Posted by Andrew Shi
Victoria Manganiello '12 won $100 for an on-campus party on Nov. 16 from the newly formed organization, the Party Fund, with the sole condition that she recognize the business that sponsored her.
The Party Fund — founded a few months ago by Pulse Advisory, a venture accelerator in New York City — allots funds every Wednesday to students who promote the sponsoring businesses. In accordance with this project, Manganiello posted a link about her sponsor, NerdWallet, on the College's open forum, along with a short blurb praising its service, which assists people in finding credit cards best customized to their spending needs.
"All kinds of businesses, anything from startups, services to consumer products, can sponsor Party Fund. Any brand that wants to target the college audience is ideal," said Tracy Lum, a business analyst at Pulse Advisory, which oversees the Party Fund project.
Lum said Tanjeloff loosely based the Party Fund on a party grant system that Harvard University implemented a few years ago, which allowed students to send requests to the financial committee of the Undergraduate Council to receive funds. The program has since been discontinued by Harvard's administration due to students spending funds on alcohol, according to the Harvard Crimson.
"The Party Fund is just a few weeks old and is still in beta launch," said Lum, expressing hope for its success, and adding that the process itself is simple and free for students.
"I used the money to buy supplies for a gallery space that my housemates and I created in an unused room in my apartment," Manganiello said. "The next thing I had to do was throw the party, within 10 days, and at the party take a picture with 10 friends and a sign that says ‘We love NerdWallet,' and tag [the business] in it on Facebook."
"Sponsors are always looking for innovative and engaging ways to reach college students, so we are positioning ourselves as a great platform to do so," Lum said.
The Party Fund announces new winners every Wednesday on its website. Students can also visit the organization's Facebook page to learn more.