Carnegie Mellon University

Crowdfunding the Next Great Idea

CMU's Crowdfunding platform allows you to directly support groups of Carnegie Mellon students, faculty, staff and alumni by donating to projects that impact and benefit students and/or others within the CMU community. These passion projects have modest fundraising goals and cover a wide range of topics and areas, from visionary transportation systems to unique theater pieces.

Launch your Crowdfunding Campaign

Interested students, faculty, and staff should complete the online application. Upon submission, the CMU Crowdfunding Review Committee will consider all proposals and determine which projects will be included on CMU Crowdfunding.

Application FAQs

The CMU Crowdfunding platform is designated for university-related projects that impact and benefit CMU students and/or other entities within the CMU community, and with funding goals of $2,000-$10,000.
Project leaders and teams must be directly affiliated with CMU (i.e. students, alumni, faculty, and staff).
Projects are selected by the CMU Project Review Committee, which reviews every application for funding submitted. The funding must benefit CMU and be in line with the organization’s non-profit purpose.
No, at this time individuals cannot use CMU crowdfunding to cover research costs.
A crowdfunding campaign requires significant investment from the project leaders to be successful. Project Leaders need to submit the application, attend the virtual orientation, create a project page, and actively fundraise for the length of the campaign (~30 days.) The Office of Annual Giving can be a resource for all groups, as it supports all crowdfunding projects throughout the campaign.
For more information, contact: Daniella Staudacher, Associate Director of Annual Giving.