Eden Prairie (Minneapolis), MN, April 2019 … Teneo Hospitality Group, the premier group representation firm, is teaming up with the Kids in Need Foundation (KINF) and Society B to give back to communities where they host events. The program, created by Teneo, includes an innovative approach to raise funds for KINF to provide school supplies to students and teachers across America. It is designed to enable and encourage Teneo-member hotels, resorts, destination management companies, staff and clients to participate in raising money to support KINF’s programs. Teneo’s clients can contribute by purchasing Society B merchandise with 10% of the purchase price going directly to KINF or three additional charities; or through a new fundraising website for KINF created by Teneo https://teneohg.com/upcoming-events/giving-back/. The site also contains information about the seven networking events that Teneo will host throughout the year in major US cities where the program will be introduced and encouraged.
“Since its inception six years ago, Teneo has been in the forefront of developing innovative social engagement programs that invite participation from our members and clients,” says Teneo President Mike Schugt. While these efforts were very successful, Teneo saw the need to expand the potential for funding educational initiatives. Past programs, held at Teneo’s networking events around the US and Mexico, focused on gathering school supplies, socks for the homeless and children’s shoes.
“We saw from our past programs, how important school supplies were to kids in economically challenged communities,” Mike Schugt says. “And, we were greatly impressed by Kids in Need’s track record in tackling this problem.” Since its founding in 1995, Kids in Need Foundation has distributed $1 billion in school supplies, directly benefiting more than six million students and nearly 200,000 teachers. Teneo will be contributing $8,000 to launch the program and has invested nearly $40,000 in gift cards of $50 allotments, which will be provided to planners attending future Teneo events to encourage purchases through Society B in support of KINF.
“In the past, Teneo purchased the supplies and backpacks and shipped them to each city where our events were taking place,” notes Mike Schugt. “Now, The Kids in Need Foundation, which has all these supplies on hand, packages and ships needed supplies directly to the local schools that they have determined are most in need. This helps ensure resources go directly to KINF, targeting those schools most in need and greatly reducing Teneo’s carbon footprint in the process,” he says.
The new partnership also enables Teneo to expand its fundraising efforts and most importantly, continue to increase participation by its members and clients. “We also wanted to continue to benefit the communities where our events are held,” Mike Schugt said. “Kids in Need Foundation maintains a listing of over 14,000 teachers who have requested supplies and we can quickly ascertain which schools in each city where we host an event, needs our support.” Teneo staff members do the research and help make the decision as to which schools can benefit. They will also work with the Kids in Need Foundation and Society B to update the Teneo donation website with news of events, new programs and products and fundraising progress.
The program will be launched on April 23rd, at a networking event at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. The fundraising efforts will continue throughout the year at Teneo’s networking events held in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and West Orange (NJ).
“Corporate social responsibility engagement is an integral part of our business model, and we are very excited by the potential of this new initiative,” says Mike Schugt. “Teneo is about building authentic relationships that will benefit our members and clients, our staff and our communities. This dynamic new arrangement enables us to expand our charitable outreach on a local and national level, engage our core audience in a positive, ongoing effort, while raising awareness of community issues and providing creative solutions.”
