The hive of activity of recent weeks around the IT Sligo campus and the wider Sligo community has been nothing short of remarkable for enterprising 3rd year marketing students, who are taking the course module ‘non profit marketing’ as part of their business degree course.
They have raised almost €9,000 from a range of events in recent weeks with every conceivable and ingenious method used to bring in that vital extra euro.
The original concept for the course emanated from IT Sligo’s own ‘team network’ grouping, which was set up to examine external requests from charities and event organisers for money. This was the catalyst which eventually saw the module itself being created for business marketing students in 2006 – one of the first of its kind in Ireland at the time.
Charities to benefit this year include the North West Hospice, the Irish Cancer Society, the Bill W Club, Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Down Syndrome Sligo, Irish Autism Action and Make a Wish Foundation.
Roisin O’Malley, one of the 3rd year students involved said: “During the month of November as part of my non profit marketing class, I asked IT Sligo to Turn Their Swag on for charity. We organised a fashion show for the Irish Cancer Society and raised some serious cash – over €2000! We were absolutely delighted. It was a great night of pure glamour and a huge success.”
Since the course started at IT Sligo, just short of €40,000 has been raised for charities.
Lecturer Joanna Sweeney from the Department of Marketing, Tourism & Leisure in the School of Business & Humanities, has been impressed, both with the course itself and the initiative of the students involved.
She said: “There are now more charities in the world than ever before. ‘Marketeering’ is becoming an essential part of their mission to raise money, especially in the current economic climate. A lot of the larger charities are employing marketing graduates to achieve unique selling points.
“With the recession, fund raising events are being used more than ever to raise money. If people feel they are going to get a good night out, they will support it, regardless of what charity is involved. It’s a new and emerging area where graduates can seek work, especially with people being laid off and services being cut. There will also be a greater need for non profit organisations to pick up the mess of the recession,” she added.
The ‘non profit marketing’ students have been able to decide what registered charity they want to work with as part of their course module. They have also been given the initiative to be creative and inventive.
“In some cases, they have been able to pick up part-time work, even before leaving college. This has also included other areas of paid work, like research. It has then allowed graduates to take up full time roles within non-profit organisations after leaving IT Sligo. In other areas, it has also proved beneficial, as employers are always keenly impressed with active citizenship by potential employees.”
“The subject shows a working example of social entrepreneurship and gives the students practical skills in marketing and event management. The students get to deliver on their creativity and innovation through the events they decide to implement. Overall, it is a fun way to learn about non profit organisations while giving something back to society,” she concluded.
The following includes the 2010 charity events themselves, the beneficiaries and the money raised by the IT Sligo students taking the ‘non profit marketing’ module as part of their business marketing degree:
Fun Walk North West Hospice €970.90
Fashion Show The Irish Cancer Society €2,402.86
The Nearly Naked Mile The Bill W Club €1,103.75
Don’t Forget The Lyrics Temple St. Children’s Hospital €780.00
The Thorn of Sligo Down Syndrome Sligo €1,056.00
Mad Hatters Tea Party Irish Autism Action €937.00
Sligo West Fest Make a Wish Foundation €1,736.19
Front row from right to left: Lecturer Joanna Sweeney, Jackie Lynch, Jenny Kilgannon, Louise Dillon, Kate Kelly, Tara Timlon, Laura Dobbyn, Angelina Geery, Marina Nicholson.
Back row from left to right: Emma Egan, Caroline Finn, Helena Moran, Annette Lang, Veronica Gleeson, Niamh Feely, Michelle Flynn, Roisin O’Malley.