Top 11 University Crowdfunding Platforms (That Colleges Love!)
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Check out our top 5 crowdfunding platforms college students will love.

Top 11 University Crowdfunding Platforms (That Colleges Love!)

Check out our top 5 crowdfunding platforms college students will love.
Start a Free University Crowdfunding Campaign

The Top University Crowdfunding Website

#1: University Crowdfunding Platform — Fundly

Overview

Schools of all shapes and sizes love Fundly’s university crowdfunding platform, and it’s not hard to see why! With Fundly, your university and student body can create unique, professional crowdfunding pages for any fundraising project you have.

Getting your crowdfunding page up and running is simple and our support team is standing by to provide guidance to help make your fundraiser the best it can be!

Fundly offers universities like yours effective crowdfunding tools including giving levels, social sharing, crowdfunding updates, and customizable giving pages. Even better? You can also upload photos and videos to tell the story of your school and to keep supporters updated on your university crowdfunding campaign as it progresses.

Why It Made Our List

Since Fundly is a keep-it-all crowdfunding platform, your school can start putting donations to use after you receive them without having to wait for your campaign to close out. Once your campaign gets started, you have the freedom to adjust your deadline at any time if you want to keep fundraising or end your campaign early. Every dollar will make a difference to your university, so having this kind of fundraising flexibility is key!

The Cost

Launching a university crowdfunding campaign on Fundly doesn’t cost a cent. When the donations start rolling in, your school will pay a 4.9% platform fee in addition to 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Because Fundly is a keep-it-all platform, you’re guaranteed to keep every fundraising dollar you raise, regardless of whether your goal is met.

Launch your university fundraiser with Fundly now!

Fundly has helped raise over $330 million to date.

Start Your Free University Crowdfunding Campaign Today

Other Top University Crowdfunding Platforms

#2: University Crowdfunding Platform — Edco

Edco is designed for schools, making it the perfect university crowdfunding platform.

Overview

Edco’s crowdfunding services are specifically designed for schools, teams, and organizations. So if your University’s football team, science club, model UN, or any other organization wants to start a crowdfunding campaign, this is the perfect platform.

When you set up your fundraising page (which only takes about 3 minutes!) you can add members to your fundraising team. With this feature, your team members can work together to spread the word of your fundraiser on each of their networks.

Plus, donations made through Edco are tax deductible. Although some college students won’t care much about this feature, your donors sure do! Edco can send automatic thank you notes to your donors with a tax receipt so they get their deductions and your college students don’t need to worry about it.

Why It Made Our List

On top of being a fairly priced and effective platform, Edco saves your contacts after your first fundraiser. You’ll never have to start from scratch again! So even as students graduate and your team changes, you can still reach out to the same donors.

In addition, with Edco you have almost instant access to the money you raised. You can request to have the money sent directly to your 501(c)3 account or even have it sent as a prepaid debit card. This way, there is no delay in your use of the money you raised.

The Cost

Setting up a fundraising page with Edco is completely free! Once you start fundraising, the platform fee for Edco is 4.9% with an additional processing fee of 2.9% + $.30 for each card transaction.

Learn more about Edco.

#3: University Crowdfunding Platform — Bonfire

Bonfire is a top university crowdfunding platform for t-shirt fundraising.

Overview

Bonfire is a university crowdfunding platform that empowers schools to launch fundraising campaigns selling t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, and more. Just choose your preferred merchandise and you can use Bonfire’s easy-to-navigate tools to select colors, designs, and more to customize the products that you sell.

After designing your products, your school can easily set pricing levels and determine how many units you plan to sell. 

Set your campaign start and end dates, customize your merchandise page, and start sharing your campaign with supporters. It’s that simple!

Why It Made Our List

Bonfire doesn’t just help your school design t-shirts for fundraising — they also process orders and ship merchandise to your supporters worldwide! As long as you hit your minimum sales threshold (as little as five orders), Bonfire will start sending your school your hard-earned fundraising dollars.

If you’re unable to reach this minimum on a given campaign, your university can simply cancel any orders and relaunch your campaign a second time, risk free.

The Cost

Starting a Bonfire campaign is completely free. The site charges a 3.5% payment processing fee on all orders in addition to a 4.5% platform fee.

Learn more about Bonfire.

Fundly has helped raise over $330 million to date.

Start Your Free University Crowdfunding Campaign Today

#4: University Crowdfunding Platform — Experiment

Experiment is a top university crowdfunding platform to raise money for scientific research projects.

Overview

Experiment is a unique university crowdfunding platform in that it is designed to help schools fundraise for scientific research and experimental projects.

Student groups and colleges can set up fundraising pages for supporters to help make their projects a reality. You can customize these pages by setting fundraising goals and timelines, adding project descriptions and lab notes, and posting discussions.

Experiment vets all research proposals before campaigns go live, meaning that your projects must be scientifically sound and follow standard guidelines of scientific process before you can start collecting donations.

Why It Made Our List

Experiment distinguishes itself in how it promotes collaboration among students in the scientific community. When you create an Experiment campaign, you agree to share your findings with the community once the project is completed.

Additionally, Experiment offers challenge grants to groups to encourage individuals to research certain areas. Not only does this improve the discourse among community members on the site, but it also gives students a chance to conduct research in new and diverse areas of study.

The Cost

Experiment is an all-or-nothing platform, meaning that supporters aren’t charged until the fundraising goal has been met. The site charges an 8% platform fee and payment processing fees from 3-5%.

Learn more about Experiment.

#5: University Crowdfunding Platform — CommunityFunded

CommunityFunded is a top university crowdfunding platform that allows schools to host "Giving Days."

Overview

CommunityFunded is a university crowdfunding platform that allows schools to launch highly customizable fundraising campaigns that inspire supporters to give through expert online storytelling.

The site places an emphasis on giving schools the tools they need to be successful in fundraising, so CommunityFunded assigns dedicated team members to help optimize crowdfunding for users at every step of the process.

CommunityFunded also offers consulting services from key industry insiders, as well as a series of webinars from fundraising experts to keep schools at the top of their game.

Why It Made Our List

CommunityFunded made our list because of their emphasis on “Giving Days.” These short campaigns take the crowdfunding model to the next level and allow schools to reach their goals in no time.

Since Giving Days are more concentrated campaigns, your university can start putting its crowdfunding dollars to work sooner.

The Cost

CommunityFunded offers pricing consultations to schools on their website.

Learn more about CommunityFunded.

#6: University Crowdfunding Platform — Pozible

Pozible is a top Australian university crowdfunding platform.

Overview

Pozible is an Australian crowdfunding website with an emphasis on creative community projects that schools can use to collect donations from supporters across the globe.

The site was launched when its creators were inspired to help an artist friend find funding for her craft. Eventually, it grew to be a home for student fundraising efforts focused on the arts and music.

Pozible is a user-friendly crowdfunding platform with individual fundraisers in mind. Your school can either use Pozible to fund large-scale creative projects or encourage students to leverage the platform to fundraise for more personal creative endeavors.

Why It Made Our List

Pozible’s platform is home to a diverse array of fundraising projects, from music-focused campaigns to visual art fundraisers and student film initiatives.

Because the site has such a variety of community members, your students are sure to attract supporters who believe in their creative ideas and want to give to their campaigns.

The Cost

Pozible is an all-or-nothing crowdfunding platform. Users are charged service fees between 3-5% AUD depending upon the fundraising goal of their campaigns. Users are also charged a credit card fee of 3% + $0.30 per payment.

Learn more aboout Pozible.

Fundly has helped raise over $330 million to date.

Start Your Free University Crowdfunding Campaign Today

#7: University Crowdfunding Platform — Deposit a Gift

Deposit a Gift is a top university crowdfunding platform for flexible payment processing.

Overview

Deposit a Gift is another crowdfunding platform for universities loved by schools and students alike. The site caters to fundraisers of all shapes and sizes by offering free support services and fundraising how-to guides.

Schools can even sell sponsorships or offer perks as an incentive for giving. This is great for university fundraising projects where high-level goals often mean campaigns need to seek out corporate partners.

Additionally, Deposit a Gift allows users to sell tickets to fundraising events directly through their platform. Since crowdfunding campaigns are often paired with fundraising events, this makes the entire process more streamlined for schools.

Why It Made Our List

Deposit a Gift stands out from the crowdfunding crowd by offering flexible payment processing for its diverse user base. Schools are able to process credit card payments from anywhere in the world as well as post offline donations.

When schools are ready to cash out, Deposit a Gift allows users to collect their fundraising dollars via ACH direct deposit. This means cash will be sent directly to your university’s bank account.

The Cost

Deposit a Gift is a keep-it-all crowdfunding platform. Visit their website for more information on their different pricing plans.

Learn more about Deposit a Gift.

#8: University Crowdfunding Platform — Dreamfuel

Dreamfuel is a top university crowdfunding platform for athletics.

Overview

Dreamfuel is a crowdfunding platform specifically tailored to fundraising for athletics. Whether your school has a robust athletics program or is simply trying to get an intramural sports league off the ground, this site has the tools you need.

To get started, universities can upload a proposal to the site. Include a video call-to-action that will explain your cause and why it’s worth supporting. Dreamfuel reviews your proposal and offers advice on how to make your campaign stand out.

Users then launch their campaigns and are able to begin promoting their cause on the site and beyond. Dreamfuel allows both individual athletes and teams to fundraise on their site.

Why It Made Our List

Dreamfuel helps connect supporters to causes by offering unique social sharing tools to the teams and athletes that use their site. If individuals are unable to give, the platform also encourages them to spread campaigns as a show of support.

Additionally, if you would like to give back to the community but do not have an athlete or team in mind, you can search Dreamfuel by sport to find a cause worth backing.

The Cost

Visit Dreamfuel’s website for more information on pricing for your school’s next athletics crowdfunder.

Learn more Dreamfuel.

#9: University Crowdfunding Platform — PeduL

PeduL is a top university crowdfunding platform for financing student educations.

Overview

PeduL is a different kind of crowdfunding platform for university fundraising than other entries on this list because it specifically supports fundraising for school expenses for individual students.

Instead of funding projects for students or university organizations, PeduL allows students to collect donations that exclusively cover the costs of attending college.

Then, funds are sent directly to the university. This way, sponsors can trust that their gifts are being spent exclusively on students’ educational expenses with no middleman.

Why It Made Our List

A college education is expensive, and although there are scholarships out there, most students are often left with significant student loan debt upon graduation.

PeduL recognizes this funding gap and is designed to make education more accessible to students of all economic backgrounds. Their site makes it easy for sponsors to find students, too.

The Cost

It’s free to launch a PeduL campaign, and students never pay the site out of pocket. Instead, fees are incurred at the sponsor level, including a 5% platform fee and varying payment processing fees.

Learn more about PeduL.

#10: University Crowdfunding Platform — USEED

USEED is a top university crowdfunding platform for student entrepreneurs.

Overview

USEED was started as a crowdfunding site tailored to student entrepreneurs, but has since grown to become one of the biggest crowdfunding platforms for universities and their students across the globe.

The platform applies a startup ethos to their perspective on fundraising and helps schools grow their reach using innovative online fundraising strategies.

USEED also offers its partners real-time fundraising strategy and technical support from experts in the field, meaning your school doesn’t need to have an extensive background in online fundraising to reach your goals.

Why It Made Our List

USEED distinguishes itself by offering its users an extensive support system of fundraising experts and technical advisors who are leaders in their fields.

These individuals specialize in subjects including education, philanthropy, finance, scale, annual giving, and more. This gives schools a well-rounded knowledge base on which they can rely during their campaigns.

The Cost

Contact USEED on their website for more information on packages and pricing.

Learn more about USEED.

#11: University Crowdfunding Platform — It Takes a Village

It Takes a Village is a top university crowdfunding platform for college crowdfunding.

Overview

It Takes a Village is another crowdfunding site dedicated to finding financial sponsors to see students through to graduation. Students can set up crowdfunding pages and sponsors are able to select individuals to finance through the platform.

Students write their own bios that are displayed on their personal crowdfunding pages and are available to view by their “villages,” the network of sponsors who support students. 

After students reach graduation, they are able to send updates to their “village” about where they are headed after college. It Takes a Village isn’t simply a crowdfunding platform, but also a network for individuals committed to supporting education.

Why It Made Our List

It Takes a Village allows sponsors to search the site for individual students to support as well as search for students on the site that are affiliated with a specific institution.

They also guarantee that all funding will be spent on students’ education. Since it’s free to launch a campaign, there’s no risk for students using the site.

The Cost

For pricing information, visit It Takes a Village for more details.

Learn more about It Takes a Village.

Fundly has helped raise over $330 million to date.

Start Your Free University Crowdfunding Campaign Today

Successful University Crowdfunding Campaigns for Inspiration

Indiana University’s School of Public Health

Indiana University's School of Public Health uses Fundly crowdfunding to raise money for much-needed health research projects.

Check out how Indiana University’s School of Public Health leveraged Fundly’s crowdfunding platform to support public health research.

The school surpassed their goal of $1,000 with the help of just 19 motivated donors!

Indiana University’s School of Medicine

University of Indiana's student outreach clinic

Another great example of how Indiana University has used Fundly to reach their goals is through their student outreach clinic campaign.

Their School of Medicine far surpassed their $5,000 goal with the help of just 31 donors!

See and learn from other great examples!

Additional Resources

Amazing Crowdfunding Campaigns

Learn from the pros with these amazing crowdfunding campaign examples.

Need some crowdfunding inspiration before your university launches its next fundraising campaign? Check out some of these amazing Fundly crowdfunding campaigns to learn from the pros!

Discover amazing campaigns.

Best Crowdfunding Websites

Check out our best crowdfunding websites for all kinds of fundraising campaigns.

Looking for even more crowdfunding platform recommendations? Check out our list of our top crowdfunding platforms for all kinds of fundraising campaigns to find the site that’s right for your school.

Find a crowdfunding platform.

MobileCause’s Alumni Engagement Guide

Learn how to better engage your school's alumni to boost fundraising.

Making your crowdfunding campaign a huge success depends upon leveraging the support of your university’s alumni. Visit MobileCause for their guide to alumni engagement as you plan for your upcoming fundraiser!

Learn how to engage alumni.

Fundly has helped raise over $330 million to date.

Start Your Free University Crowdfunding Campaign Today
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