Title

#KeepVolunteeringCool - A Marketing Analysis of the URI Service Corps

Author(s)

Caroline L. Hacunda, University of Rhode IslandFollow

Major

Supply Chain Management

Advisor

Miller, Sarah

Date

5-2017

Keywords

service; volunteer; marketing; business; advertising

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Abstract

Since 2009, the University of Rhode Island has offered Alternative Spring Break trips to students who are passionate about service and want to become more involved within the community doing meaningful and engaging volunteer work. These trips are completely student planned and fundraised with the guidance of a group of student leaders for each trip. Over the years, this program has exponentially grown, leading to our biggest year yet with two trips staying in Rhode Island and three out of state trips offered in 2017. In the past, the spring break trips were hosted by URI S.A.V.E.S and URI Habitat for Humanity, two other volunteer organizations on campus. They have since broken off into a new club called the URI Service Corps. This brand-new organization on campus will now execute the spring break trips allowing students to be fully immersed in the culture and societal issues of whatever community they travel to. Along with becoming its own separate organization, another new edition this year is the introduction of an executive board consisting of a President, Fundraising Chair, Treasurer, and my role as the Marketer.

As the first ever Marketer for the Service Corps, my Honors project develops a marketing plan to be used in future years by students in this position. This plan is broken down into five steps to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and how it can be promoted more effectively. I define the club’s objectives, discuss the situational analysis, identify opportunities, analyze the marketing mix, and finally evaluate the performance. As a business major, I wanted to bring together the skills I learned in the classroom and serve my College by leaving a lasting resource that would set the groundwork for the future. Within the marketing plan I offer my own personal insight and experiences. I have also been running the social media platforms and created transition materials to hopefully make a smooth changeover for next year’s board. The goal of this plan is to generate awareness around the important issues our organization tackles and to help find new ways to recruit a diverse group of students to experience the Alternative Spring Break trips.