New crowdfunding website

JOHNSON CITY (Oct. 19, 2018) – A new crowdfunding initiative at East Tennessee State University is making it easier for the public to support specific research and scholarly projects.

ETSU has teamed up with GiveCampus, a digital fundraising platform, to connect the community with active projects seeking financial support. Unlike other popular crowdfunding sites that do not allow campaigns to keep the money collected unless their fundraising goal is met, projects listed on the GiveCampus platform keep all accumulated donations.

Any ETSU faculty or staff member, or student, is eligible to apply to have their project featured on ETSU’s GiveCampus site. This includes scholarly activities focusing on the search for new information or approaches to solving real-world problems, as well as developing new ideas or methods. GiveCampus applicants may originate from disciplines such as natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and fine and performing arts. All projects are reviewed for quality and monitored for compliance.

Due to the competitive nature of grant funding, the GiveCampus platform offers another option for student and faculty researchers at ETSU.

“When applying for grants, there’s always a lottery factor involved,” says David Currie, director of research computing at ETSU. “This removes the lottery factor. It allows someone to publish information about the research and scholarly activities they want to do and make the case to the larger ETSU community to see if it merits funding. It gives the public the opportunity to support something they view as worthwhile.”

The GiveCampus website launched earlier this month with two initiatives.

The ETSU Center of Excellence for Paleontology’s Natural History Museum at the Gray Fossil Site is seeking funding for new 3-D printing equipment to create fossil replicas.

“Our project doesn’t really fit within the traditional funding formula, and it is something that will immediately benefit our students and museum visitors, so we thought we would give them the opportunity to contribute directly,” said Dr. Chris Widga, Gray Fossil Site paleontologist.

 Another proposal will benefit ongoing research at the ETSU Brain-Computer Interface Laboratory. Led by Dr. Eric Sellers, the research team is developing new communication methods for people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

“My research program was funded by the National Institutes of Health from 2006 to 2016, but since that time, it has been difficult to receive federal funding and conduct our research,” Sellers added. “This opportunity provides a new and innovative method of funding that can allow research to progress while we continue to apply for additional grant funding.”

Each campaign gives potential donors an inside look via video, descriptions and links to learn how their support for a particular fundraising goal will make a difference in the lives of others. Donors can share campaigns with their social media followers or by email and text, as well as offer a challenge to promote others to give.

Currie says community members have expressed interest in learning more about active research and scholarly projects on campus. ETSU’s new GiveCampus website is accessible from anywhere, allowing supporters from across the globe, including those who may not be familiar with ETSU, an opportunity to engage with the university and support its mission.  

“I’m always stunned when I see the map of ETSU alumni scattered all over the globe,” Currie said. “This is another way to get the word out to alumni around the world to reach back and support degree-seeking students and scholarly activity at ETSU.”

With the debut of the first fundraising projects on ETSU’s GiveCampus site, Currie believes it will inspire others on campus to see the benefits of crowdfunding and consider it a viable funding opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students.

“GiveCampus offers students with independently derived ideas a place to go for funding,” he added.  “When a student becomes involved in research and scholarly activities it’s one more reason they stay grounded at ETSU. While completing academic coursework, students can participate in career-building activities with the goal of getting published or getting their work out to the public.”

To access the new ETSU GiveCampus website, visit www.givecampus.com/schools/EastTennesseeStateUniversity. To learn more about crowdfunding opportunities at ETSU, contact David Currie with Research Computing Services at 423-439-6457 or currie@etsu.edu.


Media contact
Amanda Mowell
mowella@etsu.edu
423-439-4317