Monopoly: Grand Rapids Edition is an officially licensed Hasbro board game representing local businesses and locations from the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The game was created by students from Grand Valley State University and sold exclusively at Meijer stores.
Contents
Creation
The board game was conceived by the president and graduate advisor of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Grand Valley State University chapter.
Team
CEO members Jeff Webb (President), Daryn Kuipers (Project Leader) and John Dykhouse started to work on the project. Starting with a business plan, the group refined their project and prepared it for presentation to the heads of GVSU.
"Grand Rapids is based on a heritage of family-owned businesses and entrepreneurship," said project leader Daryn Kuipers, a finance and management major at GVSU. "We felt with the purpose of our organization, this would be a great way to highlight their presence."
Process
Upon completion of the Business Plan and review sessions with Schwarz and Professor Robert Frey, the team made their proposal to then-Interim Seidman College of Business Dean John Reifel, Vice President of Finance Tim Schad, Provost Gayle Davis and President Mark Murray. They were then given the green light to make presentations to outside businesses.
Pitching to outside businesses
The group then began their process of pitching local companies. This included presentations for executive teams from Grand Rapids-based companies like Amway (at that time Alticor) and Meijer.
Webb admits that it took a lot of convincing to show some companies that the organization was serious about pursuing the project, including presentations to high-level executives and CEOs. Even after the sponsor agreed to the plan, the members still had to coordinate the use of each logo (including visits back to the sponsors for logo approval).
Project leader Kuipers said, "It is an unbelievable feeling for a CEO to look you in the eye, shake your hand, and say that they would love to be part of this great project."
Properties
Boardwalk - Alticor
Luxury Tax - Amway Grand Plaza Hotel
Park Place - Meijer
Chance - "Calder" (La Grand Vitesse)
Short Line Railroad - Betten Imports
Pennsylvania Avenue - Steelcase
Community Chest - The DaVinci Horse
North Carolina Avenue - Bissell
Pacific Avenue - Israel's Designs for Living
Marvin Gardens - Gordon Food Service
Water Works - The Grand Rapids Press
Vermont Avenue - Koeze Nuts
Atlantic Avenue - Old Orchard
B&O Railroad - Grand Chevrolet
Illinois Avenue - The B.O.B.
Indiana Avenue - The 1913 Room
Kentucky Avenue - The Sierra Room
New York Avenue - Padnos
Tennessee Avenue - Behler-Young
St. James Place - Monarch Hydraulics
Pennsylvania Railroad - Good GMC
Virginia Avenue - Rockford Construction
States Avenue - Wolverine Building Corp
Electric Company - WZZM 13
St. Charles Place - The Bouma Corp
Connecticut Avenue - Grand Valley State University
Vermont Avenue - Calvin College
Oriental Avenue - Aquinas College
Reading Railroad - Kool Chevrolet
Income Tax - The Meadows Golf Course
Baltic Avenue - The Grand Rapids Fire Department
Mediterranean Avenue - The Grand Rapids Police Department
Tokens
The custom tokens for the board game consist of the following: - The American Horse, known as "The Da Vinci" horse. This is a featured installation at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI - The Grand Rapids Press Newspaper - Van Andel Arena, home of the Grand Rapids Griffins - DeVos Place, convention center - John Ball statue, statue installed at John Ball Park Zoo
Money
All denominations of money feature the United Bank and GVSU Chapter of Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization logo.
Cover
The box cover features photos taken by Daryn Kuipers and Dan Mulka. The cover also features photos provided by Van Andel Arena and Grand Valley State University.
Awards
The Monopoly project was named the Best National Fundraiser from the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization at their national conference at Navy Pier in Chicago on November 7, 2004. Project Leader Daryn Kuipers was nominated for Best Student Leader (finishing in the Top 10 nationally). Dan Mulka was nominated as Best Advisor (finishing in the Top 10 nationally).
Monies raised
Monies raised by the project were used to start a sustaining scholarship fund for entrepreneurial students at GVSU. The scholarship is now awarded as the top prize for GVSU's Regional Business Plan Competition, which is open to entrepreneurial students from all colleges.