Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bloggers, charity, donations, groupable, groups, mashable, meetings, social media, social networking, sponsors, twitter
I am sure that we have all had this idea, “Hey I love to do __________ (insert your passion or interest), and I know _________, ______________, and _________ (friends, colleagues, random yahoo’s) who love it too. And I bet there’s a whole bunch of other people who would be happy as a pig in mud to go on a trip to ___________ (fabulous place to do above mentioned interest)! Wow, I wish we could all afford to go do that together!”
(Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/07/08/groupable)
Now you can! Groupable is an “online community of groups and sponsors looking to match interests, goals, passions and needs,” (Parr, 2009). The sponsor organizations “connect [with] groups,” and the Groupable dashboard can track statistics on sponsorships, map out group locations, manage sponsorship levels, and even can take sponsorship donations via credit card, allows sponsors to create a profile, add videos and photos, and measure sponsors and activities” (Parr, 2009).
So how easy is it? Supposedly, as long you are a Groupable member you can “sign up, find a sponsor and connect,” (Parr, 2009).
The home page is easy to navigate and has some interactive features, but looks clean and like it’s easy to get started. There is a sponsorship video, some articles about why firms still sponsor and contribute to worthy organizations, and a featured group, which is the 2009 International Black Women’s Film Festival, (Groupable, 2009). And Groupable even has a sponsor, currently it is Adobe, featuring the Student Edition Creative Suite, (Groupable, 2009). This sponsor is mentioned in the far right hand bottom corner, so it is not in the way of the context of the site, and is mentioned in an ethical manner as the “Featured Sponsor.” It appears they have a blog and are also on Twitter, and a contact phone number is prominently displayed on the home page! (Unlike the shady peeps at Verizon who seem to not want you to find the number to call, so they bury it 20+ mouse clicks and wrong turns deep into their site, aaaaaaarrrrrghhhhh!)
Blogger Allen Stern states, “the challenge for Groupable will be getting enough supply of sponsors into their network. But at the same time, they need to get enough groups in to meet a sponsor’s requirements,” (Stern, 2009). But currently, it is free for both groups and sponsors to register on the Groupable site, making it easy to join and find out more. This being said…get out there and join!
References:
Groupable. (2009). “Home Page.” Retrieved July 8, 2009 from http://www.groupable.com/
Parr, B. (2009, July 8). “HOW TO: Find a Sponsor for Your Group.” Mashable. Retrieved July 8, 2009 from http://mashable.com/2009/07/08/groupable/
Stern, A. (2009, February 19). “Groupable Helps You Find Sponsors.” Center Networks. Retrieved July 8, 2009 from http://www.centernetworks.com/tag/groupable
