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Crowdfunding for two worthy faculty initiatives

Dear CAS Colleagues,

In case you haven’t heard, I want you to be aware of an innovative fundraising campaign currently underway that will benefit two CAS programs.

The campaign, called DuckFunder, is a crowdfunding approach that aims to attract lots of small gifts (and even some large ones) for very focused projects. This is a six-week campaign, now entering its final few days. It will wrap up Friday, May 19.

This year, two CAS projects were selected:

· SPICE, a summer program that inspires teen girls to stay engaged in STEM studies https://duckfunder.uoregon.edu/project/6299 Fundraising goal = $8,000

· Team Duckling, a psychology research team that studies how children learn and grow. https://duckfunder.uoregon.edu/project/6248 Fundraising goal = $10,000

I will be making a personal donation to both of these worthy projects and encourage you to:

· Visit one of the links above and consider making a small donation that will help them reach their goal

· Help get the word out by clicking on one of the social share icons at the top of the SPICE or Team Duckling crowdfunding pages (links above) to share with your friends and family via Facebook, Twitter or email.

If you have a project you’d like to be considered for next year’s DuckFunder campaign, you can submit an application here: http://giving.uoregon.edu/s/1540/development/3col.aspx?sid=1540&gid=2&pgid=4628&cid=9736

Thank you for considering this request.

Warm regards, Andrew

W. Andrew Marcus
Tykeson Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
University of Oregon
541-346-3902
http://cas.uoregon.edu/

12 Comments

  1. Salty 05/15/2017

    Will Team Duckling prove how ineffectual XXXXX is? If so, they get my money.

    [Editor’s note: Please don’t post nasty comments like this without some evidence, or at least an argument.]

    • Dog 05/15/2017

      well it is true that these are small amounts – I have been involved with the Spice program before and, for instance, 25K would go more than
      3 times farther than 8K so I don’t quite understand why our aim is
      so low.

      SPICE is a good program – it is much needed and it helps make STEM less intimidating by demonstrating that STEM is not necessarily the total domain of white, male, elitists …

  2. Dog 05/15/2017

    While these programs are good and worthy of support – I mind it amazing that the CAS entity itself can not seem to find the necessary 10K to support these.

    Moreover, they are not even offering an institutional match to the crowd funding which often acts as an incentive and is standard practice for a lot of institutions.

    More the Oregon way I suppose and just wait for the 6% pay cut likely coming on Jan 1, 2018

  3. Good but... 05/15/2017

    I like the idea of crowdfunding for specific university initiatives. It gets the community involved and gets us away from large donations that come rarely and that just get plugged into the general fund.

    However, why don’t they use platforms like GoFundMe or Kickstarter?I realize there will be fees/commissions. However, these platforms have an *enormous* international reach and a ready supply of willing donors in six continents. Who is going to find this duckfunder website? This will stay hyper local and won’t get out of the 974zipcodes. Even in innovative ideas like, we always manage to think small.

    • DWD 05/15/2017

      It probably has something to do with Oregon state laws regarding public funds. My understanding is that public funds can’t be deposited into out of state banks. University programs can’t accept PayPal, for instance, because however PayPal handles their funds is not in compliance with state law. DuckFunder may be the only way the University can do crowdfunding and still be compliant.

    • Fishwrapper 05/15/2017

      You automagically give those sites 10% (or more!) off the top. Who could even imagine using a campus like UO as a way to raise money for a private entity?

      • UO Matters Post author | 05/15/2017

        I would. They provide a valuable service – both to the recipients and to people who want to enjoy the “warm glow” of giving.

        • Fishwrapper 05/15/2017

          Maybe so. If GoFundUs or KickMeHere can do it cheaper, and folks still get the glow, shut down the Foundation…

  4. UO Observer 05/15/2017

    I think the football coach’s salary should be crowd funded. A win for both the AD and academic side.

  5. Sun Tzu 05/16/2017

    The Dean’s request may have been done with the best of intentions however it is a bad omen and frankly pathetic. The University cannot find the tiny amount necessary to fund these admirable projects, so now University employees should pay? What’s next, crowdfunding to pay for GTFs? Research labs? NTTFs? This inappropriate request and Schill’s most recent eye-opening missive announcing the reality of even more cuts while the Knight Campus is drowning in funds, high priced consultants continue to be hired, millions are spent on outside attorneys, and administrator salaries soar (and we have not even broached the subject of the Ducks) indicates a complete lack of priorities as well as a sadly high level of insensitivity.

    • dog 05/16/2017

      Fantastic idea

      can we please set up a duckfunder to raise money for
      research labs

      outstanding …

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