“I’m sorry, but you don’t have a CreateAthon agency in your market,” is the news I’ve had to deliver too many times to nonprofits who’ve called me to ask how their organizations can benefit from CreateAthon’s 24-hour marketing marathons. It pains me more than I can say to tell these folks we can’t help them simply because they happen to be in a market not currently served by a CreateAthon agency.

This year’s gonna be a different story, thanks to the CreateAthon Brand Makeover contest.

The CreateAthon Brand Makeover contest, now being held on the CreateAthon Facebook page, will award five nonprofit organizations in the US and Canada with a package of free brand marketing services, including strategic brand development and creative deliverables, via upcoming CreateAthon events hosted by five CreateAthon agencies. Those agencies include:

• Flipside, Vancouver BC
• John Dawe Consulting Group, Wilkes-Barre PA
• smith&jones, Sturbridge MA
• Trio Solutions Inc., Mount Pleasant SC
• Riggs Partners, Columbia SC

Deliverables in the Brand Makeover package will include:

• Brand strategy
• Brand identity
• Brand handbook
• Digital project
• Print project

Here’s how it works:

• Nonprofits can go to the CreateAthon Facebook page, like it and submit an application on Facebook or download the application here.
• The application period starts now and ends on July 1. After a two-week vetting period, 10 semi-finalists will be chosen by the participating CreateAthon agencies.
• The CreateAthon Facebook community will then vote for the nonprofits they want to receive a Brand Makeover.
• Each Facebook fan may vote once a day throughout the voting period.
• We’ll announce the oh-so lucky five top vote getters on Facebook the week of August 6, 2012.
• Each of the five nonprofits will be assigned to one of the participating CreateAthon agencies.
• Each agency will produce the brand deliverables for their assigned nonprofit during their next CreateAthon event.

We’re incredibly excited about the chance to reach out and serve nonprofits that currently don’t have the opportunity to receive pro bono services from CreateAthon. Our hope is that the contest will not only make more nonprofits aware of CreateAthon and how it can help their marketing programs, but also increase awareness of CreateAthon and participation among marketing, PR, digital, and advertising firms across North America.

So if you’re a nonprofit, get your application in now. If you’re an agency interested in participating in CreateAthon, contact us at CreateAthon.org. And if you just love the idea of CreateAthon, give us a holler, and we’ll let you know how you can help nonprofits and their worthy causes by putting your creative powers to work for good.

Click here for complete contest rules.