Our big idea has spawned a global movement.

In 1998, Riggs Partners hatched CreateAthon®, a 24-hour marketing marathon designed to deliver professional marketing services to nonprofit organizations that could otherwise not afford them. Just look how we’ve grown:

3500+

Nonprofits Served  

100+

Partner Organizations

$24mil

Pro Bono Services  

Today, our all-nighter for charity operates as a national nonprofit organization, engaging marketing professionals and students the world over in pro bono service. We’re proud to be the original incubators of a model that has inspired hundreds of crazy, committed and talented teams to work 24 hours nonstop (and then some) on some of today’s most important social issues. And, we’re just getting started. Learn more:

createathon.org
RP CreateAthon XXV | March 23-24, 2023

We’re having our 25th annual event on March 23 and 24, developing marketing and communications strategies and deliverables to support important causes in our community. We encourage Midlands and Upstate nonprofits to submit an application by February 10. This year, nonprofit applicants will have the opportunity to submit a video with their applications sharing how they feel CreateAthon can best serve their organization.

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If you’re a nonprofit located in another South Carolina market or elsewhere in the US, take a look at our complete list of CreateAthon partners.

We can do a lot in 24 hours.

Take a look at what we've accomplished on behalf of past CreateAthon clients.

  • Palmetto AIDS

    To combat disproportionately high rates of HIV transmission in its communities, the Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services challenged us to provoke moments of self-confrontation among an at-risk population. The solution was to engage individuals in a private, context-rich setting and articulate just how fast, simple, and reassuring a one-hour test can be. Translation: a series of arresting materials placed in nightclub restrooms.

  • Central Carolina Community Foundation

    When Central Carolina asked for an anniversary campaign, we knew we had to go big. So, we created Talk About Giving, a card game and related public service campaign that encourages families to engage children (only 10 percent of whom think their parents give) in meaningful conversation about philanthropy. Our pack of thought starters were a huge hit in the local and national press - even the New York Times jumped on our generosity bandwagon.

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters

    How to convince more men they’d be great big brothers? Remind them they’re still little brothers at heart. The faith community was an important target. But getting noticed amidst all the other volunteer requests that come into a church demanded something different. “Paper Planes,” was CreateAthon’s first national ADDY winner.

  • Epworth Ice Cream

    This haven for children and youth needed more than traditional nonprofit fundraising tactics to sustain its mission. So we developed a social enterprise concept, complete with brand strategy, package design, web strategy and marketing plan. With pro bono support in legal, manufacturing and packaging services, the product is on track to enter the market.

  • South Carolina Humanities Council

    How do you generate a new level of interest in a book festival? By tapping into the innermost dream of every reader: that he or she could be a writer, too. Riggs Partners developed the “10 Word Novel” program to challenge and engage all lovers of the written word, while exposing them to the annual book festival.

  • Arts Empowerment Project

    The Arts Empowerment Project instills passion and purpose in the hearts of disadvantaged children by connecting them to life-changing local arts programs. No strangers to the transformative power of the creative process, we wove together a fundraising narrative that lets donors see firsthand the difference the arts can make in the life of an abused and neglected child.

  • Palmetto Opera

    The Palmetto Opera faced two challenges: building on their small but loyal following and attracting people not typically predisposed to opera. The CreateAthon team brought a more contemporary visual style to the group and developed an outreach program called Opera Thursday. Opera performers entertain diners at restaurants each week, exposing them to the drama and beauty of operatic performance. If they won’t come to us, we thought, let’s go to them.

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