Zipcar is offering student organizations up to $5,500 each for making a difference.
The car-sharing company, which allows members to rent cars at an hourly or daily rate, received a $300,000 grant from Ford to start the "Students With Drive" program. The program provides students with free Zipcar memberships and driving credits.
From October to April, college student organizations can upload videos or photos to the Zipcar Facebook page to explain how they would use the company to make a difference on their campus or in their community. About 250 schools across the country are participating in the program.
Five finalists and 10 semi-finalists will be selected each month. Finalists will receive $5,500 each in Zipcar credits to put toward membership fees and driving costs, and semi-finalists will receive $1,000 in credits.The winners will be selected by other fans on the Facebook page, and each of the monthly winners will be eligible to win the grand prize: an additional $5,000 in driving credit, $10,000 to the organization and $10,000 to the university.
Paul Maneval, Apple service coordinator at UF Apple Tech Hub, conserves energy by carpooling to get where he needs to go.