The local advertising and media industries have just taken an extra step to help their own.
Led by the San Diego Advertising Club, local executives have founded a nonprofit to fund crisis needs for people in their industries.
Dubbed SAFE, which stands for San Diego Advertising Fund for Emergencies, the foundation is modeled after one in Los Angeles that has donated more than $1.5 million in the last 25 years, said Sharon Massey, who chaired SAFE’s organizing committee.
The funds would often help in emergency situations when insurance does not cover expenses, Massey said.
The group in Los Angeles was started when a woman in the industry had breast cancer, and her insurance didn’t cover all of her health-related expenses, Massey said.
SAFE’s current budget stands at $16,000, said Massey, director of marketing for the San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association.
To kick off the fund-raising campaign, her organization donated $10,000 to SAFE, Massey said. La Jolla ad agency Castle & Associates donated $3,000, and Las Vegas-based Heftel Broadcasting Corp.’s local stations KLQV-FM and KLNV-FM gave $2,000, she said.
SAFE’s short-term fund-raising goal is $100,000. The San Diego Advertising Club plans to donate the proceeds from its annual media auction in December.
SAFE already has the backing of several major players among radio, advertising and public relations, newspapers, television and cable stations, printers, graphic designers, event planners and research firms.
SAFE’s executive board is headed by president Jim Price, a veteran of San Diego radio. Mike Glickenhaus, a local vice president for Clear Channel Communications, will be executive vice president. Tammy Haughey, general manager of Downtown ad firm Di Zinno-Thompson Integrated Marketing Solutions, will be first vice president. Local ad executives Chuck Castle and Sheila Fox will be treasurer and secretary, respectively.
