In an effort to make a more substantial impact on their charitable donations in the area, CAA Niagara has launched a new corporate giving program.
In an interview with ThoroldNews, President and CEO Peter Van Hezewyk and VP of Marketing and Public Relations Rick Mauro explained just what that means to Niagara charities.
“We’ve been reviewing how we make donations in the community, everything from a free membership to a few thousand dollars and we’ve also been doing a lot of sponsorships. So we did a review of our practices and decided to take all the smaller donations and turn them into focused larger donations,” said Mauro.
The new method of giving to charitable organizations within Niagara will be called the “Community Boost Program.” It will see two donations of $10,000 to charitable organizations that fill out an online application.
“The name is a little play on what we do in the community - boosting dead batteries,” Mauro explained.
“We’ll be focused on two charities for 2019,” he added. “Right now, we’re reaching out to local charities to spread the word that these two opportunities are available.”
Van Hezewyk explained, “We reached out to members and staff. We got feedback from CAA Niagara employees and members, and decided that preference will be given to charities dedicated to community safety, programming for seniors, and children, social services and mental health.”
Interested charities can apply for the support online at www.caaniagara.ca/communityboost. Supporting documents can also be uploaded with the submission. Applications will then be reviewed by an internal panel and two recipients will be selected. The deadline for submission is March 15, with recipients announced by the end of March.
“The biggest challenge will be selecting two, because there are so many worthy programs out there,” said Mauro.
He said that, in addition to the financial support, CAA Niagara will ensure that supported charities will also receive visible representation throughout the Region.
“What we’ll also be doing is wrapping two of our new flatbed trucks in the logo and colours of the charities so there will be a lot of visible exposure. An average flatbed does about 3,000 calls per year and travels 125,000 km throughout Niagara, so the visibility for the charity is huge."
Noting that CAA Niagara employs 170 personnel at offices in Thorold, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland and Grimsby, Van Hezewyk said, “We’re deep-rooted in the community so this program just makes sense. It’s something a bit more substantial than what we’ve done in the past.”
He added there will be an additional bonus to selected charities. “Another great opportunity will be a “Text to Give” program where the public can text donations. So in the end, the money will be more than $10,000,” he explained.
Mauro noted, “We see the potential for the program to grow.”
Van Hezewyk added, “So it’s exciting. We’ll do a couple this year and see if we can keep it going. The awareness for the charities will continue beyond the 12-month period.”
