DU Launches New Round of Crowdfunding Projects

The University of Denver is launching several new crowdfunding projects to coincide with Giving Tuesday. Entering its fifth year, Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. It’s the unofficial kickoff of the charitable-giving season, when people are encouraged to give time, a gift, or donation to help their local community.

"Giving Tuesday has helped educate and galvanize communities, states and the nation on the importance of being a participant in public and private partnerships to advance those causes that one feels most passionate about," says Lisa Feldman, executive director of DU's Annual and Leadership Giving.

DUGood, the University’s crowdfunding platform, will launch six projects on Giving Tuesday. For a project to be approved and successful, it must share in the University’s mission and have a strong social network willing and eager to support its cause.

"Giving Tuesday engages the campus and the entire DU community on a national level, heightening the fact that DU is advancing education, research and community engagement for the 21st century and beyond," Feldman says. "Collectively we can have a profound influence in changing the world for a better place."

The Burns School Student Playhouse Project is an annual initiative led by students from the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management. They work together to plan and build a life-sized playhouse for a family in need. Over the past three years, students have provided playhouses for a family recommended by Children’s Hospital. In the past two years, families of a Wounded Warrior have been recipients of a playhouse.

The Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP) has two initiatives highlighted in Giving Tuesday. First is a quest to provide scholarship money for a GSPP student. The second is designed to help raise awareness and funding for the master of arts in sports coaching program. The program is the country’s only master’s-level degree program in coaching.

Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence is launching “Preparing Future Leaders to Bridge Differences Through Dialogue,” an initiative designed to prepare students to serve as ethical leaders in diverse and complex organizations and communities. Funding for this will help bring students together to engage with one another in critical conversations. It also will help bring the Sustained Dialogue Institute to campus to train students, faculty and staff on how to move beyond debate to true dialogue in order to create social change.

The University of Denver debate team has an initiative highlighted in Giving Tuesday. The group is trying to provide travel scholarship for students to attend the 2017 Spanish World Debating Championships in Guatemala. DU's team ranked among the top 35 teams in the world during the 2016 world championship in Spain. Donations that are made will help cover lodging, registration and travel to Guatemala.

Project X-ITE has created an advisory board comprised of 16 students from units and departments across DU. A related crowdfunding effort will allow the students to create impromptu activities, host TED-style talks with local CEOs and spread the spirit of entrepreneurship across campus.

To find out how you can support any of these causes at DU starting on November 29, click here.