An MSU professor plans to study new and improved ways of online fundraising, research that could have implications for the university’s donation and fundraising efforts.
Rick Wash, an assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, will use a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, or NSF, to explore crowd funding sites — applications that provide researchers or project sponsors with an outlet to receive donations geared specifically to their project.
“I look at these sites as an electronic system that matches two sides,” Wash said.
Examples of popular crowd funding sites range from dating sites to job-searching outlets, but Wash said the tactic also can be applied to various forms of university and college fundraising.
Using computer simulations of different funding websites, Wash plans to develop the best possible approach to crowd funding, a tactic that he eventually hopes to apply to an MSU-themed donation site.
On the site, students or people associated with the university could post various projects or ideas, and interested donors could contribute funding.
The method even could extend to research projects being conducted at the university.
“This is actually giving power to the donor,” said the university’s director of annual giving Kathleen Deneau, when discussing the potential for crowd funding at MSU. She said her office is “excited” to work with Wash to explore various practical uses for his research.
Improved crowd funding sites feasibly could leap a common hurdle faced by many colleges and universities across the country: a lack of donations by younger graduates.
Some existing demographic statistics indicate that younger people actually would be more interested in giving back to their alma mater through crowd funding sites.
“That’s really powerful,” Wash said.
Economics senior Adam Barry thinks people might be more likely to chip in to university projects when given a specific outlet.
“I feel a lot of people feel the same way,” he said. “If they found something to donate directly to, they would be more likely to donate.”
In the past, Deneau’s office has used specific donor-targeted fundraising to generate interest in various causes, including targeting the university’s Senior Class Council with donation options.
Deneau noted some challenges potentially could exist when using crowd funding sites, including the distribution of tax receipts to donors.
“Those are all things that we take into account,” Deneau said. “At the end of the day, we’re very interested.”
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “Professor to study fundraising ” on social media.
