ACME B4MC Annual Report 2022

About

the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program

The ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program makes it easy for shoppers to support their communities and environment by buying durable, reusable shopping bags. Each bag costs $3.00, with $1 of that purchase going to support a benefiting nonprofit in your community. The $1 donation will automatically be directed to the selected non-profit at each location unless otherwise directed through use of the Giving Tag. Donations from this program support groups focused on education, civic, health & wellness, hunger relief and military/ veterans organizations. Since inception in 2019, the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program has donated $147,268 to local non-profits, supported 1,972 organizations, and eliminated the need for 4,417,620 single-use plastic bags.

2022 Program Highlights

New Program Website

A refreshed Program website launched with updated information and marketing materials for selected nonprofits. New features include Impact Stories highlighting the work of benefiting nonprofits and the positive impact they’ve experienced from the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program.

Nonprofit Database Optimized

Ensuring that each location has a variety of active and engaged nonprofits to choose from each month, the PSIM team optimized the nonprofit database for all ACME stores. Moving forward, the Bag Program will support schools, food pantries, youth sports, veterans, cancer and other illness, disabilities, animal shelters and LGBTQ+ organizations exclusively in 2023.

2022 Overview

Despite two periods of OOS inventory as a result of the May New Jersey single-use bag ban, adapted and candid communication with nonprofits about the situation built stronger ties. With replenished inventory in November, sales steadily increased. Looking ahead, maintaining nonprofit relationships combined with newly available inventory suggests sustained program success through 2023.

2023 Forecast

The sales forecast for the upcoming year remains consistent with the end of 2022. With inventory fully restocked, November and December averaged 2,022 in program donations. Using the period following the fall restock as an indicator for trends in the New Year, bag sales are anticipated to level out around 2,000 each month in 2023.

The following is excerpted from the Impact Story “Culture + Generations + Hearts + Connected.” interview with Olga Sher, Founder and Managing Director of Antinanco Earth Arts School.

Thank you for ACME’s support and for offering this beautiful GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program. We are very honored to be selected as a beneficiary.

In 2015, a group of friends came together with a deep passion for earth and nature, education and children. These individuals were activists, teachers, educators or facilitators, each with a good toolbox of skills and a capacity to share. We decided to organize and form a platform to spread all of these gifts to the community. Antinanco Earth Arts School began as a grassroots volunteer-led organization and remains so to this day.

The funds received from the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program are used for scholarships for children. Until this year, about 90% of our participants were on either full or partial scholarships.

READ THE FULL IMPACT STORY AT ACME.2GIVELOCAL.COM/ANTINANCO-EARTH-ARTS-SCHOOL/

Benefiting in June, Southern New Jersey LGBTQA Pride raised a total of $392.

DeAnn Cox Director and Founder Southern New Jersey LGBTQA Pride

Words cannot express our excitement and gratitude for this wonderful opportunity.

Benefiting in February, April, July, September and December, the Food Bank of Delaware raised a total of $257.

We truly appreciate the continued support, and will be sure to let our community know about the program. Thank you so very much for this great news.

Susan Denardo Community Development Manager

Food Bank of Delaware

Benefiting in June, The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Services Center raised a total of $242.

Thank you so much, this funding means so much to The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center. We truly appreciate all of your support!

Jeffrey Guard

Director of Marketing and Communications

The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Services Center

What is Earned Media

and what is the PSIM value add?

When a nonprofit is selected to benefit from the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program, the PSIM Marketing Team reaches out via email six times before and during the selection month. Each email contains marketing ideas and templates for nonprofit organizations to use to spread news of their selection in the program to their supporters. Templates include sample press releases, social media posts, newsletter language and marketing emails.

Each mention of ACME in print and online generates Earned Media for the brand. Below are just a few examples of nonprofit organizations generating Earned Media for the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program through outreach to their supporters.

Number of nonprofits represented inside the cluster bubble

ACME’s GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program has benefited

2,043 local nonprofits

This cluster map depicts the location of all nonprofit organizations that have benefited from ACME’s GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program since its inception August 15, 2019. These organizations provide important services to their communities in areas including civic, education, health and wellness, hunger relief, and military/veterans. The PSIM team works throughout the year to research, vet and regularly validate every nonprofit found or received by outside submission.

Story Booklets

In 2022, the PSIM Nonprofit Engagement Team interviewed nonprofits that benefited from the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program. The result of each interview is an Impact Story, highlighting the organization’s mission and how they utilize funds raised in the GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program. A selection of these impact stories were compiled into a Story Booklet. Hard copies will also be mailed to your corporate office.

To read ACME’s Impact Stories, visit acme.2givelocal.com/stories/ For more information about the ACME GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program, visit acme.2givelocal.com/program/give-back-bag/

Jim Brennan COO & Co-Founder

Sydni Collier Program Manager sydnic@psitmatters.com (603)380-9400 Ext. 107