Over the years, Ripple has created button badges to promote our work and help us to be more visible. These are the same buttons used by political campaigns and advocacy groups for years. The problem with using these to raise awareness is that unless you order them by the hundreds, they are not cost effective. For small orders of twenty or less, you could pay as much as $2.50 a button while the same supplier was charging under $40 for a quantity of one hundred. This is, of course, a better deal, but then you have dozens of extras laying around that might not be needed.
So how did Ripple find an economical way to solve this problem? To make a long story short, we looked at the numbers involved and then invested in a button making machine of our own. This will allow us to make the same three-inch diameter pin-backed buttons we were ordering from a third party vendor. We can make as many or as few as we need, plus we are saving money since everything we produce is now wholesale price.
What does this mean for you or your organization?
We would like to help you get your message out there! Ripple is willing to help any group or individual make promotional buttons for advocacy or fundraising purposes. A volunteer graphic artist will help you create or edit your artwork if needed. The only thing Ripple is asking would be to have our costs covered; this would come to roughly .25 cents per button. What is required to have Ripple make buttons for you?
You must be an organization or peer in recovery. advocating, educating, or serving the mental health and addiction recovery community. You must be located within or provide services in the state of Connecticut. Any artwork most conform to any applicable copyright or trademark laws. If you are using buttons for a fundraiser the organization or project you are raising money for must serve recovery community in some way. Should you decide to work with Ripple please be aware that we will post a photo of your button and a description of your project on this page. This will help us spread the word and perhaps inspire others to take advantage of this service. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
If your interested in Ripple’s on-site button activity here is what you need to know. First, this activity is spread out over two different days. On the first day the participants receive an art template, Ripple will send you a PDF that prints out on a single sheet of paper. It is very simple; it consists of a circle we use when scanning the art into the computer. On the second day, Ripple returns with the artwork printed and cut to size for button making. The participants will load the button press and create their own unique button.
Since all the cutting is done before the activity starts is can take very little time to assemble the buttons, the press will allow for a finished button to be created in less than 30 seconds.
If you would like to see the button machine in action please see the manufactures video posted above.
Just as with the other buttons, the cost per person is .25 cents each, this allows Ripple to cover the cost of materials so we can keep doing this well into the future. Please note that this activity is only available at locations in Connecticut. If you wish only to do the artistic part of the activity Ripple will assemble the buttons, and either hand deliver or mail them to you, the choice is yours.