Link Up With Literacy

Howard Lake | 22 June 2006 | Newswire

Pitney Bowes initiative gives customers chance to support the National Literacy Trust
Pitney Bowes, the mail and messaging specialist, has teamed up with the National Literacy Trust (NLT) to produce a charitable ad-plate for Pitney Bowes PersonalPostä customers.
Users of Pitney Bowes digital franking technology are familiar with the option of designing their own ad-plates so that their brand or logo appears on every envelope that they despatch. The special National Literacy Trust ad-plate is available to Pitney Bowes customers at a discounted rate, and £5 will be donated to the charity each time an NLT ad-plate is sold.
Founded in 1993, the National Literacy Trust is the only organisation concerned with raising literacy standards for all age groups throughout the UK. Pitney Bowes has agreed to donate an initial £9,000 to fund NLT reading projects in two different locations over a two-year period. If sales of the ad-plate exceed £9,000, all extra proceeds will also be donated to the NLT.
The limited edition ad-plate features the National Literacy Trust (NLT) logo, with text alongside stating that the customer supports the NLT.
Stuart Bonthrone, Vice President, Pitney Bowes UK, states: Pitney Bowes has developed close ties with the National Literacy Trust through our annual ‘Pushing the Envelope’ celebrity auction and other fun initiatives. The NLT is our chosen charity partner because, as a company involved with engineering the flow of communication, we see obvious parallels with the NLT’s drive to build a literate nation. Improved literacy will always mean improved communication.
For customers, the opportunity to align themselves with a worthwhile cause is attractive. Increasingly, consumers are drawn to businesses that display a compassionate and responsible attitude. Also, users of our digital franking machines take great pride in their customised ad-plates, knowing that such attention to detail can increase brand recognition and enhance their reputation for professionalism. This initiative provides our customers with a convenient way to help a worthy cause in a way that will reflect well with their audience.”
Richard Sved, Head of Fundraising at National Literacy Trust, states: We are delighted that Pitney Bowes has devised this ad-plate program and are grateful of the continued support from the company. I’m sure Pitney Bowes customers will love the idea of smartening the appearance of their envelopes and we’re excited at the thought of our logo appearing on communications up and down the country.”
Ends
Pitney Bowes provides the world’s most comprehensive suite of mailstream software, hardware, services and solutions to help companies manage their flow of mail, documents and packages to improve communication. Pitney Bowes, with $5.5 billion in annual revenue, takes an all-inclusive view of its customers’ operations, helping organizations of all sizes enjoy the competitive advantage that comes from an optimized mailstream. The company’s 86 years of technological leadership have produced many major mailstream innovations, and it is consistently on the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s list of top U.S. patent holders. With approximately 34,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations. More information about the company can be found at www.pitneybowes.co.uk

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.