CIMPA plays matchmaker to help charities
CIMPA board at recent annual conference
(CNS Local Life): Cayman’s charities and marketers recently got a chance to learn about each other at the Cayman Islands Marketing Professionals Association (CIMPA) first-ever ‘speed dating’ event. The idea was to attract local non-profit organisations looking for marketing expertise and pair them with professionals wanting to share their knowledge and gain volunteer experience in the community.
The support could come in the form of a “long-term relationship” akin to a board membership, or “just dating”, a casual commitment to marketing support for ad hoc projects, stated a CIMPA press release.
At the 1 November event, hosted and supported by the Kimpton Seafire Resort, 11 charities took part – Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, Special Needs Foundation of Cayman, Have a Heart Cayman, Humane Society of the Cayman Islands, Cayman Arts Festival, Cayman Islands Cancer Society, One Dog at a Time, LIFE Cayman, Big Brothers Big Sisters, CARE and the MS Foundation.
During the evening, nearly 30 local marketers did the rounds to find out about the charities and what support they sought, to decide which ones they were interested in pairing with.
Jennifer McCarthy of Have a Heart Cayman said of the event, “It was a fantastic experience, as the volunteer marketers were extremely eager and interested. Doing 18, two-minute interviews was surprisingly tiring, but the opportunity to introduce or reintroduce Have a Heart to so many creatives would never happen organically.
“There was so much energy in the room, and many excellent ideas were floated. I knew before the night was over the benefits were going to be amazing for our charity, and I am really eager to get to work with one or more of the marketers from the event.”
Danielle Young of Full Moon Communications spoke with each charity representative before the event started, giving them tips on how to make the most of their two minutes with the marketers, CIMPA said in the release. “We wanted the charities to have the best chance at connecting with a like-minded marketer, and we know that two minutes is a very short amount of time,” Catherine Healy, the chair of CIMPA, explained. “Thanks to Danielle they were able to get to the point of what they wanted quickly, and to maximise the exchange of valuable information.”
Healy said the association was “delighted” with how the event turned out. “It was the first time CIMPA has put together this style of event, but it proved hugely popular and a great success,” she said in the press release.
“We had a waiting list of charities looking to take part, and so I’m sure this won’t be the last time we host this style of networking event. A huge thank you to both the charities and local marketers for giving up their time to join us and we hope the matches made on the night prove valuable to both the charities and the marketers who took part.”
Category: Community, Service Organisations
