Popular College Plant Drop Program Expands Online
December 15, 2019 
A couple years ago, the Collegiate Plant Initiative (CPI), a student-run organization that started at the University of Florida with the goal of connecting college students with plants and teaching them more about opportunities in the plant industry, started hosting “Plant Drop” events. During these events, CPI members went to college campuses across the country to give away free plants to students passing by.
After hosting 15 Plant Drops at 10 universities, one thing became clear: people really love plants! Getting 15,000 plants in the hands of college students led to a skyrocketing demand for these events.
While this was great news, CPI members began considering how to meet this growing demand all at once, how to make planning and executing these events more efficient, and how to foster stronger relationships between schools and their local plant industry.
The answer: PlantDrop.org.
In addition to traditional Plant Drops, PlantDrop.org was created to help colleges and universities host their own events. By facilitating relationships between academic and industry partners while providing support from a distance, CPI hopes to create a sustainable model that encourages long-term growth and partnerships.
Faculty and staff members of colleges and universities can apply for a Plant Drop online. An online form includes questions about timing and logistics so academic partners can be matched with an appropriate donor. Additionally, questions about the academic partner’s goals are included to assist CPI in developing a plan to market the event and engage students.
Companies interested in supporting a Plant Drop can express this interest by completing the same form online. Once CPI find potential matches, donors will be able to choose which event(s) they would like to support.
For more information, email [email protected].
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