CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - eTradeWire -- Informatics Inc., a leading digital marketing + web agency, is proud to announce the launch of its Starfish Initiative, a program dedicated to providing free and reduced digital services to deserving not-for-profits in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Corridor.

This new give back initiative is being piloted with Informatics' team members, who can champion a specific not-for-profit and nominate them for credits good for dedicated help with marketing, web, and other digital services.

Giving back has long been a core value of Informatics, and the company has already donated more than $80,000 in in-kind services since 2022. In 2025, Informatics expects to contribute more than $25,000 in marketing, web, and digital strategy services to local nonprofits, spread across eight organizations. The goal is to open it up to community nominations in 2026, and give a total of $250,000 of in-kind services to the community by 2030.

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"We want to help make a long-term impact for these organizations," says Informatics President Stacie Osako. "A one-off project is great, but we're more interested in things like auditing the health of your website, your social media operations. How can we set up these not-for-profits to be more efficient and sustainable, so they can serve our region for years to come?"

Behind the Starfish Story
The Starfish Initiative was based on a story Informatics CEO John Osako first heard while working in Haiti with CHI Haiti, a not-for-profit that sets up temporary medical clinics in remote villages:

One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, "Young man, what are you doing?" The boy replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they'll die."

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The man laughed to himself and said, "Don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can't make any difference!"

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, "I made a difference to that one."

"The story reminded me that we each have the capacity to make a difference, we just need to act," John says. "We're not typically given the opportunity to change the world, but this is a chance for us to absolutely change our community."

Give Back is one of Informatics' Core Values, and its leadership and employees have long supported the region's not-for-profit community through in-kind and financial donations.

For more information, visit https://www.informaticsinc.com.