The cost of college is rising, and for some University students there is little room for extra expenses. Crowdsourcing websites are growing in popularity as a way for students to fundraise.
When five University dance minors were accepted to perform a piece at the NYC Dance Arts Festival, they were overwhelmed with excitement and thoughts of the trip’s cost for travel to Manhattan. To combat these expenses, English junior Molly Russell put their cause on GoFundMe for friends and family to donate.
The site allows anyone to look at a brief description of the cause and donate whatever they can via credit cards, similar to an online purchase.
Marlon Grigsby, biology senior, said the group has to fund their meals, hotel stay, flights and transportation costs — everything but the festival fee.
“The question was do you want to go. Of course you want to go. Now pay your own way,” Grigsby said.
Students, friends and family are contributors to the cause. While students contribute what they can, heftier donations come from adults, Russell said.
“Everyone gives a little. It adds up to a lot,” Russell said.
Communication studies freshman and dancer Macy Dunne said the site can be shared on social media, making it efficient when results turn out faster.
University Formula Society of Automotive Engineers uses the site to fundraise travel to an engineering competition. At the competition, the group will present a business plan to sell a race car to a specific market and build the car designed in their plan.
Alex Rome, a civil engineering sophomore, said the group decided to fundraise independently because University funding did not meet the group’s needs.
If the group accepted money from sponsors, then the University would take 5 percent of the money by allocating the funds through University accounts. Since Student Government’s funding initiative for student groups only applies to full-time students, the entire group could not be covered, so the students took to the Internet.
“Crowdsourcing seemed to be the best because friends and family wanted to give, and they didn’t have an avenue to do that,” Rome said.
He said the site has mostly proven useful to connect community members who want to get involved with the club. Now the group can reach out to people who have access to computers everywhere, not just sell T-shirts in Free Speech Plaza.
When the group goes to car shows, they meet adults who are interested in the cause and donate. After, the group sends them emails and keeps them up-to-date on projects.
With about $2,660 raised, Rome said the money now helps with car construction materials and the potential to raise more money is still there.
“Crowdsourcing seemed to be the best because friends and family wanted to give and they didn’t have an avenue to do that.”