About STUTE

Real support. Local. Visible.

STUTE connects local charities, associations and social initiatives with the people who want to support them. Not through an anonymous bank transfer that disappears who knows where, but with concrete products they truly need, supplied by shops in their own neighbourhood.

An animal shelter that needs pet food. A youth movement looking for tents for summer camp. A social grocery running short on nappies. With STUTE you see exactly what is needed, you choose what you give, and you know it actually arrives. The local shop delivers, earns, and in doing so contributes to the community it is part of.

Three partners, one concrete connection. That simple, and that powerful.

Why STUTE?

STUTE [ˈsty:tə] is a short word that carries a lot. That is no accident.

Our daily bread. In West Flemish, a stute is a slice of bread. "Earning your bread" means getting by, not getting rich. That is exactly the spirit of STUTE: the causes are not after money, they are after help. And the local shopkeeper earns an honest living from it, without setting out to get rich.
Propping up and supporting. STUTE sounds like the Dutch "stutten": to prop something up so that it stays standing. The German "Stütze" literally means support, and in English a "stud" is the beam that carries a wall.
Strength and care. In German, a Stute is a mare: a powerful and at the same time caring animal. Strength and heart, exactly what people can be for one another.
Two people, one hand. The two dots on the U in our logo are two people reaching out to each other. That is what it all comes down to.
Short, strong, in balance. ST U TE: five letters, symmetrical around the U. Easy to remember and to say in any language. Does the U sound more like an OO to you? No problem, STUTE stays recognisable.

Who is behind STUTE?

STUTE is an initiative of CreativeServices.be.

For more than 20 years we have been developing projects that stay close to people. Projects about experience, about the special moments in life, about local connection and the strength of people coming together. Creativity, art, design and respect for people and animals have always been the common thread.

You can see that vision in everything we have built:

Geboortelijst.be brings parents, family, friends and the local baby store together around the arrival of a child.
muze'um L connects ideas through virtual lines and art.
Queen of Cards connected people through real, physical cards for life's beautiful moments.
EasyPeas made sharing happiness easy, with small giveaway gifts.
LocalMagazine brought local shops and their shared customers closer together, without cheap advertising.
LockdownSurvivor created connection through humour, at a time when coming together was almost forbidden.

That is why STUTE is not a side step but a natural next step. It brings together everything we have believed in all these years: connecting people, strengthening the local economy and showing that a small, concrete act can make a big difference.

We are not building STUTE because we can, but because it reflects who we are.

The STUTE team

Maarten Callebert

Interaction Designer · Belgium

Developer and driving force behind STUTE. With 30 years of experience building websites and platforms, Maarten knows how technology can bring people closer together.

Renata Duarte

Design Researcher & Strategist · Portugal

Renata focuses on creating meaningful impact. She makes sure STUTE starts from the real needs of initiatives, donors and shops, and stays true to them.

The team can grow. We are looking for volunteers to help make STUTE known across Europe: researchers, influencers, umbrella bodies and federations of local causes, philanthropic foundations, and companies that want to sponsor STUTE or help spread it. Does that sound like you? Let us know.

Let's make it concrete, together

Are you a local initiative, a shop owner, or someone who genuinely wants to help? Welcome to STUTE. Together, let's make sure support is never vague, but always visible.