Students at Mississippi State University can make a contribution to the student relief fund through ChangeMob, a new partnership with Aramark.
Rhett Hobart, Student Association president, said ChangeMob has partnered with Aramark at MSU, and all donations go directly to MSU’s student relief fund.
“The student relief fund was created after Hurricane Katrina to help students in need,” Hobart said. “In more recent events, the fund has helped students after fires at Campus Trails and Crossgates. (The student relief fund) is all about helping students get back on their feet and helping them be able to remain successful in college.”
Jonathan Kuiper, founder of ChangeMob, said it is built on the premise that people can donate to a worthy cause while simultaneously getting rewarded.
“We find a cause that we like and expose it to our users,” he said. “The users give a dollar, or more if they feel like it. The ChangeMob then sends a reward to the user’s account. We don’t touch any of that dollar — it all goes into escrow, and then on to the specific need.”
 
 
“The idea is that we raise a lot of money in a way that people can give and get something worth more than a dollar in return,” Kuiper said.
Currently, the reward for students who donate to ChangeMob is a buy-one-get-one-free breakfast at Burger King, Hobart said.
Kuiper said future deals will expand to other on-campus dining locations.
“Other deals in the pipeline include Mississippi Steak, Village Pizza and Hawthorn,” he said. “We also have some buy-a-night, get-a-night-free with Holiday Inn Express for all of the Bulldog fans that may be trying to book a hotel room. As we continue to grow, we will be rewarding with all sorts of products and offers.”
ChangeMob launched in September, but it has been in the works since September 2010, Kuiper said.
MSU is the first university to partner with ChangeMob, and Kuiper said additional universities are expected to partner with ChangeMob in the coming months. Hobart said MSU is pleased to be the first university to join the mutually beneficial ChangeMob partnership.
“MSU is excited to be the first university to partner with ChangeMob and give rewards to our students while also benefiting our student relief fund,” Hobart said.
Gary Black, co-owner and head of sales for ChangeMob, said the partnership with Aramark at MSU is a great starting point for ChangeMob.
“Aramark is offering some great rewards for those who give a dollar to benefit the MSU student relief fund,” Black said. “The ChangeMob works to help businesses brand themselves with the non-profits they support, and Aramark’s initial deal is helping us reach that goal. We are looking forward to seeing what sorts of deals can happen with Aramark on college campuses nationwide.”
Hobart said students can also gain recognition for their campus organizations through ChangeMob.
“If you’re involved with a campus organization, you can also get credit for those when you register on the website,” Hobart said. “We will recognize the organizations with the most contributions at Bulldog Bash on Friday, Nov. 11.”
Hobart said students can also access their ChangeMob accounts through the ChangeMob mobile application.