EXPERIENCED MARKETING professionals looking to give something back can now offer their services to a wide range of charities under a new "Marketing for Change" programme.

The brainchild of Aldagh McDonogh and Sandra Lawlor of marketing resources firm Alternatives, "Marketing for Change" is about experienced marketing professionals giving their time and expertise to charities in a highly flexible way that fits around their current workload, and that is of direct benefit to charities who could otherwise not afford it.

The programme, launched on June 10th, links marketing volunteers with a range of selected charities, which are then given the opportunity to have top-level marketing expertise at their disposal at no cost and for no profit.

With a slogan of "Give Time, Give Talent", marketers who wish to give something back can volunteer their skills and marketing experience to a number of charities who have signed up for the scheme for an agreed period of time - working on specific marketing projects that help make a difference to the nominated charities.

These projects include assisting charities develop their strategy, focus their messaging, develop advertising, direct marketing and PR communications campaigns and enhance their online or website presence.

"It's a win-win. For the charities, they gain access to experienced marketers free of charge. For the volunteers, they will be able to provide high-impact marketing contributions in an easy and flexible way," says McDonogh, programme director of this new Corporate and Social Responsibility initiative.

"Good marketing makes a real difference to business. It is, we believe, a critical success factor for any business serious about success. That's why we're dedicated to building marketing in the Irish business world and the same applies to charity causes. The difference is that many charities cannot afford to employ the services of a skilled marketer," she adds.

To get the programme up and running, Alternatives approached and screened a number of Irish and overseas charities that could normally not afford to pay for marketing expertise, and advised them on how they could most benefit from the programme.

So far, 16 charities have signed up for the programme including: Europa Donna; the European Breast Cancer Coalition; the Children's Sunshine Home, which provides high quality home-support, respite and residential services to children, and families of children, for life-limiting and life-threatening conditions; and the Tallaght Homeless Advice Unit, which aims to prevent homelessness in Tallaght.

Alternatives assisted the charities in writing the brief for their marketing projects and these details have since been posted on the "Marketing for Change" website, where volunteers can express their interest in specific projects.

The website was developed on a pro-bono basis by agencies Continuum and Bloom.

The firm, which was established in 2000 to provide alternative recruitment solutions to firms in need of experienced marketers, then wrote to 350 marketers to see if they might be interested in volunteering.

To date, 35 marketers have volunteered their services and contacted the charities concerned, while nine are already working on projects.

"So far the response has been phenomenal," says Ms McDonogh. "Within an hour of putting a request up for a direct marketing expert, the Hope Foundation had an application from a marketer with 15 years' direct marketing experience, who has already started on the assignment.

"Most of the volunteers have over 10 years' experience and have explicitly expressed the desire to give something back."

Volunteers looking to get involved in the programme should have over two years' experience and Alternatives is looking for marketers from a variety of industries to volunteer.

It is envisaged that volunteers will be expected to contribute up to 12 hours a month, with each project not expected to extend beyond six months. Charities interested in the programme must fulfil a number of criteria, including being operational for at least two years, having at least two full-time members of staff, and funding.