University of California, Irvine FAQ

Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, mainly from personal networks.

Through Zotfunder, UC Irvine affiliated groups and individuals have the opportunity to host an online fundraising campaign benefiting student, staff, and alumni initiatives on campus. The Office of Annual Giving partners with faculty, staff, and students to develop giving pages that raise funds for a wide variety of programs and activities. Project teams illustrate why their cause is compelling with a unique project page and spread the word with a digital marketing plan, all within ~60 days!

We select projects based on whether they have the potential to reach 100% of a realistic goal, an engaged team, a clear need for funds, and an established or growing supporter base. 

As crowdfunding has grown at UC Irvine over the years, the application process has become more selective. We encourage you to email zotfunder@uci.edu or Sara Blanco Gale, Assistant Director of Digital Philanthropy & Student Engagement, at sblancog@uci.edu if you have any questions before starting your application.

You do! The most successful crowdfunding campaigns are for projects where there is a group of 5-8 individuals who are willing to serve as leaders of a larger team who can promote this opportunity to their personal network. These projects rely heavily on teams of volunteers to promote and market the fundraiser.

Additionally, the Office of Annual Giving helps ensure a successful ZotFunder campaign by offering fund management, digital fundraising and marketing training, and strategic check-ins throughout the campaign.

The gifts your campaign receives go directly to the fund specified at the beginning of your campaign. This is a 4-digit fund code that is usually managed by your school or program's finance administration. This tool is available to student clubs and organizations where the funds can be directed to a specific fundraising account in support of the educational mission of the university and meeting the spending requirements of the administrative policies of the university. Please note that the UC Irvine Foundation fund must be managed by a school or program’s business office or finance administration.

Charitable gifts for the benefit of UC Irvine are, by UC policy, to be donated directly to the campus via the UCI Foundation without an intervening entity or middleman. However, in the case of crowdfunding, ZotFunder offers an effective strategy to communicate via social media in a streamlined manner that is currently not available within the University.

Please keep in mind it takes approximately 4-8 weeks after the conclusion of a ZotFunder campaign for the funds to be released.

The number of team members you recruit will help set your initial goal. It is important to note that your initial target goal will need to reflect the capacity your team has to fundraise - not how much your campaign actually needs.

Our formula for success: Number of Team Members x $500 = Initial Funding Goal

Please note: If you hit your initial funding goal early on, we can raise it!

Please keep in mind it takes approximately 4-8 weeks after the conclusion of a ZotFunder campaign for the funds to be released.

Giving Day is an annual 24-hour fundraising event held in April; the entire UC Irvine community comes together for one day to support their favorite schools and programs, unlock matching gifts, and highlight the power of philanthropy.

For questions about Giving Day, please contact James Yokelle at james.yokelle@uci.edu.

For general questions about ZotFunder or the application process, please email zotfunder@uci.edu or Sara Blanco Gale, Assistant Director of Digital Philanthropy & Student Engagement, at sblancog@uci.edu.