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It’s Spring and crazy micro-sponsorship is in the air.
Kentucky Fried Chicken has been busy preparing a new recipe - one for asphalt. That’s right. As part of the “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign initiated first in Louisville, KY, KFC has agreed to fill 350 potholes in exchange for the oppt’y to stamp “Re-freshed by KFC” on the roadway. It’s estimated that $3,000 will be required to fix 350 potholes in the city.
KFC and Colonel Sanders Sponsor our Nation's Potholes
The pilot infrastructure program is offering road-repair grants to cities across the country if mayors allow KFC to sponsor freshly repaired potholes with the temporary chalk, branded message.
So far, the cities of Louisville, Cleveland and Birmingham have bitten.
Mayor Daley of Chicago is also interested in the windfall and declared that he is amenable to the idea if KFC is willing to pay $25 million. That would be about $500k for the potholes and another $24.5 million to help fill the budget gap that Chicago is reeling from.
Sorry Mayor, the Colonel won’t fix all your problems - which is what KFC said to the City of Chicago, leaving a very bad taste is the mouths of Chicago citizens. Well, at least it tastes like chicken.
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Suffolk County Legislator Lou D’Amaro (D-Huntington Station)
Lou D’Amaro (D-Huntington Station), an innovative local politician in New York’s Suffolk County, has found a creative solution to his county’s budget woes. Ripping a page from Groupable’s playbook, he recommends local sponsors be allowed to sponsor suitable locations within his county’s park system. In his own words:
“Sponsorship of suitable parkland facilities provides an excellent opportunity to both generate much-needed funds and the goodwill of businesses throughout Suffolk County. It is a definite win-win situation for everyone involved.”
Under the proposed plan, the Park Commissioner receives the authority to design sponsorship opportunities that are both relevant and tasteful and prioritize local businesses with good community standing. D’Amaro’s plan reinforces Groupable’s philosophy. We believe whenever groups and sponsors connect at the micro-level, they’re able to negotiate deals of extraordinary benefit to both parties.
Groupable wants to help connect groups of all kinds with sponsors. In this instance, the “group” in question is the entire population of Suffolk County. If the county government really wants to remain innovative as sponsorship trends evolve, we recommend they turn to Groupable to manage this program. In any case, we’re excited to watch how this program develops.
Note: Groupable does not endorse candidates for political office.
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There are a few sites that stand out in the non-profit, micro-loan or micro-sponsorship arena. The most widely known of these, kiva.org, has run out of projects to fund. How crazy (and amazing) is that? $53m to fund or sponsor entrepreneurs around the world - like Samira Ghulam Ali from Afghanistan, who used the $175 she raised to buy beads and other supplies to make and sell dolls. She has since repaid every penny.
Kiva.org Micro Loans for Entrepreneurs
The core mission of what we do here at Groupable is to assist groups of any type, hobby, professional or non-profit to announce or broadcast to the world why their worthy and how the equation can make sense to the sponsor. It’s kind of like CauseCast.org for self-organized entities pursuing a passion, a goal or a dream.
Click to learn more about Causecast.org
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Just Another NY Jelly, this one in Brooklyn
On Friday, a buddy of mine was hosting a jelly at his Park Slope manse (2 bdr apt). He registered the Park Slope Jellyers as a group on Groupable. I emailed and asked if the assembled group could use some pizza. Shockingly, he said, yes. So, I used groupable’s sponsor account to offer to send some pies and soda pop in exchange for a sentence about what groupable could do for their group….Simple sponsorship idea, yes?
Here’s what happened…
They accepted the sponsorship offer and ate the pizza. They also had some really nice things to say. Would they have been so nice were it not for the pizza? I guess we’ll never know…
- Groupable would be great for me finding event sponsorship for my Cupcakes Take The Cake monthly meetups. I also know other food bloggers who can use this service.
Nichelle - http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/
- Groupable, at it’s conceptual level, totally lines up with what we hope to do at Philanthromedia: Link people with money with people who have great ideas directly, instead of philanthropic giving being based on who knows whom. It’s exciting for me to see the realization of the ideals of web-transparency along these lines: direct connections based on common goals and great ideas!
Alan S. - Producer - Philanthromedia
- Groupable is a perfect match for the growing sport and social league movement! Corporate sponsorship presents a great opportunity for teams looking to expand the social aspect of their weekly games and outings.
Erin - Video Editor/Soccer player
- Groupable is a great channel for finding companies interested in reaching out to people who attend my events. I can plan better events and help companies increase their visibility with potential customers at the same time.
Mark - Jelly Organizer
- Groupable is a great way to pull people together for a common cause and connect those people with parties interested in supporting that cause. It’s win win for individuals and sponsors alike.
Seth V - iPhone Developer
- Groupable is exactly what our startup needs. Our customers each have their own businesses and many of them could really benefit from Groupable’s offering.
David - Startup founder
