Cancer and Madagascar student projects among first to get crowd-funding boost

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The University of Manchester has launched an innovative crowd-funding platform to help staff and students raise money for socially responsible projects at home and abroad, which is already helping a cancer awareness organisation and a project to provide medication to children in Madagascar.

The University’s Development and Alumni Relations team has established the platform to bring the many fundraising ideas presented to them to life, and to support the ideas by bringing them under the University brand. The platform can’t be used for commercial enterprises, to fund living costs or to raise money for other charities - many of the projects will benefit communities, but they can also support the University’s mission of providing outstanding teaching and learning experiences to students, or support world-leading research.

Crowd-funding is appealing to young and engaged donors, as it allows them to stay in touch with the people running a project, share items on social media and see the results of donations through regular email newsletters. Users of the Manchester platform will offer rewards for donations – such as a handwritten thank you letter - along with updates as their project progresses.

The team will assist the creators of the projects throughout the process, providing them with advice and guidance for reaching their target audiences, and building a good pitch. This support will enhance their future employability, as it will build their project management and communication skills using methods familiar to a generation adept at using social media. Creators will set funding targets, and payments will be taken from donors if these are reached.

As well as engaging with new donors through fundraising activities at Manchester, the team behind the platform hopes that it will provide a way to stay in touch with recent graduates by obtaining their support with projects being led by current students.