The Commercial Appeal launches Children’s Fund
Beginning Monday, the price of Monday through Saturday single copy editions of The Commercial Appeal — found in racks and at retailers — increases to $1, but the change will not affect Sunday editions or subscription rates.
As part of the increase, a portion of every nonsubscription copy sold will be deposited in The Commercial Appeal Children’s Fund, a newly established program to benefit nonprofit organizations dealing with children’s and women’s issues.
The Commercial Appeal’s publisher George Cogswell believes the initiative is the first of its kind.
“This is unprecedented. I don’t know of any newspaper anywhere that’s doing anything like this to benefit women and children,” Cogswell said. “I think it exemplifies our mission statement of doing well by doing good and elevates awareness of giving back to the community we serve.”
Five percent of the $1 purchase price of each single copy sold will be added to the fund and every couple of months the total will be donated to a designated local nonprofit agency.
For 2013, the plan is to collect funds in 60- day cycles for distribution to selected organizations, but the program may transform into a monthly donation format in 2014.
To launch the program, the first recipient is Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, which will receive a portion of receipts collected in March and April. The facility was chosen for the work it does and because its visibility will offer greater promotional opportunities to inform the public about the program.
Subsequent beneficiaries will be smaller organizations with limited development and marketing budgets.
“Partnering with Le Bonheur allows us to maximize exposure to The Commercial Appeal Children’s Fund and get the word out to as many people as possible,” said Paul Jewell, director of marketing for The Commercial Appeal. “We’ll have signage in stores where our papers are sold and Le Bonheur will help us cross-promote the plan through their marketing department.”
“We want to raise awareness of some worthy nonprofits in our community and help lift them up,” Cogswell said. “From a business standpoint, we also hope to increase our individual sales. It’s a winwin proposal.”
Nominations are now being accepted for future recipients.
To learn more, visit commercialappeal.com/childrensfund.