Image360 Traverse City: Giving Nonprofits the Tools to Succeed

For Image360, its first of five core values is being a team that’s driven by its clients, community, and environment.

That’s why, in 2022, the Traverse City location collaborated with the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA), and Image360 initiated an ongoing Give Back Program that empowers local nonprofits dedicated to preserving Northern Michigan’s environment.

“When it comes to this project, not only can we say that it’s one of our core values, but this project helps put those words into action,” says Breanne Roberts, director of art and marketing for Image360 Traverse City.

The idea for the project came about because franchise owner Andrew Kohlmann says he’s always admired the ads on the sides of the BATA buses, but one day, he says a lightbulb just went off.
“We were just starting to work with nonprofits and it just seemed like a good fit, so I went to them and proposed the idea and they loved it,” Kohlmann says.

Image360 utilized the sides of buses as exposure for nonprofits, as exemplified here for Single MOMMS Credit: Image360 Traverse City

From there, the nonprofit project was born. To bring the project to life, Image360 printed and placed advertisements for five different local nonprofits on Traverse City buses.

Since that collaboration, Roberts says, she cannot express enough how great it has been to see local nonprofits getting the attention they deserve.

“It’s an absolute honor, honestly, to be able to work with these nonprofits, to meet with them, to work
with them, and to help them through this project,” Roberts says.

When the collaboration first began, Roberts explains, it followed an environmental theme, so each of the nonprofits was dedicated to preserving Northern Michigan’s environment. But this year, to switch things up and feature nonprofits of all different kinds, she says they did away with the theme and instead conducted a poll so the community could pick the nonprofits.

Getting The Community Involved

The process was exciting indeed. Thanks to social media, the community selected a variety of nonprofits. Using the number of votes as a qualifier, the list of nonprofits was whittled down to 10, and finally, the top three were chosen. This year, the top three were Seeds, Single MOMMS, and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Traverse City. All have different purposes and serve the community in various ways.

Image360 utilized the sides of buses as exposure for nonprofits, as exemplified here for Big Brothers Big Sisters Credit: Image360 Traverse City

“We opened it up to any Northern Michigan nonprofit, so how we ended up doing that is we got the community involved, which is awesome. And because we got the community involved, we got a nice variety of different programs that we were able to help and show,” Roberts says. “I think this was really important because the community needs to have a say in things affecting the community itself and what they’ll be seeing driving around town.” Because the Traverse City team worked with three nonprofits this year instead of five, it could do more on the buses than just one ad, which was the case in the previous year. Instead, the top three nonprofits received ads on both sides of one bus plus a bus stop ad — giving them more exposure.

Completing the project didn’t pose many challenges, Roberts says. In fact, she jokes that she “thrives in chaos.” But she explains that because the staff was so excited to give back to the community, the actual process of completing the project went off without a hitch.

“It’s a team effort for these projects, and I think not only does it bring a sense of community to our team, but it brings us together even more as a team,” Roberts says.

How You Can Better Engage With Your Community

For print shops that want to get more involved with their community but aren’t sure exactly where to start, Roberts advises that it never hurts to ask. She urges people to ask questions, push for collaboration, and get out and see what types of organizations their shops can collaborate with.

“If you’re currently working with a client that you think, ‘Hey we could do this together and help the community,’ just ask. It starts with an email or a phone call, really,” Roberts says. “And if you haven’t worked with a client that’s made you think that, go out there and start talking with the community so you can find different people that you might be able to collaborate with.”

Looking Ahead To The Future

As for where she sees this initiative going, Roberts says that year after year, it is a learning experience, and everything is still evolving. But she hopes that the initiative will blossom into something even bigger five years from now with more nonprofits and ways to give them exposure beyond buses.

“I would like even more nonprofits to be involved. I would also like to — maybe in the next five years — besides having both sides of a bus and the bus stop ad, maybe we do even more for them, try to figure out other things we can include,” Roberts says. “I don’t know where we’ll be in five years, but all I know is that we’re going to continue growing.”

While Roberts hopes to feature more nonprofits in the future, for now, she says the most fulfilling part of a project like this is seeing the reactions of the nonprofit's employees when they see their ad on the bus; she says it gets her emotional just thinking about it.

“They’re just so happy and excited for this opportunity and seeing their reaction when the nonprofits show up to do a little group photo with the bus. And I don’t know, it just fills my heart in a way that I can’t even describe,” Roberts says.

She recalls how the nonprofit Seeds asked to bring a bottle of champagne to pop open on the back of the bus to celebrate; they first asked Roberts if it was okay. Roberts ran it by BATA, and the day Seeds could see its bus, there was a bubbly celebration filled with heartfelt speeches.

“It was the best thing ever, truly,” Roberts says. The nonprofit had said it started as just a couple of people, and to see them as this large group that day and how grateful they were was just so fulfilling.”