2015 StokesMe campaign evolves

The SIMA Humanitarian Fund’s annual StokesMe fundraising campaign begins today and runs through the end of September. The StokesMe campaign has evolved over the years, and this year is introducing the new concept of an industry Volunteer Corps.

The StokesMe campaign aims to raise more than $100k this year and enable more than 1,000 hours of volunteerism. 

SIMA Humanitarian Fund President Ross Garrett answered some questions for SES on what is new for the campaign in 2015, the importance of supporting humanitarian causes, and how industry brands and retailers can get involved.

How does the StokesMe Campaign work for 2015?

Ross Garrett:  Our overriding objective with the SIMA Humanitarian Fund is to do the most good for our beneficiaries. To accomplish that, we raise money through the StokesMe campaign in September. We also figured we can do the most good in other ways and so we’re excited to become a hub for industry volunteerism through the Volunteer Corps, also launching in September.

There are three fundraising pillars for StokesMe: retail, consumers and brands. 

At retail, we’re working with the best stores in the industry to drive consumer donations. Chris Wagaman on our board heads this up. Jack’s and Sun Diego raised the most money the last two years, and it will be cool to see who can bring it home this year.

Consumers will be able to get involved through direct donations on the StokesMe site. Dylan Slater, also on our board, is in charge of marketing StokesMe, and he’s building a campaign that includes industry media, brands, and key surf ambassadors like Alex Grey to help us get the word out and motivate consumers.

Brands are signing up to support StokesMe through our Circle of Stoke commitment. Hurley, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, Vans, Stance, Electric and Liquid Tribe are all in the circle and have committed to $5k and 100 hours of volunteerism through the Volunteer Corps for the next three years. Our goal is to have 10 brands on this program and I believe we’ll get there. 

We’ll also have opportunities for brands to contribute and have a good time at our bowling event during the Lower’s Pro on September 15th. 

We also receive funding from other sources like the band Switchfoot, led by Tim and Jon Foreman, who contribute funds raised at their BroAm event each July. It’s an awesome event and we help them bring in San Diego donors and auction items. 

Tell us more about the goal of the industry Volunteer Corps. Why is this initiative important to the industry? How do brands get involved?

Ross Garrett:  The Volunteer Corps will connect industry employees with the beneficiary groups for volunteerism. We heard from our beneficiaries that one of the most valuable things we could do for them was to help source dependable volunteers.

Brands and employees can get involved by checking the volunteer listing on StokesMe.org and signing up for a volunteer opportunity. We’ll also have a monthly email that goes out to the industry showing what volunteer opportunities are available, and I hope a lot of people reading will sign up for it. 

Today, we have more than 800 hours per year committed from the industry through the Circle of Stoke and I certainly hope to have more before the end of September. Our goal is 1,000 hours per year. 

We have multiple thousands of extremely talented people in the industry, and I’m personally really excited about activating them for good, and getting them involved in SIMA.

How have brands responded to the idea so far?

Ross Garrett:  For the most part, people and brands totally get it and are on board before we can get the pitch out. There are some brands on the fence, but I think we’ll get most of them on board and get to our goal.

Of course, every brand has to decide what’s right for them, and so we’ve created many ways to participate. From $5k and 100 hours per year to no money at all and just an hour or two of volunteering, there’s a way for anyone to get involved. Brands can enter a team in the bowling event, or even just come out to the event and have a beer and buy a drink ticket and sign up for the Volunteer Corps email list. 

It’s going to take participation at all levels to get this thing going, and no commitment is too small.

This is our opportunity to leave the industry and world better than we found it. I think we will rise to the occasion together.

In how many stores will the Retail Add-a-Buck program be activated, and what has the retailer response been so far this year?

Ross Garrett:  Retail response has been great. The first year of retail we had 15 stores and 32 doors. The second year we had 70 doors which was too many for us to really activate, and despite the increase in doors we raised the exact same amount of money both years.

So this year, Chris Wagaman and the retail committee focused on going narrow and deep – educating the people on the floor and really getting them engaged so they can speak to the consumer in an intelligent way about the program. We have 11 stores representing a couple dozen doors at this time. These are the stores: The Curl, Hansen’s, HSS, Jack’s, Maui Nix, South Coast, Spyder, Sun Diego, Surfride, Surfside and WRV.

For brands looking to make the most impact on StokesMe fundraising, what is the best/most efficient way for them to get involved with the campaign?

Ross Garrett:  First: Circle of Stoke. $5k and 100 hours per year. You can raise the money however you want or write a check if that’s easiest. It’s a statement of commitment.

Second: Bowling on September 15th. Enter a team or just come have a beer and meet our beneficiaries and have some fun.

Third: Use some of the StokesMe collateral on your brand and your athletes’ social channels to drive consumer donations. We will be sending out that collateral.

Fourth: Sign up for Volunteer Corps alerts at stokesme.org and volunteer for something. This is very much in beta, so don’t hesitate to tell us how it went – good, bad or indifferent. As people volunteer, I think they will have great experiences that will in turn get them involved in fundraising for the beneficiaries.