Sappi Grant Recipients
-- Graphic Arts Online, 8/28/2008 12:01:00 PM
Boston, MA - Sappi Fine Paper North America is pleased to announce the grant recipients for its ninth annual Ideas that Matter program. Since 1999, Sappi’s Ideas that Matter program has awarded $1 million annually to designers around the globe to support and transform creative ideas into a powerful force for the social good. This year, the judges for Sappi’s North America Ideas that Matter program offered grants to those designers whose projects would have an impact in the designer’s community, would help to provide a solution to a problem, and used design thinking to execute the program in a creative and innovative way.More than 225 projects have been funded with grants exceeding $8 million. Few of these projects are large or well-known, however all of them represent the use of design skills and thinking to make a difference for the people they touch.
Mark Gardner, President and CEO of Sappi Fine Paper North America commented, “Sappi’s Ideas that Matter program is one important demonstration of our commitment to corporate social responsibility. Giving designers the opportunity to use their talents for social change is important to Sappi and to our focus on sustainability as a company.”
Judges for the ninth annual North America Sappi Ideas that Matter program reviewed 119 entries and awarded 20 grants for printing, paper, and implementing projects created on a pro bono basis that make a difference in the world; the judges looked for campaigns that were less about communicating the problem and more about taking action and solving the problem.
The judging panel is chosen annually and in 2008 consisted of: Phil Hamlett, Academy of Art, San Francisco; Marcia Lausen, studio|lab, Chicago; John Bielenberg, C2 and Project M, Maine; Scott Stowell, open, New York City; and Cedomir Kostovic, Missouri State University, Missouri. Several of the judges are past Ideas that Matter grant recipients.
“More than any other design competition I’ve been involved with as an applicant or judge, I discovered that Ideas that Matter highlights the power of design and ideas to make choices clear and to influence action,” said John Bielenberg of C2 and Project M. “The title really says it all—the ‘Idea’ is the thing.”
Marcia Lausen added, “Ideas that Matter is the only grant giving program for the design profession. While other groups, such as the advertising community, have supported nonprofit work in this way, I think it’s important for the design community to understand how their skills, talents and ideas can make a difference. This program is really important to our profession as we grow up.”
A 2008 Ideas that Matter grant recipient, Steffanie Lorig, Executive Director of Art with Heart, commented upon hearing the news that her program was in receipt of a grant: "Because of Sappi’s Ideas that Matter program our Art with Heart initiative will now have grant monies that will go towards the creation of a therapeutic tool to support adolescents who have a sibling with a disability or serious illness. Before the grant, we were unsure if we'd have enough support to be able to afford the enormous costs of putting together a project of this scale. Sappi recognizes that paper can change the world; it's at the heart of being able to communicate our messages of hope and healing.”
The deadline for the 2009 Ideas that Matter grant submissions is May 29, 2009. For more information on Sappi’s North American Ideas that Matter program, please visit www.sappi.com/ideasthatmatter.
About Sappi Fine Paper North America
Sappi Fine Paper North America is a leading North American producer of coated fine paper used in premium magazines, catalogues, books and high-end print advertising. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Sappi Fine Paper North America is known for innovation and quality. Its brand names, including McCoy, Lustro Offset Environmental, Opus, and Somerset, are some of the industry’s most widely recognized and specified. SFPNA is a division of Sappi Limited (NYSE, JSE, LSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with manufacturing operations on four continents in nine countries, sales offices in 50 countries, and customers in over 100 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at: www.sappi.com.
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