Use this toolkit to help you plan out your campaign before submitting an application. Ready to submit an application? Apply here! 

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. 

1. Funds raised must be used for MIT-centered activities
2. Projects must have an active seven-digit fund designation
3. Project goals should be under $20,000*
4. Project teams must identify five donors to make a gift of at $10+ toward the campaign prior to launch
5. Project teams must have a plan to promote the campaign outside of Annual Giving support
6. 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.

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. 

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. 

1. Tell us about your group or organization. 
   • Who are you? Introduce the team, organization, or group of people working on the project. 
2. 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. 
3. 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. 
4. 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.

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.