WHAT IS THE FITB INITIATIVE?
So, the first question you’re asking is, “What in tarnation is FITB?” We get that a lot. It stands for Fire in the Belly. Passion. That’s where CAYENNE came from. It’s how we evaluate everything from prospective employees to the work we do. So, first and foremost, the FITB initiative is about passion – in this case, our passion for Birmingham and the passion of not-for-profit organizations making our city even greater.
We work with a sound engineer who is fond of saying that we all have to build that stairway to heaven together. Amen. It’s one of those comments he would roll out when we were doing seriously budget-constrained work, usually for non-profit organizations. You see, as a creative shop, we are frequently approached by non-profits who need work done on the cheap, or, better yet – free. But, to be honest, it used to be terribly frustrating. Normally, the thing they came to us for was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of the things they needed. That brochure wasn’t really going to move the needle for them. We invariably used to think, “What if we could bring the full force of the agency into play in order to really make a difference….?” And so, the FITB Initiative was born. Here’s how it works:
As an agency we select one non-profit each year to work with to the exclusion of all other pro bono work. We pull out all the stops. We do everything within our power to meet their needs. Our only requirement from the recipient is that they trust us to do what we do best. And, then, in order to make it all happen, we ask our strategic partners like the sound engineer mentioned earlier to help us. We all work together and we build that heavenly staircase for that one client that one year.
The entire agency is involved with the choice of the FITB Initiative beneficiary. Applying Birmingham-based non-profits fill out the application. The completed applications are presented to our employees. Then we vote. Our vote is influenced by all sorts of criteria, chief among them the passion conveyed by the applying non-profit – their Fire in the Belly, and their ability to transform our city.
WORKSHOPS, INC. SELECTED FOR 2020 FITB INITIATIVE
Cayenne Creative has selected Workshops, Inc. as its 2020 recipient of the Fire in the Belly (FITB) Initiative. “Workshops’ mission and presentation really resonated with our team, and, frankly, we can’t wait to get started,” Dan Monroe, Cayenne Partner. Learn more about Workshops, Inc. and the 2020 FITB Initiative.
PAST FITB INITIATIVE CLIENTS
- ED (Birmingham Education Foundation)
- Hands on Birmingham