Students using Crowdfunding
An emerging – and very exciting – development is the emergence of crowdfunding platforms for research, and for postgraduate students. However, no current platform at present represents a comprehensive ‘catch all’ option for postgraduates which caters for fees, maintenance, and study costs. Crowdfunding can also be used in conjunction with conventional funding applications to charity, and can be used - in effect - as an additional mechanism by which to persuade a charity of your case, as described below.
In the absence of a comprehensive student crowdfunding platform, there is nothing stopping you from starting your own campaign on a website like Hubbub, Kickstarter, or Gofundme. Indeed, a number of students have succeeded in raising impressive sums for fees and maintenance through these campaigns, and a few have got attention in the national press. Our advice would be to create a profile to raise funding for a designated specific amount of money (for example, £4,000 towards fees) and try to write a persuasive pitch for a lay audience on why you and your work are interesting and important (as you would for a charity), and also include a video. While strangers can and do donate, crowdfunding campaigns are often most successful in raising money from people you already know in real life, who are encouraged to give when they see you as a campaign. This is the real X factor- by turning your study into a fundraising campaign, you make it seem ‘official’ and easy for others to donate to you. Your donors also see that their cumulative donations (which individually might have not seemed worthwhile) amount to a much more sizeable sum when pooled with others. This emboldens them to give.
A particularly innovative strategy with crowdfunding is to dovetail your campaign with charity applications. Naturally, if a charity is made aware that you are also running a crowdfunding campaign (especially one that already has some supporters) then they are likely to be emboldened by this in exactly the same way they would be if you already had other charity backers. More generally, a history of crowdfunding also looks impressive, because it gives the impression of a student who is meeting the challenge of funding their study with positive, innovative thinking, rather than one who has not made the effort, and is simply asking for help. So if you are running a crowdfunding campaign, make sure to show the link to charity funders, and present it as part of your holistic funding strategy.
For an extended Guide on Crowdfunding, please see our dedicated Crowdfunding Guide written by a student who raised a five-figure sum herself!