas that Matter proposals are evaluated on creativity, potential effectiveness and practicality by an independent panel of judges, selected annually, who are recognized for their commitment to design for social good. They are: Joan Barlow, Creative Services Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Debbie Millman, President, Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Brands and Co-Founder and Chair, Masters in Branding Program, School of Visual Arts; Naomi Usher, Creative Director and Owner, Studio Usher; Ellen Lupton, Curator of Contemporary Design, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and Director, Graphic Design MFA Program, Maryland Institute College of Art; and Nancy Essex, Creative Director and Design Strategist.
About Sappi North America
Sappi North America, headquartered in Boston and a subsidiary of global pulp and paper group Sappi Limited, is a market leader in converting wood fiber into superior products that customers demand worldwide. The success of our four diversified businesses – high quality Coated Printing Papers, Specialised Cellulose, Release Papers and Specialty Packaging – is driven by strong customer relationships, best-in-class people and advantaged assets, products and services. Our high quality Coated Printing Papers, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are the key platform for premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. We are a leading manufacturer of Specialised Cellulose used in a wide range of products, including textile fibers and household goods, and one of the world’s leading suppliers of Release Papers for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries. Our Specialty Packaging products, such as LusterPrint and LusterCote, represent an important asset in the food packaging and labeling industries. Customers rely on Sappi for high technical, operational and market expertise; products and services delivered with consistently high quality and reliability; and, state-of-the-art and cost-competitive assets and innovative spirit.
Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 13,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in over 100 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at:www.sappi.com/na.
