Charitable donations replace client gifts
Steve McIntosh of CML and Nova presents cheque to Tara Nielsen of ARK
(CNS Local Life): This Christmas, instead of giving gifts to their clients, two companies are donating the money they would have spent to charities in Cayman. The clients of CML and Nova were asked to choose the recipient charities through an online poll and the money was divided among the selected non-profits.
Charities that were included in the poll were Feed Our Future, Acts of Random Kindness (ARK), Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, National Council of Voluntary Organisations, Central Caribbean Marine Institute and Blue Iguana Recovery Programme.
Steve McIntosh, CEO of CML and Nova, said “Client gifts are a real tightrope. You want to give clients something to show your appreciation for their business during the year. You want to give something that’s unique, good quality and professional, in keeping with your company brand.
“But you don’t want to give them something that will likely end up in the landfill, or in a drawer. We looked at a few gift options and thought, our clients don’t need another bottle of wine or whiskey or a gadget with our logo on it. What if we just gave all the money to charity instead? We all felt good about it, so we went with it.”
Stacey Stacey VanDevelde, chair of Feed our Future said of the donation, “This has been a fantastic new initiative from CML and Nova to give back to the local community and through their ongoing support we have been able to continually advance our work.
“Feed Our Future’s school meal programme services over 200 children in need each school year and our programmes have expanded to include a summer programme and life skill workshops on cooking and nutrition. We work hard to make every donation dollar count. Through greater access and education, we are together impacting lives and changing the outlook for children in Cayman that face hunger daily.”
Crisis Centre Executive Director Ania Milanowska added her thanks. “We are very grateful to CML and Nova for such a thoughtful gift this Christmas. In November we have expanded our services to include the Kids Helpline, as well as provided a safe shelter for 34 women and children in our four-bedroom house that month alone.
“Since operating costs are increasing, and our fabulous fundraising committee is putting an extra effort in raising additional money for a purposely built new shelter, therefore this donation is very much appreciated by all of us at CICC. Thank you to CML, Nova and all of your clients for choosing us this Christmas and for your generous support.”
Tara Nielsen, ARK co-founder, said her organisation was “delighted” to receive the contribution which will further “our invaluable programmes within the local community. We could not be achieving such a positive and life-changing impact without such continued support.”
