If you are interested in being on a creative rally team that starts April 23rd, let us know soon! We plan to align teams based on nonprofit needs within the next week. You can click on the links to the right and email us… What’s the time commitment you may ask? Creatives can expect to donate about 5-10 hours per week in volunteer time for 8 weeks. This includes a 2 hour weekly (most likely 6:30-8:30 pm) meeting and 3-8 hours outside of the meeting.

Our next THREE creative rallies begin April 27th and run for 8 weeks. Rallies will benefit Organic School Project, Literacy Chicago and Barrel of Monkeys. If you are interested in applying for a team or partnering with EPIC, click on the links to the right to tell us about your interests. 

EPIC creative rally teams are hosted by one advertising agency or design firm and the team is made up of creatives from many offices and backgrounds.

Compete for the chance to win the “Most EPIC Award,” selected by a panel of industry leaders, and EPIC’s “People’s Choice Award,” determined by an open voting process–both announced at the year-end EPIC party.

What an amazing night it was. It was so breathtaking to see so many talented and passionate people in the same room together from the nonprofit world and from the creative world. And, in this economy, with the weight of the world on many people’s shoulders these days, there was hope… a glow of emotion that could be felt.

A quote from Barack Obama, run in GOOD magazine this month, seems suitable this morning: “The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart—not out to charity, but because it is the SUREST route to our common good.”

Girls in the Game wrote a letter, a gift, to the creative rally team that was presented in closing the program last night. It’s an amazing summary of what has happened the last eight weeks.

…..

Dear EPIC Team Member,

When Erin first approached us to work with EPIC, we loved the idea. We had just finished going through a rebranding effort, we had a new logo and a new website, and we felt we were ready to take the next step in our marketing efforts. If only we knew how to figure out the next steps! That’s where you guys came in.

When entering into a new partnership with a group of volunteers you wonder how you’ll be able to explain everything to them in a limited amount of time. We came to EPIC armed with 14 years of Girls in the Game history, hoping the EPIC team would be able to understand us enough to make the project work. The team not only understood the organization, they embraced us and in just a short period of time, it was clear we were all on the same team.

From our very first meeting with the EPIC team, we knew the partnership was going to work. Often, when meeting with a group of individuals with a specific expertise you end up feeling like you shouldn’t be in the room. The members of the EPIC team certainly had an amazing collection of expertise, but we never felt like our opinions weren’t valued. In contrast, it was clear that our opinions not only mattered, but were an important part of the process. It truly was a collaborative effort and for that, we are grateful.

Thank you for your time, talent and dedication. As a non-profit organization, we’re used to asking people for help. So when we’re approached by a group of people who want to do something for us, just because they can, it helps remind us why we do what we do every day. Your hard work will help position Girls in the Game as a well-known, professional organization helping girls across Chicagoland grow up happy, healthy and strong. The EPIC project won’t just make our lives easier at the office, it will make the lives of thousands of girls across Chicagoland better.

Congratulations on being part of an inspiring new organization. Your work through EPIC allows non-profits to dream big, and you help make their dreams a reality.

Best Wishes, 

Girls in the Game

A sampling of the work that the EPIC creative rally team produced for Girls in the Game is showcased above. Four postcard designs highlight the four key focus areas for Girls in the Game: Sports, Health, Leadership, Life. Check out EPIC + Girls in the Game on You Tube to learn more about our first rally!

As an EPIC host you’ll…

Nominate a senior creative and, if desired, a mid/junior creative to direct the team and its creative output. You will energize your community with a new project that demonstrates an office-wide commitment to making the world a better, healthier, and more equitable place.

Invest in the creative community by inviting others from outside of your office environment to share in your workstyle. It’s like the best reality show you have never seen! You will expand your network by working with creatives of all stripes, including people whose talents and competencies you might not otherwise be introduced to.

Provide office space in which a creative team meets once weekly, for two hours each meeting, during an 8-week creative rally. You commit to a finite but high-impact timeframe of only 8 weeks, after which EPIC works with the nonprofit on roll out. 

Invite your agency’s contacts to EPIC’s end-of-year fundraising event, where creatives and nonprofit leaders from all rally teams will gather to celebrate. At the event, your agency will announce the work whose creation you hosted.

Compete for the chance to win the “Most EPIC Award,” selected by a panel of industry leaders, and EPIC’s “People’s Choice Award,” determined by an open voting process–both announced at the year-end EPIC party.

You’ll give back in more ways than one, supporting: 
1. The creative industry
2. A nonprofit engaged in social change, and, by extension,  
3. The children and families served by that nonprofit.