Fundraising at UMBCTips for funding your student organization’s project

or initiative.

Dayna Carpenter – Director, Annual GivingOffice of Institutional Advancement, UMBCdayna@umbc.edu(410) 455-3377

Sources of Funding . . .

•SGA Funding•BreakingGround Grant•On-Campus Fundraising•Off-Campus Fundraising•Crowdfunding

Office of Institutional Advancement

• Public Relations & Marketing• Creative Services• Alumni & Development Communications• Advancement Services• Advancement Operations• Alumni Relations• Corporate & Foundation Relations• Major Gifts Fundraising• Annual Giving Program

Annual Giving Team

Broad-based outreach to parents, faculty and staff, and UMBC’s 65,000+ alumni base.• Phonathon• Direct Mail• Online Engagement (including crowdfunding)

We can partner with student organizations to:• Strategize fundraising opportunities• Build crowdfunding pages and other tools to raise

money for student activities.

What is crowdfunding?

crowd·fund·ingˈkroudˌfəndiNG/noun1. The practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.

"musicians, filmmakers, and artists have successfully raised funds and fostered awareness through crowdfunding"

History of Crowdfunding• Originated from crowdsourcing

• First platform launched in 2001

• Musicians and artists

• Grassroots political fundraising

2008 Obama Campaign• Blue State Digital• Raised $272 million from over

2 million, mostly small, donors

Crowdfunding is Growing Fast

Two Types of Funding Models

Threshold Model• Funds held in escrow account until the goal is

reached. • If goal not reached, contribution is refunded

to donor.

Keep It All Model• Project owner keeps all funds

raised, regardless of whether or not the project goal is reached.

Motivations of Crowdfunding Donors

• Want to believe that their contributions matter• Feedback loops• Reciprocal relationships• Wash’s Completion Bias

• Social Loafing . . . =0(

UMBC Crowdfunding: Pilot Year . . .

• Launched in June of 2013• Focused on student organizations • 323 total donors • 8.5% of all first-time alumni donors to UMBC• $16,838.50 (Average gift of $52.13)• Entry-point to giving for recurring gifts

Your passionate community . . .

…students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, others

. . . has the power to move the needle.

UMBC’s GiveCorps = umbc.givecorps.com

http://umbc.givecorps.com/

How do you get started?

Tell Your Story . . .

Determine a Call to Action . . .

Select a Template

Collaborate with OIA

• Build fundraising marketing strategy• Assistance in writing & editing• Working with University System of Maryland Foundation• Additional promotion• Direct Mail• Social Media• Blog Posts/Story-telling

Social side of giving . . .

What’s the right goal?Goals should be:• Specific• Challenged• Attributed to an individual vs. a group

We recommend: • Scalable Goals• Conservative enough that one donor can

see their impact ($3,000 or less)

What’s a Good Fit?

All funds raised should benefit the UMBC’s students or campus in a direct way.

In addition, the strongest candidates for the program have:• A great story• UMBC-recognized student organization• A strong leadership team• An active community of students, alumni, and parents• A minimum of 10-20 active members

We are unable to support:• Individuals• Raising funds for an outside organization

• National Chapters • Unaffiliated nonprofit organizations

• Groups that are not officially recognized as UMBC student organizations

What’s a Good Fit?

To date, we’ve helped raise funds for:• Travel expenses• Food• Production of a cd• Scholarships• Sports Equipment• Registration Fees• Car Rental

Marketing . . .

Who is the Right Audience?

Crowdfunding by Source

Email

Other Sources

Facebook

Twitter

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Academic Impressions – February 2014

Questions?

Thank You!Need more information?

Dayna Carpenter – Director, Annual Giving dayna@umbc.edu(410) 455 - 3377

Felicia Felton – Assistant Director, Annual Giving fdfelton@umbc.edu

(410) 455 - 1361