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Use this toolkit to help you plan out your campaign before submitting an application. Ready to submit an application? Apply here!
Use this toolkit to help you plan out your campaign before submitting an application. Ready to submit an application? Apply here!
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Eligibility
Eligibility
Use of the MIT Crowdfunding platform is restricted to projects that meet the following eligibility criteria. Projects MUST meet ALL the following eligibility criteria to use the MIT Crowdfunding platform.
- Funds raised must be used for MIT-centered activities
- Projects must have an active seven-digit fund designation
- Project goals should be under $20,000*
- Project teams must identify five donors to make a gift of at $10+ toward the campaign prior to launch
- Project teams must have a plan to promote the campaign outside of Annual Giving support
- Project teams must have 5-10 people to work on the campaign
* If your project goal is over $20,000, please contact us at crowdfund@mit.edu before applying.
Use of the MIT Crowdfunding platform is restricted to projects that meet the following eligibility criteria. Projects MUST meet ALL the following eligibility criteria to use the MIT Crowdfunding platform.
- Funds raised must be used for MIT-centered activities
- Projects must have an active seven-digit fund designation
- Project goals should be under $20,000*
- Project teams must identify five donors to make a gift of at $10+ toward the campaign prior to launch
- Project teams must have a plan to promote the campaign outside of Annual Giving support
- Project teams must have 5-10 people to work on the campaign
* If your project goal is over $20,000, please contact us at crowdfund@mit.edu before applying.
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1. Accepted Projects
While many projects are acceptable for crowdfunding, the projects that will do well have a specific fundraising need. Why are you raising money? What will the funds go toward? The more detailed you are, the more your donors feel like they’re directly impacting something they support, and the more likely they are to give.
Past projects that have done well include:
- New tools for the Hobby Shop
- Raising funds to travel for a vehicle efficiency test
- Subsidizing new memberships for a national student organization
- Launching a new mobile-friendly platform for OpenCourseWare
- Saving the Radome
Funds raised must be used for MIT-centered activities. Funds cannot be redirected to a third party, an external charity, or other nonprofit. MIT cannot act as a “pass-through” entity to provide funding to other charities and causes. Projects that appear to serve as a “pass-through” will be rejected and cannot participate in the crowdfunding program. MIT Crowdfunding is not a resource for endowments, capital, or personal projects.
2. Fund Designation
We need to know where money raised should go!
The seven-digit fund designation is the philanthropic account that funds raised should be allocated to at the conclusion of the campaign. To ensure compliance with MIT guidelines, all projects must have an approved fund designation to which donations can be accepted and then distributed. Typically groups will be in contact with a financial administrator to confirm use of a fund designation for gifts.
You can visit giving.mit.edu and check for the appropriate fund to accommodate your project. Please check with an advisor or financial administrator to confirm that you can use the fund for your project before listing it on the application. Teams may use a fund designation associated with a sponsoring unit, such as a department, program, or center with the approval of the administrator in that area.
MIT Annual Giving does not manage the distribution of funds after a completed project—please make sure are up to date on retrieving funds from your campaign. If you do not have a fund, crowdfunding with MIT Annual Giving is not an option for your group at this time.
Some examples of fund designations:
- BAMIT Community Advancement Program (BCAP) Fund (3647025)
- MIT Emergency Ventilator Project (3887150)
- East Campus Residence (2720103)
- MITEI Student Activities Fund (2739643)
If a new fund needs to be created, please contact your department financial administrator.
Fund vs General Cost Object
Fund Designation:
- Used for philanthropic revenue
- Account numbers are between 2000000-2999999 or 3669000-4479999
General Cost Object:
- Used for activities and operations (expenses)
- Account numbers are between 1380000-1999999—cannot be used for fundraising
3. Goals
Typical MIT crowdfunding projects raise between $3,000 - $15,000. Your target goal should take the following into consideration: the financial need of your project, the size of your potential donor base, your team's personal contacts, and the level of individual dedication invested by your project team. The MIT Annual Giving team may also work with you on the appropriate goal for your campaign after you have listed your proposed goal.
In most campaigns, crowdfunding is just a portion of your total fundraising for a project. You can usually get an idea of how much you can raise by the number of personal contacts shared by your team and ambassadors.
A formula we like to use is 4(# of contacts) = Probable $ Raised.
Each personal contact has a potential crowdfunding value of about $4, so if you have 1,000 email addresses, you can generally estimate a return of $4,000 and should set your goal there.
Keep in mind that your goal and campaign progress influences whether people decide to contribute to your project. Supporters often rally behind projects they perceive as promising. Therefore, opting for an extremely high target might discourage potential donors.
It is best to set realistic and attainable goals and strive to surpass them. You can always increase your goal if the campaign is doing well—and making your first goal makes your campaign look like it's doing *really* well.
4. Early Donors
We want your campaign to have the best possible chance of success. Gifts during the quiet phase—aka early donors—help your campaign in two ways.
- Getting off to a good start boosts confidence when the campaign "officially" launches. It's important to show good progress toward your fundraising goal by the end of the quiet phase. Donors are more likely to support projects that have about 20% of their goal secured by the end of the quiet phase because they see them as successful.
- In getting early gifts from your closest supporters, you're also getting early feedback on your campaign. They will let you know if you need to make any tweaks before the campaign goes "public" and you start promoting your campaign to a larger audience.
5. Promoting Your Campaign
What’s your plan for outreach after launching a campaign? In an increasingly crowded virtual world, promotion is a must if you want your campaign to be seen, and ultimately if you want people to donate.
MIT Annual Giving can provide some support, but the key to successful crowdfunding is tapping into personal networks—your most dedicated supporters love MIT, but they REALLY love you and your project.
You can use your personal, group, department or team’s email lists, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn groups, etc. to promote your project. If you or your team do not have a pre-existing audience (personal or otherwise), then crowdfunding might not be the best platform to raise money for your project.
Here are some quick ideas to promote your campaign:
- Email, text, and call your classmates, friends, family, colleagues, mentors, and more
- Post about your campaign on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, WhatsApp, or any social media platform of your choice
- Find kindred spirits or partners to be ambassadors and promote your campaign
It will take your entire team to be successful. Sharing your campaign is the only way to be successful.
Need help with figuring out how to get the word out or templates for inspiration? Check out the Campaign Promotion Toolkit.
6. Teams
Project teams must have 5-10 people to work on the campaign. Campaigns with teams raise 80 percent more funds than those run by an individual, and we want you to be successful! The larger the project goal, the larger the project team should be.
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Your Team
Your Team
Campaigns with teams raise 80 percent more funds than those run by an individual, and we want you to be successful! With rare exceptions, campaigns don’t go viral without work; for each success story, there are just as many that are unsuccessful. It’s up to you and your volunteers to put in the required work in preparation for a campaign and during the campaign.
We require at 5-10 people on a project team fulfilling at least three roles. The larger the project goal, the larger the project team should be.
Campaigns with teams raise 80 percent more funds than those run by an individual, and we want you to be successful! With rare exceptions, campaigns don’t go viral without work; for each success story, there are just as many that are unsuccessful. It’s up to you and your volunteers to put in the required work in preparation for a campaign and during the campaign.
We require at 5-10 people on a project team fulfilling at least three roles. The larger the project goal, the larger the project team should be.
Project Leaders
- Main liaisons with MIT Annual Giving staff
- Keep track of campaign progress
- Confirm 5 donors to make gifts of at least $10 to the campaign before launch. Alternatively project leaders may confirm sources for 20% of the campaign goal prior to launch.
Project Leaders
- Main liaisons with MIT Annual Giving staff
- Keep track of campaign progress
- Confirm 5 donors to make gifts of at least $10 to the campaign before launch. Alternatively project leaders may confirm sources for 20% of the campaign goal prior to launch.
Project Champions
- Work with project leaders to create the project application and content like videos, announcements, campaign updates, and write thank-yous to campaign donors
- Share project with their personal and social networks
- Find ways to promote project
Project Champions
- Work with project leaders to create the project application and content like videos, announcements, campaign updates, and write thank-yous to campaign donors
- Share project with their personal and social networks
- Find ways to promote project
Project Ambassadors
- Committed to fundraising on behalf of the project. Willing to share project with their personal and social networks and help as directed by project team (sending emails, posting social media updates, etc.)
- Depending on project strategy, add personal emails to the peer-to-peer solicitation email list.
Project Ambassadors
- Committed to fundraising on behalf of the project. Willing to share project with their personal and social networks and help as directed by project team (sending emails, posting social media updates, etc.)
- Depending on project strategy, add personal emails to the peer-to-peer solicitation email list.
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Application Tips
Application Tips
Some tips to help you with your application.
The Team
All registered students, organizations, competitive sport teams, full-time faculty, staff members, postdocs, development officers, schools, departments, labs, centers, and pretty much any other member of the MIT community that would like to raise funds for a project or initiative at MIT.
If an MIT staff member is working with you on your campaign, please note their name, title, and email under Team Members.
The Project
This is the section that shows who your group is, what project your group is working on, and why support is needed. Be sure to include how the project is related to MIT. The entire project description should be roughly 300 words. Keep this section concise, but personal—this is basically an elevator pitch!
If your application is accepted, this content can be used for the campaign description. Remember, alumni and future donors aren’t going to want to read a lot of text.
- Tell us about your group or organization.
- Who are you? Introduce the team, organization, or group of people working on the project.
- What is the purpose of your project?
- Describe the project that needs funding and what you're trying to achieve. Tell us about your goal or any other important highlights that the reader should know about.
- Why are you raising money?
- State your need. Why does your project need funds? How will the funds be used? How can a donor help? This section should include a clear ask to give.
- How will your project impact MIT or the greater community?
- What are you hoping to achieve? If the project is funded, what will you be able to do?
Project Details
- Desired Crowdfunding Launch Date
- We highly recommend planning in advance to make sure you have the funds you need before you need them. For example, if you are planning a campaign for a competition in the spring and need funds by April, we recommend applying for a November launch date. Campaigns rarely make their full goal in the first few days after launch.
- MIT 7-Digit Fund Number
- Again, you may need to verify the fund with an advisor or financial administrator. Note the difference between a fund and a general cost object.
- What activities or events do you have planned to promote your project and thank supporters?
- Please share your plans for promoting your project here. It will take your entire team to be successful. Sharing your campaign is the only way to be successful. Check out the Campaign Promotion Toolkit for inspiration and templates.
- Applications without a considered plan for promotion will not be approved.
Some tips to help you with your application.
The Team
All registered students, organizations, competitive sport teams, full-time faculty, staff members, postdocs, development officers, schools, departments, labs, centers, and pretty much any other member of the MIT community that would like to raise funds for a project or initiative at MIT.
If an MIT staff member is working with you on your campaign, please note their name, title, and email under Team Members.
The Project
This is the section that shows who your group is, what project your group is working on, and why support is needed. Be sure to include how the project is related to MIT. The entire project description should be roughly 300 words. Keep this section concise, but personal—this is basically an elevator pitch!
If your application is accepted, this content can be used for the campaign description. Remember, alumni and future donors aren’t going to want to read a lot of text.
- Tell us about your group or organization.
- Who are you? Introduce the team, organization, or group of people working on the project.
- What is the purpose of your project?
- Describe the project that needs funding and what you're trying to achieve. Tell us about your goal or any other important highlights that the reader should know about.
- Why are you raising money?
- State your need. Why does your project need funds? How will the funds be used? How can a donor help? This section should include a clear ask to give.
- How will your project impact MIT or the greater community?
- What are you hoping to achieve? If the project is funded, what will you be able to do?
Project Details
- Desired Crowdfunding Launch Date
- We highly recommend planning in advance to make sure you have the funds you need before you need them. For example, if you are planning a campaign for a competition in the spring and need funds by April, we recommend applying for a November launch date. Campaigns rarely make their full goal in the first few days after launch.
- MIT 7-Digit Fund Number
- Again, you may need to verify the fund with an advisor or financial administrator. Note the difference between a fund and a general cost object.
- What activities or events do you have planned to promote your project and thank supporters?
- Please share your plans for promoting your project here. It will take your entire team to be successful. Sharing your campaign is the only way to be successful. Check out the Campaign Promotion Toolkit for inspiration and templates.
- Applications without a considered plan for promotion will not be approved.
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Our campaign was approved. Now what?
Our campaign was approved. Now what?
After your campaign is approved, your team will work with MIT Annual Giving staff to get your campaign page up and running. Here are some additional items we’ll need, and some things to consider. You will have one week from the time your campaign is approved to provide these items. We highly recommend working on these items while waiting for your application to be reviewed.
- Campaign Image. Try to pick something engaging and dynamic, ideally, an image that features people. This is often more compelling than using a logo. Make sure you have permission to use the images you select, and the likeness of any people in your images. Please make sure your chosen image is between 1-5MB and is landscape orientation (horizontal). The image will be cropped to a 16:9 ratio.
- Project Title. Max 50 characters. You can use the project title from your application.
- Project Summary. Max 100 characters. You can use the same summary from your application.
- Project Story. This could be the project description from your application or a more descriptive case for support.
- Compelling media (optional). We highly recommend including additional images, videos, infographics, etc. in your project story to boost your case for support.
- At this time we can only embed video links from sources like YouTube and Vimeo. Google Drive and TikTok links don't currently work on the platform.
- Please make sure any additional images are between 1-5MB.
- Suggested donations (optional). What would a meaningful gift be for the project? For example, a gift of $100 could cover member fees for one person. Suggested donations or giving levels can give donors a tangible idea of how they can directly impact your project.
- Incentives (optional). To thank supporters, the campaign team may offer small perks or gifts. This includes material goods, exclusive experiences, or special recognition (T-shirts, virtual meet-and-greet, a shout-out in an event program). Levels offer the donor further transparency into where their gift is going.
We also suggest you start preparing to execute your plans for promoting your campaign. Need additional help on promoting your campaign or interested in templates for inspiration? Check out the Campaign Promotion Toolkit.
After your campaign is approved, your team will work with MIT Annual Giving staff to get your campaign page up and running. Here are some additional items we’ll need, and some things to consider. You will have one week from the time your campaign is approved to provide these items. We highly recommend working on these items while waiting for your application to be reviewed.
- Campaign Image. Try to pick something engaging and dynamic, ideally, an image that features people. This is often more compelling than using a logo. Make sure you have permission to use the images you select, and the likeness of any people in your images. Please make sure your chosen image is between 1-5MB and is landscape orientation (horizontal). The image will be cropped to a 16:9 ratio.
- Project Title. Max 50 characters. You can use the project title from your application.
- Project Summary. Max 100 characters. You can use the same summary from your application.
- Project Story. This could be the project description from your application or a more descriptive case for support.
- Compelling media (optional). We highly recommend including additional images, videos, infographics, etc. in your project story to boost your case for support.
- At this time we can only embed video links from sources like YouTube and Vimeo. Google Drive and TikTok links don't currently work on the platform.
- Please make sure any additional images are between 1-5MB.
- Suggested donations (optional). What would a meaningful gift be for the project? For example, a gift of $100 could cover member fees for one person. Suggested donations or giving levels can give donors a tangible idea of how they can directly impact your project.
- Incentives (optional). To thank supporters, the campaign team may offer small perks or gifts. This includes material goods, exclusive experiences, or special recognition (T-shirts, virtual meet-and-greet, a shout-out in an event program). Levels offer the donor further transparency into where their gift is going.
We also suggest you start preparing to execute your plans for promoting your campaign. Need additional help on promoting your campaign or interested in templates for inspiration? Check out the Campaign Promotion Toolkit.
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