Like printing money: charities to benefit from each colour copy
Howard Lake | 24 November 2011 | News
National office supplies company Document XL is this month launching its innovative ‘Charity Wrap’ fundraising scheme, making CSR easier than ever for companies by donating money to their chosen charity each time they produce a colour document.
Document XL MD Stephen Dobson came up with the idea after reading in a trade magazine that on average, each year, every person in the UK produces over 70,000 copies and prints, mostly in colour and printed on commercial copiers and printers, with most organisations paying anywhere between 4-12 pence to produce a colour document.
Stephen thought if his company could capture even a small percentage of these colour pages and donate up to 15% of the copy charge to a company’s chosen charity, thousands of pounds could be raised for good causes in a highly tax efficient way.
When Document XL, an authorised Xerox Business Partner, secures an order to supply a company with a business photocopier, printer or multi function machine, they ask the company which charity they’d like to support. Document XL then approaches the charity for their branding, key message and national fundraising telephone number to create the ‘charity wrap’ which can be used on a Xerox copier/printer of any size.
The first printers created with the ‘charity wrap’ are for Marie Curie Cancer Care, a charity very close to Stephen’s heart as his mum was treated by Marie Curie nurses during her long battle with cancer. But the wraps can be created for any charity provided they’re able to provide relevant branding and images.
Marie Curie Cancer Care Regional Corporate Development Manager Brian Curran said: “We are delighted that Document XL will be supporting us in this way and hope that this initiative raises thousands of pounds for our nurses and Hospices.”
Monies are forwarded to a company’s chosen charity each quarter and participating businesses can be seen to be supporting their nominated charity for the lifecycle of the printer which can be included on their CSR Policy, features on their website and any other marketing materials.
Most organisations keep a commercial copier or printer for anywhere between 3 to 5 years, therefore each charity is likely to receive funding on a regular basis for many years to come which helps with their planning and budgeting for ongoing projects.
Stephen, MD of Document XL, which has offices in Leeds and Rochdale, said: “It’s such a simple idea that I cannot understand why no-one has ever thought of it before. We’re looking to talk to organisations which produce more than 500 colour documents a month, such as schools, universities, national and multi-national companies, really anyone with a conscience who is looking to actively make a difference.”
For more information on the “Charity Wrap” fundraising scheme, please visit www.documentxl.com/fundraising and for any enquiries about how to get involved, contact fu*********@do********.com or phone 08456 448 600.
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Notes to Editor:
Images of Stephen Dobson (L) and Brian Curran from Marie Curie (R) are attached
Stephen Dobson is available for further comment
For more information please contact:
Chocolate PR
Helen MacGregor
0113 236 1835
he***@ch*********.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.