ZTA in running for Pepsi grant

Zeta Tau Alpha’s Big Man on Campus might get a funding boost this year through the Pepsi Refresh Project.

The sorority is in the running for a $25,000 grant that would essentially pay for all the show’s expenses, said philanthropy chair and junior Kalina Dalecki.

“The auditorium itself costs nearly $20,000,” she said. “That comes directly out of the money we raise for the event. We want to make it completely expense-free so every dollar can go straight to our cause.”

Dalecki said she saw a commercial for the Pepsi project on television one day and tried for three months to send in ZTA’s application.

“I wrote up the whole application, and you have to submit it the first day of every month,” she said. “They only accept 1,000 applications, and the website stalls because so many people submit at midnight.”

Dalecki said she found out July 30 that ZTA was in the running for the month of August.

There are four categories for the grants, awarding $5,000 to $250,000. Voters are allowed 10 votes a day but can only vote for each project once a day. At the end of the month, the top 10 projects in each category will receive a grant.

“I think there’s a good chance we can be in the 10th position,” Dalecki said. “It’s actually gotten a good response. ... While we do raise a lot of money, some of it has to go to allocation. This would be an awesome way to cover all our expenses so we can donate the greatest amount of money.”

— Bailey Loosemore