fundraising
$2 Million in 14 Days: Campuses, Crowdfunding, and COVID-19 Emergency Funds
As campuses and charities navigate the coronavirus crisis, getting support for students, staff, and programs that have been disrupted is crucial. It’s also an opportunity for your supporters to take action and help in this time of need.
That’s what our client campuses have done, harnessing the philanthropic spirit of their constituents to support those disrupted on campus, those suffering from this pandemic as well as those fighting it. Check out their fund pages:
University of California, Los Angeles: UCLA was an early adopter of crowdfunding, and their funds include over $100,000 in crisis support as well as patient support and medical research.
University of Arizona: With over $361,000 raised, Fuel the Response for Arizona Students supports the Student Emergency Fund and food pantry.
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Emory University: A selection of projects on Emory’s crowdfunding portal assist with COVD-19 response.
Morehouse College: With clear, direct messaging, The Student Emergency Assistance Fund helps support students with travel funds, technology support and housing and food insecurity.
Trinity University: Brand new to the platform, Trinity University named their fund after a chaplain emeritus very dear to the community.
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These institutions were able to quickly stand up funds and receive donations immediately through already established gift processing. The funds are social, show immediate impact, and are easy to promote.
We looked at the over 100 emergency funds created on the RNL Crowdfunding Powered by ScaleFunder platform during the first two weeks of the crisis. Over $2 million was contributed during this period from over 12,000 donors.
The top things we’ve seen institutions do:
- Ensure that pages are mobile-optimized.
- Engage ambassadors to help, whether it’s structured volunteers through integrated ambassador tracking or just getting the word out on social media.
- Make a video intro of the fund, with key students, such as student government presidents, speaking to the need.
- Send regular updates on the amount raised, and impact.
We want to help you by waiving our fees for RNL Crowdfunding
To help you stand up your own needed crowdfunding projects during this difficult time, we have waived the fees for new partners to jump on board the RNL Crowdfunding platform if they sign up before June 30. More than 40 institutions have taken the offer.
Contact us today and we’ll get you set up and quickly engaging donors during this important time.
About the Author
Eric Billings is a passionate fundraising professional with just over a decade of industry experience, including major gift fundraising, planned giving, and annual giving. He has focused a majority of his career exploring innovative and...
Read more about Eric's experience and expertise
Reach Eric by e-mail at Eric.Billings@RuffaloNL.com.