Crowdfunding has become a powerful tool for social good. Educational institutions throughout the past several years have taken well to it as a vehicle to raise funds, foster engagement, and bring exciting new projects to life. From supporting innovative learning initiatives to preserving cultural landmarks, schools and universities across the US, UK, and Canada are tapping into the potential of crowdfunding to drive meaningful change.

In this blog, we’ll explore 10 inspiring crowdfunding campaigns in K-12 and higher education. We’ll break down what made each campaign unique, how much they raised, and key takeaways your institution can apply to your next crowdfunding effort.

Essential elements of a successful crowdfunding campaign

Before we examine the campaigns, it’s worth understanding what sets apart successful crowdfunding campaigns in education. While every campaign is unique, they often share these key elements:

• ‍Clear Goals: Successful campaigns outline a specific, tangible, and achievable goal that resonates with potential donors.‍
• Compelling Storytelling: The most impactful campaigns emphasize storytelling to create emotional connections with donors.‍
• Engaging Visuals: High-quality images and videos help campaigns stand out and inspire trust.‍
• Community Engagement: Actively involving stakeholders, alumni, parents, or students in the fundraising process often leads to stronger support.‍
• Follow-Up and Gratitude: Acknowledging contributors and sharing the impact of their donations builds goodwill and encourages future support.

Now, let's explore how these principles were applied in real-life campaigns that not only met but often exceeded their goals.

10 Crowdfunding Campaigns in K-12 and Higher Ed to inspire you

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1. Barn Croft School Christmas No. 1 Campaign

Amount Raised

£52,402 out of a £50,000 goal

The campaign

Barn Croft School in the UK launched a crowdfunding bid on Crowdfunder, uniquely utilizing music to elevate the school's profile and secure vital funds. The campaign aimed to highlight the severe impact of education cuts and ensure the school's resilience in the face of financial challenges.

What makes it unique

The campaign's innovative use of music, specifically aiming for a "Christmas No. 1" song, to draw national attention to education budget cuts is highly distinctive. It transformed a financial appeal into a public awareness campaign with a creative, engaging, and emotionally resonant hook, garnering national attention.

Key takeaway

Creative and unconventional approaches can significantly amplify a campaign's reach and impact, turning a local funding need into a national conversation. Linking fundraising to a broader social issue, such as education cuts, can galvanize wider support beyond the immediate school community.

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2.  Paul Farmer Lectureship and Award for Global Health Equity

Amount Raised

$181,749+ out of a $30,000 goal

The campaign

Launched in 2024 as part of McGill24, McGill University's annual day of giving, this crowdfunding campaign honors the legacy of Dr. Paul Farmer. It aims to recognize individuals working in underserved communities whose groundbreaking work in health equity often goes unrecognized. The campaign garnered donations from over 600 individuals and remains active, continuing to raise funds.

What makes it unique

This campaign uniquely focuses on honoring unsung heroes in global health equity, aligning with a powerful humanitarian legacy. Its success, attracting over 600 donors, demonstrates the strong resonance of a cause that celebrates impactful, often overlooked, work in underserved communities.

Key takeaway

Campaigns tied to the legacy of influential figures or addressing global humanitarian causes can inspire broad support. Leveraging institutional giving days, like McGill24, can provide a powerful platform and amplify reach for such initiatives by creating a collective sense of purpose and urgency.

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3. University of the Pacific - Pacific Gives

Amount Raised

$2.5 million at the time of writing

The campaign

University of the Pacific's annual 24-hour day of giving returned on April 8 and 9, 2025 (reporting 2024 results). It brought together a global community to support scholarships, academic programs, athletics, and student clubs. In 2024, an emergency grant funded during Pacific Gives 2024 provided financial and emotional support to a student whose home was destroyed in wildfires.

What makes it unique

A Giving Day that specifically highlighted and responded to immediate student crises (like wildfire impact) through emergency grants, demonstrating direct and compassionate support beyond general academic funding. It also emphasized community connection and collective action.

Key takeaway

Giving Days can effectively serve as rapid response mechanisms for student emergencies, fostering a strong sense of community and care. They also do a great job at inspiring supporters to become ambassadors and have a healthy giving ecosystem between their different departments/teams.

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4. Cornell University Engineers In Action Project Team

Amount Raised

$14,775 out of a $12,500 goal

The Campaign

As stated on their giving page, the Cornell University Chapter of Engineers in Action is a student-run project team with the College of Engineering that works with the non-for-profit organization Engineers in Action to design and build pedestrian footbridges, WASH systems, and suspension bridges for rurally isolated communities.

What Makes It Unique

The campaign focuses on helping students make real world impact in other parts of the world. With it’s extensive documentation, it does a great job in inspiring more donations. Donors naturally feel inspired when they see a long-term dedication to funds being put into action with a well-researched plan.

Key Takeaway

While your local community is essential, raising funds to help faraway rural areas makes for a compelling goal and provides valuable exposure to your volunteers. The extensive documentation history not only attracts donations but also inspires more trust in your institution’s other fundraisers.

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5. University of Reading’s first Giving Day

Amount Raised

£36,747

The campaign

The University's first-ever Giving Day (April 29-30, 2025), focusing on four key causes: student scholarships, the Centre for Autism Wellbeing Hub, Henley's entrepreneurship programmes, and flexible support. It featured match-funding challenges.

What makes it unique

By providing diverse choices on donations, a simple giving page, and match-funding challenges totaling £20,000, the institution did well to inspire donors on their inaugural giving day.

Key takeaway

Launching a dedicated Giving Day with clear, diverse causes and match funding can be a powerful way for institutions to initiate or revitalize their crowdfunding efforts.

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6. Support the Investigative Reporting Program - UC Berkeley

Amount raised

$40,918 (818% Funded)

How the campaign works

This campaign was hosted on UC Berkeley's internal crowdfunding platform. It directly sought support for the Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) within the School of Journalism. The campaign's core appeal encouraged donors to empower students to delve into social justice issues that were often overlooked or ignored by traditional newsrooms.

What makes it unique

Its explicit focus on public service journalism and social justice provided a clear, impactful mission that extended beyond typical academic funding, tapping into a broader desire for societal betterment. The description of the program, emphasizing its role in empowering students to "dig into issues of social justice long overlooked or ignored by newsrooms," framed the campaign not merely as funding for a department, but as supporting a cause aligned with broader societal values.

Key takeaways

Campaigns with a strong, clear social impact and a compelling narrative can significantly outperform their targets. Direct alignment with societal benefit, such as social justice or accountability, serves as a powerful motivator for donors.

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7. Support Students in Learning International Perspectives, Rwanda ASB Trip - NC State College of Engineering

Amount Raised

$25,000~

The Campaign

Launched during the fall 2023 semester on NC State Crowdfunding, this campaign aimed to support the annual spring Alternative Service Break (ASB) trip to Rwanda. The trip was led by the Women and Minority Engineering Programs, and the funds specifically covered costs for students to participate in cultural experiences during their journey

What Makes It Unique

This campaign uniquely combined international service, cultural immersion, and direct support for women and minority students in engineering. Volunteers can visualize their contribution directly and share their own worldview and professional development, making the impact highly relatable and inspiring.

Key Takeaway

Campaigns that integrate multiple positive outcomes, such as global engagement, diversity, and service learning, and feature authentic student voices, are highly effective and motivate volunteers especially well.

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8. Vanderbilt Giving Day and I⚓VU Week 2025 - Vanderbilt University

Amount Raised

Over $12.2 million

The Campaign

This initiative marked the inaugural "I⚓VU Week," a week-long celebration designed to elevate "Commodore spirit" and culminate in Giving Day. It encompassed diverse activities such as #TravelingMrC photo submissions, which showcased Vanderbilt's global presence, and a first-ever "I Bleed Black and Gold Blood Drive," representing a non-monetary giving opportunity. The campaign successfully closed out over 35 matches and challenges. Donations supported various university areas, including schools, labs, athletics, student organizations, and scholarships, all contributing to the overarching "Dare to Grow" campaign.

What Makes It Unique

Vanderbilt transformed a traditional Giving Day into a comprehensive, week-long "spirit celebration," incorporating diverse, non-monetary engagement activities like the blood drive and photo contests to build community and pride alongside financial solicitations. The campaign achieved impressive global reach, with donors participating from all 50 US states and 23 countries. This builds a broader base of goodwill, participation, and emotional investment that can translate into financial giving, either immediately or in the future.

Key Takeaway

Integrating fundraising with broader community engagement and spirit-building activities can significantly amplify results. Offering diverse ways to participate, beyond just financial giving, fosters a more inclusive culture of philanthropy.

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9. Support Southeast Asian Students at Cal – UC Berkeley (SASC)

Amount Raised

$4,510 (902% of goal)

The Campaign

Part of the Berkeley Crowdfunding program, this campaign was led by the **Southeast Asian Student Coalition (SASC)** in 2024. Using Berkeley’s official platform, SASC created a project page describing how donations would support their events and initiatives (such as cultural festivals, mentorship programs, and graduation stoles for low-income members). Donors (students, alumni, community members) contributed online during a month-long drive. Berkeley’s platform provided tools and training even though it was SASC’s first crowdfunding attempt.

What Makes It Unique

This success funded free community meals (feeding 150+ students at events) and graduation regalia for students who couldn’t otherwise afford it. The uniqueness lies in empowering a student-run, diversity-focused club to raise money typically beyond their reach. Their story of supporting first-generation Southeast Asian American students deeply resonated. Even without prior fundraising experience, the students’ authentic mission and collaboration paid off hugely

Key Takeaway

Even new fundraisers can succeed wildly if the cause strikes a chord. By emphasizing inclusion and tangible student support (food, cultural events, mentorship), SASC attracted donations far beyond expectations. Providing donors with a clear vision of where funds go (directly to student needs) and leveraging social networks were key.

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10. Campus Community Garden - University of British Columbia

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Amount Raised

$52,082

The Campaign

In October 2024 (aligned with World Mental Health Day), the U-M College of Literature, Science and Arts (LSA) launched a crowdfunding drive on its official platform to support the LSA Fund for Student Well-Being. The campaign lasted 3 weeks, with a goal of $50K, and utilized a matching challenge and social media pushes around Mental Health Day. The campaign emphasized that gifts would fund resources like counseling, wellness programming, and emergency aid for student mental health.

What Makes It Unique

This campaign addressed the growing mental health needs on campus – a cause both urgent and somewhat intangible. By tying the launch to World Mental Health Day, it gained topical relevance. Uniquely, it was a time-limited “flash” campaign that still hit a relatively large target ($50K)

Key Takeaway

Framing the ask around World Mental Health Day gave it momentum and meaning. Transparency about the use of funds (every dollar to the Student Well-Being Fund in this case) builds trust.

Conclusion

Crowdfunding succeeds when institutions tell compelling stories, engage their communities, and provide a clear sense of purpose. Whether you're looking to fund a new initiative, preserve a cultural landmark, or support students in need, the examples shared here demonstrate the power of collaboration and the impact of a well-executed campaign.

Are you ready to run your own successful crowdfunding campaign? Start by analyzing these examples and tailoring their strategies to your unique goals and community. Need help with your next crowdfunding campaign? We’d love to help!