Student News
Life is Sweet™ for Business Plan Competition Winners
Fisher Contract Honors students did well by doing good in 2008: Their class project won the 2008 Social Entrepreneurship Award at the Deloitte Business Plan Competition in May. The $5000 Social Entrepreneurship Award was sponsored by the Tony R. Wells Foundation, and is awarded to the business plan that best delivers both financial and social return.
Dr. Judy Tansky put all of the pieces together, bringing student teams and nonprofit organizations together to develop business plans in her H499 class. This projects-based class is the foundation of the Contract Honors experience, and requires freshly accepted Honors students to hit the ground running. Student teams select their preferred projects, receive their assignments, partner with a sponsoring nonprofit organization, and deliver a complete business plan in the span of one ten-week quarter.
Working with the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, undergraduate students Ashley Martina, Erica Elsasser, Erin Goddard, Judy Sun, Stephan Kuljko, and Jessica Beerman developed a plan to build brand awareness for the non-profit agency, and at the same time generate revenue to support its service to the community. Their plan calls for sale of merchandise that bears the Association's tagline Life is Sweet™ , and using that tagline to anchor the agency's brand identity.
Sean McGee , then Director of Social Enterprise at the Central Ohio Diabetes Association , feels that the most important factor in the team's success was their willingness to view the project from a fresh perspective.
"Plenty of non-profits sell merchandise imprinted with their logo. These items appeal primarily to people who already have a strong connection to the cause or the organization making the sale. The key insight from this team was to turn this idea around: Instead of asking the customer to wear our logo to support our cause, we put our identity on a shirt that has such an attractive design that the customer wants to wear it. Our cause is supported every time we sell a cool shirt, hat, or wristband. This increases the size of the potential market by orders of magnitude," McGee says.
Since the student team finished their work (and collected their half of the $5000.00 cash prize) in May, McGee and his colleagues at the Central Ohio Diabetes Association have used their half of the prize money to develop a design, line up suppliers, and launch their business. T-shirts and silicone wristbands bearing the Association's Life is Sweet™ brand hit the market in November, and early sales are very promising.
"We have been fortunate enough to engage a very talented young designer from the Graphic Communication Design program at the OSU College of Fine Arts. Erik Evensen has done a marvelous job of expressing the essence of our brand, and we look forward to continuing our work with him on this and other projects." McGee goes on to say, "The Fisher College of Business has been an invaluable partner in the development of enterprise plans that our organization is using to build its revenue and better serve its vital mission. I feel blessed to be working with such talented individuals, and humbled by their vision, commitment, and passion for helping others."
About the Central Ohio Diabetes Association: One in ten persons in our community will develop diabetes. The Central Ohio Diabetes Association helps Central Ohioans with diabetes to detect their condition, prevent onset and complications and learn to live well with the challenge of diabetes. Founded by a group of doctors in 1964, the Central Ohio Diabetes Association is a local, independent non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of people with diabetes. CODA is the only local diabetes organization with a full staff of healthcare professionals, including Certified Diabetes Educators (R.N.s and dietitians) and licensed social workers. CODA programs include diabetes education classes and individual counseling, nutrition classes and counseling, support groups, community detection of diabetes, youth/camp programs, case management services, and assistance with medical supplies and medication to low income families. To learn more, or to volunteer, please visit the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, or call (614) 884-4400.
