The Ferris State University Alumni Association has entered into a partnership with Upper Peninsula hat company Stormy Kromer to sell Ferris-branded merchandise and raise scholarship funds for students.
The alumni association is a non-dues-paying organization that students are automatically entered into upon graduation from the university.
The goal of the association is to assist alumni with staying connected to the university and other alumni post-graduation.
The association holds events across Michigan, allowing networking opportunities, as well as offering benefits such as store discounts.
One of the priorities of the association is to give back to students, most frequently in the form of scholarships.
The main scholarship that the alumni association fundraises money for and manages is the Legacy Scholarship.
This financial aid award is a one-time opportunity of $2,000 available to students who are the child, sibling or grandchild of a Ferris alum.
Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving Brandi Behrenwald explained that the partnership is directed toward both marketing for the university and scholarship fundraising.
“We are very proud of the Bulldog logo,” Behrenwald said. “That’s always a good look for Ferris and it’s about showing Ferris pride. We also sat down and negotiated with Stormy, and for every cap that’s bought, Stormy is giving us twenty dollars toward student scholarships.”
The partnership developed when the President of the association, Luke Eddington, found a LinkedIn post from Stormy Kromer about a project the company had done with a different school.
Members of the association reached out to the company and began negotiating potential outcomes of a partnership deal.
The company has offered three hat designs with the FSU logo on them, which were unveiled at the Homecoming football game tailgate on Sept. 26.
Stormy Kromer offered a full line of college-branded gear, showcasing logos from several Michigan schools, such as Michigan State University and Northern Michigan University.
Ferris is the only university that has three different color designs offered.
The Ferris hats are offered in black, red and black flannel and the signature red and gold colors.
The hats retail for $55 on the Stormy Kromer website.
The company also offered to create custom hats for each player of the FSU hockey team.
These hats will be personalized with the player’s jersey number.
Math education sophomore Braden Free expressed appreciation for the alumni association partnering with a local company.
“I would say having a partnership with a local branch makes it easier to connect with students on that level,” Free said. “Larger companies have scholarship contests that nobody really wins, so I think it is helpful to be partnered with a local brand.”
The alumni association has engaged in partnerships such as this one in the past with the same goal in mind.
Most recently, the association partnered with Shinola to create custom watches.
According to Behrenwald, while the Shinola partnership was successful, the hope is to better cater to the Ferris audience through the Stormy Kromer partnership.
“This is a piece of apparel that fits everybody’s wallet almost,” Behrenwald said. “They sell for $55, which is more of a blue-collar object, whereas the Shinola, you might consider more white collar. Now we’re going to offer something more casual. It’s just a whole different market and that is what Ferris is about.”
Behrenwald also explained that it was important for the association to partner with a brand that shared similar values and morals with the university.
Students interested in learning more about the alumni association can visit the association’s page on the Ferris website.