Sappi Fine Paper North America Announces Grant Recipients for the 11th Annual Ideas that Matter Program

BOSTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi Fine Paper North America today announced the 27 grant recipients for its 11th Ideas that Matter — an annual, innovative grant program that transforms the creative ideas of designers into a powerful force for social good. Through Ideas that Matter, each designer's project will support the mission and public awareness campaigns of a nonprofit organization of their choosing. The winning projects represent a vast array of social, cultural, and environmental issues and were selected based on their creativity, potential impact and practicality of the implementation plan, and were selected by an independent panel of judges.

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The winning proposals and funding for each project were determined by a judging panel of top graphic designers from throughout the U.S.: Casey Caplowe of GOOD, Jessica Helfand of Winterhouse, Doug Powell of Schwartz Powell, Matt Rollins of Iconologic, and Armin Vit of UnderConsideration. Since 1999, Sappi's Ideas that Matter program has awarded over $10 million worldwide in grants to designers around the globe, who are performing pro bono work for a nonprofit organization. Out of the $1 million that is annually awarded on a global level, a total of $400,000 in grants will be awarded in North America this year.

"Grants from Sappi's Ideas that Matter program help fund the unique not-for-profit work of designers in North America.  These designers have dedicated their talent, vision and energy to a range of community-based causes across the country, and we are honored to support their work in these challenged economic times," said Jennifer Miller, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Sappi Fine Paper North America.

The 2010 Ideas that Matter grant recipients are:

"I think what makes Ideas that Matter unique is the notion that design can be a catalyst for change and not only through formal, traditional design solutions. The really exciting proposals were those in which the designer worked in tandem with a partner — an organization, a foundation, some cultural or social institution — and found a way for visual thinking to make a leap that other kinds of thinking cannot," said Jessica Helfand, Partner, Winterhouse. "That's what was really exciting to see."

Sappi's 2010 Ideas that Matter grant recipients will complete their projects by March 31, 2011. Please visit the Ideas that Matter Web site for future updates on the grant recipients and their respective design projects. The 2011 Call for Entries for the next, annual Ideas that Matter program will be announced this spring. For more information about Ideas that Matter, visit www.sappi.com/ideasthatmatterNA.com or call 800-882-4332.

About Sappi Fine Paper North America

Sappi Fine Paper North America is a preeminent North American producer of coated fine paper used in premium magazines, catalogues, books and high-end print advertising. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Sappi Fine Paper North America is known for innovation and quality. Its brand names, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are some of the industry's most widely recognized and specified.  Sappi's mills in North America are triple chain of custody certified to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI), and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). Over 80 percent of the energy used by Sappi's North American mills comes from renewable resources, resulting in one of the lowest carbon footprints of any major North American coated paper supplier. Sappi Fine Paper North America is a division of Sappi Limited (NYSE and JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with manufacturing operations on four continents in 10 countries, sales offices in over 40 countries, and customers in over 100 countries around the world. For more information about Sappi Fine Paper North America, visit: www.sappi.com/na.

SOURCE Sappi Fine Paper North America