SAN FRANCISCO — The University of California launched a systemwide crowdfunding campaign sponsored by University leaders and some prominent celebrities.
The campaign, called Promise for Education, launched today followed by a discussion at the UC Board of Regents meeting at UC San Francisco. The campaign will end Oct. 31, for a runtime total of about six weeks.
Crowdfunding is a new way of raising money that allows individuals or groups to ask a broad, public audience for financial contributions. Regent Sherry Lansing said at the meeting today that the new campaign was rooted in the success of crowdfunding programs, like Kickstarter, within the last year.
Promise for Education aims to raise money for UC scholarships that will go toward resident undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need.
The site works through people signing up with both a fundraising goal and personal promise. For example, the Beach Boys’ Mike Love pledged to bring a fan onstage and sing “Barbara Ann” with them if he meets his fundraising goal of $10,000.
More than a hundred people have already made pledges on the site, including celebrities like Jamie Foxx, political leaders like Gov. Jerry Brown and people from the UC community, including UC Executive Vice President for Business Operations Nathan Brostrom, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Regent Sherry Lansing.
“This is the first time we’ve done (fundraising) like this from the center,” said Daniel Dooley, UC senior vice president for external relations, at the regents meeting today. “It relies on social media, it’s designed to target students and young alumni, who are (traditionally) hard to reach. … It’s a powerful new medium.”
The effort was created in partnership with a creative agency called noise, and features the sponsorship of prominent companies like Facebook, Bank of America and Spotify.
Many regents, including UC Board of Regents Chair Bruce Varner, expressed their support for the new effort.
“We know that in a lot of cases a lot of our public officials don’t understand … the critical vastness of the University,” Varner said at the meeting. “This is a chance for us to get some really good attention from the public … and educate the public about what we all do … so I’m enthusiastic.”
Student Regent Cinthia Flores said at the meeting that she has already raised $800 in less than 24 hours.
The effort has already raised about $900,000, including large donations from sponsors, anonymous gifts and individual fundraising, said Jason Simon, marketing communications executive director for the UC, at a press conference following the announcement.
Compiled by Katherine Hafner, Bruin senior staff.
there used to be this one way we used to crowdfund education, it was called taxpayer dollars, but those are scarce these days with all the private prisons we need to build.