Getting Organized
<< Gumball Challenge Timeline | Contents | Money Matters >> Intro | Forming a Committee | Organizing Committe CompositionIntro
As you can guess, The Gumball Challenge big, really BIG. So to ensure the stability of the competition, Gumball Capital will sponsor committed groups of individuals to run the Challenge at each participating university. Those individuals will be collectively known as the Organizing Committee (OC).
Though no member of the OC may participate in The Gumball Challenge itself, the OC as a whole is the head honcho of the Challenge at its university. Responsible for a rich set of tasks leading up to, throughout, and beyond the Challenge, the OC will drive projects ranging from promotional to enterprising. The mission may seem imposing, but don't worry--we're here to help you step-by-step, from start to finish.
Forming a Committee
The first step is, of course, to create the Organizing Committee. Any person or group from an accredited college or university in the United States may register to run an OC on their campus. Once all interested members have registered, Gumball Capital will contact each one individually, and guide them through the rest of the Challenge. If multiple people or organizations apply from the same university, each of them will be put in contact with one another to coordinate and/or divide the responsibilities of the OC. We at Gumball Capital believe in diversity: the greater the number of people involved in the same OC, the greater their success.
The process for petitioning is simple: log on to our website and register online. Upon receipt of your petition, Gumball Capital will forward you a short application for you to fill out and return as soon as possible. The application process will start Monday, August 13th, and end Sunday, September 2nd for semester-system schools and Sunday, October 7th for quarter-system schools. For more information on important dates, please see the Competition Timeline.
Note: If you sign up to create an OC after the respective deadlines, Gumball Capital will ask you to work with the established OC at your university (current list). If there is no established OC, you may still run The Gumball Challenge at your university, provided all revenue goes to microfinance causes. However, you will not receive any initial seed funding from Gumball Capital, or be eligible to receive prizes from Gumball Capital on the competition's close.
Also, if you or your participating organization is not representative of a college or university, we will still help you coordinate and run The Gumball Challenge, assuming all revenue goes to microfinance institutions and/or causes. However, Gumball Capital will again not provide initial seed funding or Challenge prizes.
Organizing Committee Composition
Upon formation, each OC will coordinate with its members to assign and/or recruit the relevant positions. A minimum of 6 persons are required to serve on the OC, including the President and the Treasurer:
President *
This person will be the primary point of contact with Gumball Capital, and will drive OC building and the overall operations of the Challenge. He or she will guide and coordinate the activities of the OC, understand and ensure that OC members are operating under the ethics and vision of Gumball Capital, and nominate members to head and execute each of the following subsections: Event Planning, Education, Marketing, and Fundraising.
It is recommended that the President maintain correspondence with each subsection of the OC through meetings held thrice a week. The week prior to the Challenge till the week after the Challenge, it is strongly suggested that he or she initiate daily conferences with all the members of the OC. In the weeks leading up to The Gumball Challenge, the President will maintain correspondence with Gumball Capital Campus Operations officers twice a week, detailing his or her progress and planned activities. The week prior to the competition, daily correspondence with Gumball Capital will be initiated until the week following the competition.
Treasurer *
This person will be responsible for overseeing the financial documentation and fiscal undertakings of The Gumball Challenge. The Treasurer will be responsible for using their own personal bank account to collect all donations, receipts, and funding the OC generates leading up to, and throughout, the Challenge. He or she will also use their bank account to hold the micro-loans supplied by Gumball Capital, which will in turn fund the participating Competitor Teams during the Challenge. Moreover, he or she is responsible for making sure that all of the money raised by Competitor Teams returns to the OC, and in turn to Gumball Capital. (It is important to note that OCs that wish to support other microfinance initiatives will not receive the $27 funding).
The Treasurer will also maintain detailed balance sheets and receipts of all money generated by Competitor Teams. The Treasurer may work in coordination with the Fundraising members of the OC to assist him or her in this task.
The Treasurer will also maintain weekly meetings with the Chief Financial Officer of Gumball Capital, reporting on their OC's current financial status. The week prior to the competition, daily correspondence with the CFO will be initiated until the week following the competition.
*Note: the Organizing Committee will provide contact addresses for both the Treasurer and the President and these two individuals will be carbon copied on all correspondences.
The remaining 4+ OC members may be afforded titles and responsibilities of your choosing. However, we strongly recommend that the following positions and activities be initiated in some manner within your OC.
Events Coordinator
The person is in charge of planning and organizing The Gumball Challenge events on their campus. Specifically, he or she will handle both the promotional and educational events leading up to, and throughout, The Gumball Challenge.
Specific duties include:
1.Working with the Marketing Coordinator to promote events to the community
2.Facilitating communication within the OC, especially with the Education Coordinator, to develop ideas for events
3.Communicating with and securing necessary participants for the events (speakers, panelists, judges etc.)
4.Finalizing a list of events that the OC is committed to pursuing; and speaking with their university to begin planning the events
5.Contacting students and student groups to solicit interest in participating in The Gumball Challenge campaign
6.Setting up promotional booths, banners, etc before and during the Challenge
7.Maintaining the framework for meeting Challenge competitors, gathering progress reports, and reporting competition activities to other OC members
The Events Coordinator is by-far the most intensive of positions under the President and Treasurer. As such, it is suggested that multiple people fill this role.
Education Coordinator
This person is in charge of planning educational components of the campaign and overseeing proper distribution of educational materials with regard to microfinance. He or she will also ensure that Gumball events provide participants and competitors with the necessary informational resources and ability to become involved in microfinance in a meaningful way.
Specific duties include:
1.Working with the Events Coordinator to incorporate the educational materials into each event to maximize student exposure and understanding of microfinance
2.Referring interested students to the appropriate resources so that they may become more informed and involved in the support of microfinance initiatives in the US and worldwide. (see Microfinance Tips and Links)
Marketing Coordinator
This person is in charge of using the media to promote their OC's Gumball Challenge campaign. This may include the school newspaper, local newspapers, and local television stations. The publicity generated will maximize the OC's exposure to the community and garner support and participants for the Challenge. Furthermore, it will spread the message that students at your school are making an impact in the field of microfinance.
Specific duties may include:
1.Assisting the Events Coordinator in advertising The Gumball Challenge on campus to recruit competitors and participants
2.Sending press releases to local/school newspapers and news stations with a summary of The Gumball Challenge and the events that will be held.
3.Acting to contact and facilitate interviews and op-eds with local and school newspapers
4.Promoting and advancing the activities of the OC on blogs, facebook groups, etc.
Fundraising Coordinator
This person's primary role is engaging the community both on and off campus to support The Gumball Challenge campaign. The Fundraising Coordinator is in charge of raising money to fund the OC's campaign. Funds may be raised from students, or businesses and community members through matching grants. Be creative in the approaches you take to fundraise; a bright idea can go a very long way.
The Fundraising Coordinator is ultimately responsible for making sure that all of the money raised through the Competition is sent to the Treasurer of the OC, and in turn to Gumball Capital.
Specific duties include:
1.Keeping track of money acquired through fundraising
2.Making sure that donation pledges do convert to donation dollars
3.Approaching local businesses, dorms, professors, academic departments, and community members to raise matching grants
4.Working with the Events Coordinator to create fundraising opportunities which can be turned into matching grants
5.Making sure that all fundraising efforts are in compliance with university and legal rules
6.Collecting revenue generated from each Challenge competitor, and returning it to the OC Treasurer
7.Reporting all financial dealings to the OC Treasurer
You're ready to go!
Once your OC has been established, and you've assigned all the necessary roles and responsibilities, you are ready to initiate The Gumball Challenge! You have the most important role to fill throughout the Challenge, and its success relies on your determination, effort, and commitment. Good luck!
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