The school that educated one of Kickstarter’s founders is using the site’s principle to further academic study.
Students at the College of William & Mary have advanced beyond bake sales and coin drives, and have recently turned to crowdfunding as a way to finance their honors research projects.
Crowdfunding — popularized by online fundraising websites Kickstarter and GoFundMe — uses the power of the masses to finance or sustain a project.
Yancey Strickler, who graduated from the college in 2000, cofounded Kickstarter nine years later and now serves as CEO. Since the 2009 launch, more than 5.8 billion people have pledged more $1 billion to fund independent creative endeavors.
In this case, William & Mary Honors Fellowships program allows the public to contribute to specific research venture or give to a general fund. All students who have been approved by an academic department to conduct honors research are eligible to apply for fellowships of up to $6,000. Five will receive their request from an existing scholarship grant, while the rest can seek assistance through crowdfunding.
Visitors to the website can search by major of study, adviser or keyword to browse research projects. Each students offers a short description in print and on video as a means of enticing support.
The subjects run the gamut from medicine in medieval Ireland to modern videogame culture. One student will write, stage and produce a documentary of a musical. Another will examine the role of 3D printing in small communities. Search the full list here.
To see these projects come to life, the public can give a gift of any size online or by check.
A fully funded William & Mary Honors Fellowship includes $4,000 to the student for 10 full-time weeks of summer pre-honors research, $1,000 for the student to use for project-related expenses and $1,000 for the student’s faculty supervisor to support his or her research.
Donors can then keep tabs on their chosen projects at the Process of Undergraduate Research website.
Contributions should be received by May 6.
For more information about William & Mary Honors Fellowships and how to give, contact Kristina Neuhart at 221-2460 or [email protected].
