Purdue University Fort Wayne students win big at Flipping Finance Challenge

The Flipping Finance Challenge is an 18 hour competition that challenges teams to address the needs of their communities in creative ways. Three teams from Purdue University Fort Wayne entered the competition, representing three different towns in Indiana. Over the course of the challenge, teams developed proposals to improve their communities and find less traditional ways of funding the projects. The challenge is sponsored by Indiana Bond Bank, which provided guidance to teams through suggested categories of community improvement, according to a news release from the university.

In organizing the event, Indiana Bond Bank selected three Indiana towns as the communities of focus. The teams from Purdue University Fort Wayne were the High Hoops team, which was broken down into two groups, one of which addressed a need in the town of Sullivan, the other focusing on Knightstown. The two groups won first and second place, respectively, out of 19 total teams in the challenge. 

The High Hoops team focused on Sullivan developed a financing plan for a project that would revitalize a park in Sullivan by adding zip lines and tree houses to transform the park into an attraction. Additionally, the proposed improvements included a bike rental service and the addition of food vendors. The Sullivan team received the top honors for their plan.

Coming in second was the High Hoops team that proposed a plan for the city of Knightstown which lacks a grocery store in the community. The team developed a plan that would bring a food cooperative and a mobile grocery van to Knightstown. The added resources would help address the problem of community members lacking access to fresh food options. The Knightstown team earned a second place finish for their proposal.

Brian Carman, director of marketing and business development for the Indiana Bond Bank described the challenge and how winners were selected, "The first and second place prizes were scored and awarded by each community based on solutions specific to their community. They provided a scoring rubric that aided the innovators in designing their submission ahead of time. Submissions consisted of a short abstract and accompanying video detailing their solutions."

The Audit 1 team of Purdue University Fort Wayne was granted the People's Choice Award for their diligence in adhering to COVID-19 protocols throughout the competition.