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Welcome to Big Blue Crowdfunding!

Before applying for project consideration, please review the following University of Kentucky Crowdfunding Policies. The University of Kentucky reserves the right to change these policies at any time.

Please note: This page details the fundraising process for crowdfunding projects at the University of Kentucky. If you're a UK Healthcare community member or grateful patient, you can reach out to us and get started on your own fundraiser by clicking the button below.

Become a Crowdfunding Ambassador

UK Crowdfunding Ambassadors are all the individuals involved in fundraising for the crowdfunding project. Each group will select their own Lead Crowdfunding Ambassador who is responsible for managing all the project ambassadors. Projects that have more outreach are more likely to succeed. UK Crowdfunding Ambassadors are strictly prohibited from keeping any portion of the funds raised as a profit or compensation. Crowdfunding Ambassadors should promote their project in the following ways:


1

Clearly write the project's goal

2

Provide photo(s) that represent their group or project and create a video (if possible) to support the need


3

Develop a target audience comprised of email addresses of interested parties

4

Commit to enlisting 3-5 other ambassadors that will help spread the word via social media

5

Prepare personal thank-you messages to donors and submit updates on how the funds will be spent


Crowdfunding Timeline

PHASE 1

APPLICATION PHASE (initial planning)

  • Review the Rules and Restrictions below
  • Complete the crowdfunding application form
  • Allow up to 10 business days for a response.

PHASE 2

QUIET PHASE (campaign pre-launch)

  • After the Office of Philanthropy has approved your project, they will use the content in your application to generate your crowdfunding page.
  • The next 4-6 weeks should be spent getting your campaign ready (writing content, compiling your email list, developing strategies, etc).
  • If you plan to ask permission to receive alumni contact information from the Office of Philanthropy, it must be done as early as possible during the quiet phase by emailing annualgiving@uky.edu

PHASE 3

ACTIVE PHASE (campaign launch)

  • This phase will last 4-6 weeks and constitutes the live campaign.

  • These weeks are crucial. During the campaign, crowdfunding ambassadors are expected to send out weekly email "asks" to their personal contact lists, push out asks and updates via social media, and otherwise make themselves available to answer questions about and raise awareness around their project.

PHASE 4

FULFILLMENT PHASE (post-campaign)

  • After the project, the Office of Annual Giving will generate a report of all project donors to send to the Lead Crowdfunding Ambassador.

  • Groups are responsible for sending out thank-you emails with final updates.

  • Remember—making your donors feel special now means that they will want to come back and support your next project.


Rules and Restrictions

  1. Any University of Kentucky current student, student organization, faculty, or staff member is eligible to apply to be a UK Crowdfunding Ambassador.
  2. In order for UK Crowdfunding Ambassadors to ask for a gift of any amount to the University of Kentucky, all gifts must be compliant with the institutional mission of being a public, land-grant university dedicated to improving people's lives through excellence in education, research and creative work, service and health care.
  3. Crowdfunding projects cannot violate any federal, state, or local laws or any University of Kentucky administrative regulations.
  4. Projects must support University of Kentucky programs and initiatives. Funds cannot be redirected to a third-party, external charity such as the ALS Foundation, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, etc. Funds cannot be raised as a "Pass Through" to other charities.
  5. Projects should have specific goals and be driven by tangible accomplishments – for example, buying new club equipment, funding Alternative Break travel fees, or providing student workshop opportunities. Projects without a specific goal are generally less successful and may not be approved.
  6. All dollars raised must be spent on the project's expenses as stipulated on the project's crowdfunding platform and in the anticipated timeframe per campaign. All monies raised will be used for the stated intention.
  7. Projects that raise money for a cause housed within a college must receive approval from both the college dean and philanthropy officer to be approved.
    - UK faculty and staff are expected to contact their college philanthropy officer and dean in advance of submitting an application.
    - For UK students and student organizations, upon receipt of your application, the UK Office of Philanthropy will reach out to the college to secure permission from the dean and philanthropy officer.
  8. Without written permission from the college dean and philanthropy officer, the University of Kentucky will not provide any contact data on alumni, parents, friends or students. It is up to the UK Crowdfunding Ambassadors to contact their own personal constituents.
  9. Any premiums or incentives must be cleared by the college or program philanthropy officer. Values of any premiums must be pre-calculated and presented to the Office of Philanthropy before the project begins. The Office of Philanthropy reserves the right to limit or prohibit any premiums which may create adverse conditions for the proper tax receipting of the gifts.


Role of UK's Office of Philanthropy

  1. The UK Office of Philanthropy will manage the selection process for crowdfunding projects and will be available for questions. However, it is the sole duty of the Crowdfunding Ambassadors to manage the project and provide the effort required to meet their goal.
  2. The UK Office of Philanthropy, at its sole discretion, will select the participating projects for UK's online crowdfunding platform, Gravyty. The University of Kentucky reserves the right to discontinue an active fundraiser at any time for any reason, without notice, including, and without limitation, because of a group's eligibility status or a group's failure to comply with the University of Kentucky's policies.
  3. The Office of Philanthropy will review the crowdfunding applications on a first-come, case-by-case basis. Applications are subject to review by the Office of Annual Giving and/or a crowdfunding review committee. Approved projects will be assigned to a quarter of the year during which to conduct the active phase of the project. The number of projects approved per quarter will be limited to ensure there is adequate Office of Philanthropy staffing available to provide timely reporting and gift receipting. The same group may not fundraise in back-to-back quarters.
  4. To ensure compliance with University of Kentucky policies, all projects must have a UK approved gift account into which funds will be distributed. If a group or project does not have a UK gift account already created, the Office of Philanthropy will determine whether or not the project/group qualifies for its own UK gift account. A holding account CANNOT be used.
  5. All funds raised for a project that are received outside the UK crowdfunding platform must be deposited in accordance with the University of Kentucky Business Procedures Manual E-22-1. Funds raised during the project will be deposited into an official University of Kentucky gift account. Account allocations must be set up prior to launching a project.
  6. All content on project pages will be approved by the University of Kentucky. UK has the right to edit, or require edits by the UK Crowdfunding Ambassadors, at any point in the campaign.
  7. The UK Office of Philanthropy Gift Receiving team will provide all official tax receipts issued to donors.
  8. The UK Office of Philanthropy reserves the right to decline any project based on content or discontinue an active fundraiser at any time due to changes in the group's eligibility status.
  9. The UK Office of Philanthropy reserves the right to fast-track any projects that arise unexpectedly in response to current events.
  10. Each project will be hosted on the crowdfunding platform for a pre-determined amount of time, no more than 4-6 weeks, though some exceptions may apply (note: quick campaigns tend to drive urgency and perform better). If the project is not funded within the allotted timeframe, the funds raised will still be allocated to the project; however, the UK Office of Philanthropy will remove the project from the crowdfunding platform. Any monies raised, even without meeting the final goal, must be spent towards the project.


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