Artisan Announces Unique $20,000 Creative Competition to Match a NYC or Chicago Nonprofit with a Top Design Team

National giving is up while volunteering is down; a creative staffing firm catalyzes both in its “Match that Gives Back” to celebrate its 20th Anniversary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 7, 2008 – Chicago, Ill. - Artisan, a creative staffing services agency based in Chicago, today announced a national competition called the “Match that Gives Back” to benefit a nonprofit organization that will win $20,000 in creative services in celebration of the firm’s 20th anniversary.

With offices serving Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Artisan’s founder Bejan Douraghy states, “After 20 years of finding top talent to help develop and grow some of America’s largest brands, we would like a nonprofit organization to take its own brand to new heights with our $20,000 gift. Designers, academia, community and business leaders are giving their time to this competition.”

A community nonprofit that is focused on the arts, design, education or children, will win the “Match that Gives Back” award after being chosen by an independent panel of judges (below). Simultaneously, designers and design teams are competing to manage the winning project.

According to Giving USA, individual monetary giving is rising nationally, yet the number of volunteers who donate their time is down — and Chicago is down 15%, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Artisan is catalyzing both the donation of time and money in its “Match that Gives Back.”

“We want a nonprofit organization that articulates its branding needs and that serves its community well to have access to the same kind of A-list talent that Fortune 500 companies do,” says Douraghy, who this year was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year “master entrepreneur” finalist for the Midwest region. “This kind of creative competition has never been attempted. The intent of the ‘Match that Gives Back’ is to further enhance the artistic communities where we operate,” says Douraghy.

Artisan appointed an independent panel of “Match that Gives Back” judges from:

Alberto Culver American Institute of Graphic Arts Chicago American Marketing Association AON The Art Institute of Chicago Artisan Talent COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO Harpo Productions, Inc. Hewitt Associates Idesign llc

Liska + Associates Martha Stewart Living McGarry Bowen Motorola, Frank Lawlor Parsons New School of Design Taproot Foundation United Airlines United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Warner Elektra Atlantic Wirestone

The judges are in the process of selecting three nonprofits from 10 finalists:

Art Start Child’s Play Touring Theater East Village Youth Program Erie Elementary Charter School Free Arts NYC

The Guild Complex The LAMP (Learning about Multimedia Project) Near Northwest Arts Council Poder Learning Center Snow City Arts

The top three nonprofit finalists and top three designers will be announced in early September on its website. The winning nonprofit organization and winning designer or team will be announced at an invitation only 20th anniversary celebration in Chicago on November 6 that is sponsored by Creativity Magazine and the River East Art Center.

About Artisan

Artisan was founded in 1988 as a creative haven for Chicago’s top talent. Artisan’s ability to appreciate the demands of businesses while advocating for its A-List talent attracts a strong base of loyal clients and creative talent. By 1993, the company tripled in size and was named to Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest-growing private companies. The company extended its enterprise to New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Today, Artisan serves 2,000 companies along with thousands of creative professionals. For more information on Artisan and the “Match that Gives Back,” see www.artisantalent.com or contact: Kellee Johnson, of The Ballast Group at 312-751-3959 or kjohnson@ballastgroup.com.