It will not surprise you to know that many of the conversations we have in the office are not entirely serious. If they had been, we would have written a lot more articles about dining hall conspiracies, dating culture and squirrels. One day last semester, though, one of the crazy ideas we hit upon stuck with us. Looking at the dilapidated distribution boxes that seem to be nonsensically placed around Grounds, we knew we needed to overhaul our distribution points. Then-operations manager Meghan Luff and I sat down and worked through a number of variations using our existing distribution boxes, but they all revealed the same thing—we needed new boxes. After unsuccessfully applying for a grant to cover the boxes, we came back again to that crazy idea—crowdfunding.
This semester we launched an $8,000 Indiegogo campaign that has gained serious traction in the past few weeks. This development is exciting not just because we will be able to reach a wider audience and produce a better overall product with these new boxes, but because now we know crowd funding could provide that mythical good for which we have been searching for years: an alternative source of revenue.
We have also had serious donors approach us because of the campaign. Dean Meredith Woo has pledged a $5,000 contribution for which we are extremely grateful. College Council has also agreed to contribute $3,000. Now, we are asking our alumni to match their enthusiasm. We have various rewards available for each donation level, so every dollar counts! If you are interested in donating, please go to our campaign home page to view our promotional videos and additional information.
As usual if you have any questions or thoughts please email me at kok4gt@virginia.edu and I would be happy to chat.