Colleges tap student entrepreneurs for creative fundraising

State funding for higher education dropped during the recession, but some schools are coming up with other ways to bring in revenue—from running an airport parking service to selling award-winning wine. In some cases, the hard work and entrepreneurial ideas of the students themselves are generating the profits.

Purchase College, a State University of New York campus, raises about $80,000 a year after turning a formerly vacant lot into Purchase Park 2 Fly, an airport parking service. A Purchase entrepreneurship professor, Bill Guerrero, developed the idea with the help of his students, who are as invested as the school in the venture’s success. Phil Sanford—one of the students who came up with the business plan and brand image—began working full-time for Purchase Park 2 Fly when he graduated.

The Westchester County Airport, six minutes from Purchase College, charges $28.80 a day for parking. The college charges $10 a day when travelers register online to park in its lot. The service also provides valet parking and a 24/7 shuttle to the airport. Signs on the shuttle buses tell travelers their money goes to “student scholarships, capital improvements, and institutional grants.”

Across the country in Washington state, the Walla Walla Community College enology and viticulture program sells what the students make in class: wine. The students market and sell the wine at College Cellars of Walla Walla, the nonprofit, on-campus winery.

The proceeds have allowed instructor Tim Donahue to make short-notice purchases for the program, something he notes is unusual for a state-run agency. It’s “not a real rosy time” for education funding, he said: “I mean it’s been cut after cut after cut.” But the winery’s proceeds allowed the program to buy two $1,500 barrels and hire extra student workers to accommodate this year’s bumper crop. Donahue said the school winery is small compared to others in the state—the students make about 18,000 bottles of wine per year—and much of the proceeds go back into fruit and equipment for the program. But a little money is always left “to help support students in times of need,” especially when they’re close to graduation, he said.

Walla Walla isn’t the only school to sell alcohol to increase revenue. The number of on-campus football stadiums selling alcohol increased to 21 this year—more than double the number five years ago. “Every institution is looking at how they can increase revenue streams, and alcohol is one of those,” said Jeff Schemmel, president of College Sports Solutions LLC.

Troy University in Alabama began selling beer at its stadium this season and gets 43 percent of gross beer sales. Schools not only hope to profit from alcohol sales, they hope to sell more game tickets as well. “Sometimes if you wanted to go to a game and were used to drinking beer, people chose to go to a bar instead of the venue,” said Ramon Trespalacios, student body president at Southern Methodist University in Texas, where beer also is on tap at the football stadium this season.

Many college students consume large quantities of a less controversial drink, coffee, and one Indiana school is profiting from that caffeine addiction. Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind., turns the profits from its student-run coffee shop into scholarships for business students. McConn Coffee Co., located in the school’s student center, hires five student interns each year. According to co-general manager Seth Harshman, the interns make the business decisions for the shop. The company makes enough money to cover its expenses and the rest goes to an endowment for student scholarships, he said. McConn Coffee awarded $4,300 in scholarships last year, Harshman said.

Although each fundraising effort is different, they all share one common marketing strategy—assuring customers their money helps support students. Sister Judy Brownell, a nun who recently used Purchase Park 2 Fly, praised the service for its convenience.

“I felt even better about it when I heard about the scholarships,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.