Crowdfund UC Davis continues to provide visibility to and raise support for a wide range of campus projects that include providing hands-on research opportunities for students, supporting student clubs, and broadening diversity, equity and inclusion across the university.

The February cohort of Crowdfund UC Davis included 10 projects that met their or exceeded their fundraising goals. This cohort also boasted a record number of donations, with 904 gifts for 21  projects.

Words Take Wing: Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature doubled its goal of $2,500 and exceeded its stretch goal of $5,000, raising a total of $5,100 from 31 donors.

“We were blown away by the generosity of our supporters and by the speed in which they helped us reach our initial goal of $2,500,” said project lead Joanne Galli-Banducci, retired lecturer and supervisor of teacher education.

Cutting Edge Undergraduate Research on Infectious Diseases raised funds to better integrate undergraduates into discovery-driven genome science, with the long-term goal of improving food security. Their campaign showed the participating students the support they have from a community of international scientists. Cutting Edge Undergraduate Research on Infectious Diseases raised $7,225 from 109 donors, exceeding its original goal by 44%.

The Personality and Problem-Solving in Gray Wolves team worked with collaborators at the Oakland Zoo and the California Wolf Center to promote their project. The organizations partnered with UC Davis researchers to further identify behavioral patterns, personalities, traits and natural behavior in gray wolves, and learn more about how different wolf personalities may respond. Together, they completed their goal by raising $5,001 from 51 donors.

Other projects that met or exceeded their goals in February:

• Support Graduate Student Community-Engaged Research
• Transform Neglected Spaces in Davis Into Native Habitat Gardens
• Engineers Without Borders
• Blooms for Benefit
• Address California's Critical Need for Quality STEM Teachers
• Cal Aggie Camp
• Support Health Equity and Future Nurses through SHINES

Crowdfund UC Davis takes place in October and February each year and has raised more than $1,843,381 from more than 9,988 gifts since its debut in February 2020.

The Annual and Special Gifts Program in Development and Alumni Relations works with Advancement Services to review applications for Crowdfund UC Davis. They provides teams with access to the Crowdfund UC Davis platform, as well as training, weekly guidance sessions and some email support for the program as a whole. The project teams fuel the marketing and networking that lead to their fundraising success.

Sierra Ronning is a communications external relations specialist in Development and Alumni Relations. She can be reached by email or at 530-752-2661.