Give Big Riverside is 11.12.13.

San Bernardino  (10/9/13)—At the 2013 “Give BIG Riverside” launch party, community leaders, nonprofits, and dignitaries  including Mayor Rusty Baily watched a surprise video, “Giving is Infectious,” produced by Art Institute-Inland Empire students, who combined their talents to create marketing collateral for the “Give BIG Riverside” (GBR) Campaign in hopes of raising money for local charities.

“These young people really blew us away with their creativity and their ability to convey the key points of the “Give BIG Riverside” campaign to their peer group, which has often been a tough group to reach,” Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey said. “Their willingness to put together such an impressive campaign shows the spirit of public service is alive and well.”

“One of the goals of “Give BIG Riverside” is to engage new and younger donors in philanthropy,” said Sharilyn Hunke, Communications Officer of The Community Foundation. “The students helped us accomplish this in two meaningful ways. First, they produced amazing marketing content aimed at the Gen-Y demographic that encourages their peers to give money to the effort, and secondly, the students participated in the joy of giving with their countless hours of design work for the “Give BIG Riverside” campaign.  The Community Foundation couldn’t be more impressed or grateful.”

The Art Institute-Inland Empire students, who were enrolled in the upper level “Design Team 1&2” class, dedicated an entire semester this summer to GBR, creating a new poster, refreshing the logo, and developing a testimonial campaign that features real students. The campaign shows who they are, why they give, and who they plan on giving to on 11-12-13. Additionally, the team filmed a zombie movie intended to engage Riverside youth by illustrating that “Giving is Infectious.” The student team consisted of eight members: Bryan Stifle, Rigo Escobedo, Jason Moore, Jack Bergstrom, Lynn Oliva, Elizabeth Kimball, Candace Yanez, and Michelle Cooke.

Art Institute Professor and principle at Green Acres Design, Andrew Oakes said of his students, “It has been a pleasure working with this group of students on this promotional campaign for “Give BIG Riverside”. Their enthusiasm for making a difference with their creative talents is invigorating. As their professor, I have been deeply touched by their tireless efforts and extraordinary results. Great Job!”

Eileen Hards, Marketing Coordinator for the University of Redlands said, “The students from AI elevated the campaign to a level of originality none of us could have imagined. Their dedication to the project was impressive and extremely professional.”

“These students are very talented and clearly passionate about the “Give BIG Riverside” mission,” said Jacob Poore, Public Affairs and Marketing Specialist of Coyote Radio. “Their creativity and execution on this project was exceptional.”

“The Inland Empire Art Institute has been producing award winning and professional graphic students for years, and we considered it fortunate to work with them,” said Jon Burgess of RedFusion Media. “With the complexity of the multiple nonprofits, the many community stakeholders, and the additional request of targeting younger donors, we knew this would not be an easy project.  However, the students ran with the project and exceeded all of our expectations.”

“Give BIG Riverside has become an incredible collaboration between the nonprofit and private sector,” said Aaron Norris, Vice President of The Norris Group. “Our marketing committee has volunteers from the American Advertising Federation, the Public Relations Society of America, Cal Baptist University, Cal State San Bernardino, Redlands University, and several business owners dedicated to making the event a success.”

About “Give BIG Riverside”

GBR is an annual 24-hour online giving campaign that allows the greater Riverside community to give to their favorite causes. The next online campaign will happen on November 12, 2013. To take part or find out more information, visit the website at www.giveBIGriverside.org or visit the Facebook page at, www.facebook.com/GiveBIGRiverside.