During the summer, three Ball State students learned how valuable and rewarding using coupons can be in the Extreme Couponing for Charity class. Now they've moved onto the next phase — getting grant money.
The immersive learning class spent the summer getting grocery and toiletry products with coupons and then took them to Take 5 Community Outreach, an organization that tries to help people who experience an emotional, spiritual and physical void. The idea sparked an interest to continue this project in the future, the class said.
Ed Bean, Erika Kesling and Holly Fink are now competing against 130 more ideas to earn a grant from Pepsi Refresh Projects for their idea they poured their hearts and time into.
As the class neared its endpoint, the group decided that applying for a grant would be a great option in hopes for continuing the project.
All entries were required to enter their idea in hopes of becoming randomly selected to continue with the contest. The class chose the Pepsi Refresh Grant because it is straight forward and offers categories consisting of $5,000, $10,000, $25,000 and $50,000 grants, which are awarded to the top 15 contenders in each of category.
"We decided to be in the [$10,000] category, primarily because with that amount of money, we could do an awful lot of good, anymore would be wonderful to get, but it would be hard to spend in the time frame ... And we are wanting to spend our money efficiently," Kevin Gatzlaff, assistant professor of insurance, said.
Once winners of the grants are chosen, they are given a time limit of nine months to use all of their money.
"You don't have to get more than a couple miles off campus [to] really see abject poverty, and once you see it, you're compelled to do something," Gatzlaff said.
The class had to overcome the hurdle of being randomly selected to pursue winning the grant to further the success of their idea.
Now, their fate rests in the hands of the voters. Kesling said she knew the class would become successful from the beginning, and attributed it to Gatzlaff's passion.
"His whole idea was well planned out and well rehearsed, it was his confidence in this project that drove us to work so hard each week and was a large part in the success of the project," she said via email.
Liane Harrold, executive director of Take 5, said if the class wins the Pepsi grant, it would be a huge relief.
"We would be inundated with products, because if they are able to take that grant and take most of it and quadruple the value of it using coupons, then that means there is the potential of $40,000 worth of items, for not just my organization, but charities around the community."
Harrold said if the class won, the money could have a positive effect on several organizations such as churches and food banks.
Gatzlaff said voting for the project ideas is open to everyone. The most effective way to vote is to collect the Pepsi caps. Each cap contains a vote code that is worth a certain amount of votes ranging from five to 100 votes for the projects.
Pepsi codes can also be found on the inside of the Pepsi can boxes. If the options are not available, then voting can be done through Facebook and Twitter.
"The only mistake I've made so far is underestimating how hard the other projects have worked, but I've been thrilled with how well we have done, and I mean that's pretty incredible," Gatzlaff said.
The top 15 contenders in each category will win a grant and the Extreme Couponing idea has reached as high as 18th place.
Bean, who now refers to himself as the "coupon ninja" said it's hard to not look too much into the results.
"I try not to get too excited as it fluctuates constantly," he said. "We're getting really close though."
The Pepsi caps will expire at the end of September when the contest comes to its end.
"With $10,000, we could expand and benefit multiple organizations, recruit numerous ‘coupon ninjas' and implement more coupon strategies," Kesling said.
This extreme couponing class and idea was started with only four people. If the project wins the grant, more people would have the ability to become involved, taking the idea and making it into a sustainable process.
"With this being my senior year, I probably won't be around to help donate my time," Bean said. "However, it makes me very happy that [if we win,] it will be going toward a really great project."
People can also vote for the Extreme Couponing class by texting 108474 to PEPSI (73774) or by clicking here.
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