Artists for Peace and Justice: Cause Campaigns
Founded in 2009, Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) encourages peace and social justice, and addresses issues of poverty in communities around the world.
Opportunity
Raise awareness and funds to support APJ’s immediate goal which is to serve children and their families in the poorest communities in Haiti with programs focused on education, health and dignity.
What We Did
- Natasha Koifman is the President of the Board for Artists for Peace and Justice Canada and on the Board of Directors for APJ USA.
- Since 2009, NKPR has been APJ’s agency of record handling ongoing media relations, providing sponsorship and event fundraising strategy and successfully executing high-profile APJ fundraising events around the globe.
- NKPR hosts the annual APJ Festival Gala on the opening weekend of Toronto International Film Festival. This star-studded fundraiser has become one of the most highly anticipated events of the festival season. Past celebrity attendees have included: Susan Sarandon, Ben Stiller, Jackson Browne, Sean Penn, Helen Mirren, Olivia Wilde, Colin Firth, Adrien Brody, James Franco, Alexander Skarsgard and Maria Bello.
- In 2019, NKPR expanded APJ’s Canadian roots into the Quebec market for the organization’s inaugural Montreal Gala during the city’s prestigious Grand Prix F1 weekend. In partnership with The KANPE Foundation, the event raised over a quarter of a million dollars and honoured Montreal’s own Arcade Fire with the Peace and Justice Activist Award.
- By bringing artists together to celebrate for a cause, NKPR has supported APJ at exclusive events such as The Hollywood Awards and Cannes Film Festival and participates in strategic partnerships, aligned with top-tier brands like Bovet, Vhernier, Bulgari, Vanity Fair and Brioni.
Results
- As a result of fundraising efforts that took place during the Toronto Film Festival in 2009, Artists for Peace and Justice opened the doors to the Academy for Peace and Justice in October 2010, just months after the earthquake.
- The first class at the Academy for Peace and Justice graduated in June 2016 with 150 students.
- The Academy is currently at full capacity with 3,500 students and takes in 600 new students each year.
- APJ has created jobs within the community by employing Haitians as teachers and support workers at the Academy.
- In 2018 APJ celebrated 10 years of empowering local communities in Haiti.
- Sponsorship and event fundraising strategies have helped the organization raise over $31 million US dollars to date.