School studies are quickly moving from the chalkboard to the digital whiteboard, and now to the tablet for students of all ages. The children at the University of Alabama at BirminghamChild Development Center, who range in age from 6 weeks to 5 years old, are getting back to school with technology in hand, thanks to Crowdfunding at UAB.
Launched in late 2014, Crowdfunding at UAB is a platform to help faculty, staff and students secure financial support from friends and alumni of UAB for special projects. The platform has already seen success through projects like the Save One Life campaign and numerous others, but the Tech for Kids! fundraising drive brings the benefits to the smallest of beneficiaries.
“We were really concerned because now, by the second grade, children in many public school systems are expected to know how to do their homework on a tablet,” said Theresa Wright, lead teacher in the Child Development Center’s 4-year-olds classroom. “It’s now part of our criteria to meet for accreditation as well, so we knew the one tablet we had for all of the students wasn’t going to be enough.”
Wright says the school initially sought out tablet donations, then stumbled upon the idea of crowdfunding to help with their efforts.
“The Child Development Center hoped to fund the purchase of updated learning tools by appealing to the public to invest in their crowdfunding initiative, and they did it successfully,” said Randy Kinder, senior director of annual giving and project manager. “The Child Development Center had a tangible goal — raise $5,000 to purchase a tablet for each classroom by the project end date, June 5 — and they had a passionate project leader in Ms. Wright.”
| “We have found that our successful crowdfunding initiatives raise 80 percent of their funds from direct referral, person-to-person emails, then 15 percent from social media, and 5 percent from general Web traffic.” |
Additionally, Kinder says the project utilized a key ingredient in a successful crowdfunding campaign: direct email.
“We have found that our successful crowdfunding initiatives raise 80 percent of their funds from direct referral, person-to-person emails, then 15 percent from social media, and 5 percent from general Web traffic,” Kinder said. “The center used their network of parents, grandparents, extended family and friends, and they had plenty of momentum from putting boots on the ground and reaching out to them.”
In total, the Child Development Center raised $5,273, which is $273 more than their goal of $5,000, making them funded at 105 percent.
“Thanks to the money raised, we were able to get nine new tablets for the school,” Wright said. “We’re really excited about it and thankful to all who donated. We were really impressed with how the parents stepped up and helped us achieve our goal.”
Kinder says Crowdfunding at UAB hopes to see more successful campaigns like Tech for Kids!
“Crowdfunding enables groups at UAB, and their ideas, to be empowered through a focused program and platform,” Kinder said. “This allows any group, or person, with a great idea and a network to directly help their cause.
“We want to do everything we can,” he said, “to help make them successful.”
To learn more about Crowdfunding at UAB and/or to submit a project application, visit the Campaign for UAB Toolkit.