VIKINGFUNDER GUIDELINES

Before launching your project, it is the project lead’s responsibility to review and understand the following WWU Vikingfunder Guidelines. WWU reserves the right to revise these guidelines at any time.

WWU Advancement’s Annual Giving office, in its sole discretion, will determine the eligibility of participating projects on the ScaleFunder platform at www.vikingfunder.com. WWU Advancement’s Annual Giving office may discontinue an active fundraiser at any time because of a project’s failure to comply with these guidelines.

To ensure compliance with WWU guidelines, all projects must have an approved philanthropic gift fund set up through the WWU Foundation to which donations can be accepted and then distributed to the respective campus unit’s account on the WWU ledger. Groups may use a gift fund associated with a sponsoring unit, such as a department, program or club with the approval of the finance officer in that area. Student groups may be able to utilize the WWU Associated Students as their sponsoring unit. If an appropriate sponsoring unit gift fund isn’t available, WWU Advancement’s Annual Giving office will determine whether or not the project qualifies for its own gift fund as long as there is a finance officer available to manage the account. Gift funds and accounts must be approved before the project can begin fundraising.

All monies must be used for the project’s stated purpose. Individuals are strictly prohibited from keeping any portion of the funds raised as a profit or compensation. All projects must be non-profit in nature.

Projects must support WWU programs and initiatives. Funds cannot be redirected to a third-party, external charity or other non-profit. WWU cannot act as a “pass-through” entity to provide funding to other charities.

When applying to launch a WWU Vikingfunder project, project leads agree to provide the following:

  • Project description and case for support
  • Video (it is the project leads responsibility to create, film and edit)
  • Images for description, social sharing and crowdfunding home page
  • Project leader bios and photos
  • Budget breakdown (how donations will be spent)
  • Project updates throughout the campaign
  • Ongoing outreach to promote the project after launch
  • Personal thank you messages after the campaign concludes to thank donors and let them know of their project progress​
     

All content on project pages will be approved by WWU Advancement’s Annual Giving office, which has the right to edit, or require project content edits at any point in the campaign.

Projects should have specific goals and be driven by tangible accomplishments – for example, purchasing new equipment, funding travel fees, or providing student workshop opportunities. Projects without a specific goal are generally less successful and may not qualify for their own project page.

It is up to the project teams to market their campaign and provide outreach. The larger the crowdfunding project group, the more likely they will succeed. Groups should consist of at least 3 people that will focus on marketing and outreach.

Groups that are able to achieve 30% of their goal within the first 48 hours of a campaign are more likely to achieve their total goal.

Project leads are responsible for promoting their campaigns via social media, email, phone calls and on-campus, when appropriate; preparing personal thank-you messages to donors; and submitting regular updates on their project.