Student organizations all over Chicago are more than familiar with the challenges that come with getting sponsorship for their activities. Every year, student-run groups struggle to find the funds and support they need, making the search for a sponsor one of their top priorities every year.
But those same student organizations now have an ally. In October, Chicago-based startup Apparel Media launched Pear, a social media-based platform with one goal in mind: to help student organizations get the sponsors they need to operate.
“We have several platforms that we’ve developed, but our most recent and most exciting is Pear,” says Jaymie Wahlen, marketing coordinator at Apparel Media. “Pear is so exciting because it works like a matchmaker, where groups can find the perfect sponsor for their needs.”
With the click of a mouse, student organizations can visit Pear’s site to track down the sponsors they want and convince those sponsors to provide materials they need. By registering their organization on Pear’s site, students have access to a whole database of companies and, upon choosing their top sponsor, can then invite family and friends to help their cause.
From there, the race is on. Students have three days to generate as many points as they can by completing simple tasks, which can vary from liking their intended sponsor’s Facebook page or following them on Twitter. The number of points built up at the end of those three days determines the amount of money given to the organization, with some student organizations earning up to $500 in sponsorship benefits. Whether it’s T-shirts or free food, student organization leaders can be sure to walk away with something.
Why so easy? The Apparel Media team understands how tough it is for organizations to get sponsors, explains Wahlen whose own college experiences motivated her to join the company.
“I recently graduated from Indiana University where I was actively involved in a lot of student groups including a dance troupe, student government, and speech club. In every organization we struggled with funding.”
“There was never enough money to afford custom shirts,” she continues. “I had to use my own money to print flyers, and we literally spent hours each week convincing local restaurants to donate food for meetings. I know from experience that Pear solves a problem that so many college groups have.”
Having already found sponsors for over 100,000 people, the Apparel Media team is looking to expand Pear to even more college campuses like UChicago. The goal is to cut down the obstacles blocking many UChicago groups from getting the funding they need for goods and events.
“At GetPear.com, there are dozens of national brands and local businesses waiting to sponsor UChicago groups,” says Wahlen. “It’s a no-brainer; because it saves you the headache of looking for a sponsor, and with just the click of a mouse you can get benefits your group needs like custom t-shirts, fundraising donations and free food.”
Pear’s early success has convinced the Apparel Media team to expand the platform’s reach. Beginning in 2013, students all over the U.S. will have access to Pear once the platform rolls out to include campuses outside of Chicago.
For now, however, Apparel Media is looking to solidify Pear’s base in Chicago and are currently on the lookout for interns and Campus Ambassadors to help. Given how quickly Pear exploded onto the scene, don’t be surprised if more and more student organizations gradually turn to Pear for their sponsorship needs.
Want to get involved with Pear? Have questions? If so, fire Jaymie Wahlen an email at jaymie@apparelmedia.com!