Alternative Solutions for Chapters of Schools with Fundraising Restrictions
Fundraising is an important aspect of mental health awareness and advocacy on campus. You can build a
stronger chapter by raising money to support your own programming and advocacy work year-to-year and
to help sustain the national movement by fulfilling your chapter fundraising requirement with Active
Minds, Inc. Fundraising also allows chapters to maximize the number of people they can reach and
increases the strength of their messaging across campus.
Concerned that your school does not allow fundraising on campus? Depending on your school’s rules and
regulations, there are many ways chapters in this position can still collect donations both online and
offline. Below are some ideas and strategies shared by chapters:
Check Your University’s Rules and Regulations
The first step in chapter fundraising is to check the specific rules and regulations for your university.
While certain universities prohibit student organizations from fundraising, the majority have various
procedures that clubs must follow in order to fundraise. Many schools require that an organization is in
good standing with the Student Activities office, has a treasurer in place, and a specific type of bank
account set up through the university. Public and private universities can have drastically different rules
regarding how student organizations are allowed to collect money. As a result, contacting your advisors
or student government leadership is an excellent way to learn more about the proper ways to fundraise.
Earn Program Credits:
Every year you work hard to organize exceptional programming and change people’s perspectives on
mental health and wellness. Why not get credit toward your fundraising requirement with the national
office while you do it? When you purchase an Active Minds program such as a speaking engagement
with the Speakers Bureau or a PostSecretU kit, you automatically receive credit toward your fundraising
goal. For example, with one purchase of a medium PostSecretU kit, you earn a credit of $350, which
exceeds the requirement to raise $250 every two years! For more information, please visit Active Minds
Program Credits.
Fundraise Online:
Active Minds, Inc. provides online chapter fundraising pages for raising funds for the national office only.
All funds submitted to your online chapter fundraising page go directly to the national office and count
toward your fundraising requirement. For more information about how the online fundraising pages work
and to register for one, check out our Fundraising FAQs.
Crowdfunding
You can also fundraise online through other platforms that allow you to raise funds as an individual to
your friends, family, and connections beyond your campus for a cause that is meaningful to you.
Many students prefer to pay on debit and credit cards as opposed to small bills. As a result, one of the
most effective means of raising funds is by using a crowdsourcing platform. Crowdfunding is defined as
the “practice of funding a project or venture by raising large number of funds from a large amount of
people typically via the internet.” In other words, crowdfunding websites are online donation platforms
that allow people on your social networks to seamlessly donate to your cause using a credit card or check.
Often, donors opt to share their online donation activity with their social media networks, further
spreading your cause and crowdfunding page across the internet. Similarly to the the Active Minds online
fundraising pages, as the campaign organizer, you have the ability to provide both textual, photo, and
video updates of your campaign and the ability to easily share your progress throughout your social
networks. Here is an example of Tulane University’s Active Minds crowdfunding page. Some of the
most popular crowdfunding sites include: GoFundMe, Indiegogo, and Kickstarter.
If you decide to use a Crowdfunding page, there are two things to know:
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First, there is no such thing as a completely free Crowdfunding website. The vast majority of
crowdfunding websites collect fees ranging from 5-10% at the end of your campaign. As a result,
if your chapter is raising money for the national office, we strongly recommend you use the
Active Minds Online Fundraising Pages on myactiveminds.org to raise money instead of external
crowdfunding websites.
The second thing to be aware of is that all donations made on Crowdfunding website are made to
a personal account and are therefore not tax deductible. This is something that should be
explained to donors so they are not misled. After considering both pieces of information, your
executive board should decide together whether you would like to use crowdfunding to raise
donations.
Request Funds from Your School:
A great starting place to find money is by checking if your university offers financial support. Both public
and private colleges often have money set aside for student initiatives, programs, and clubs. Mental health
is increasingly becoming more of a priority on campuses, and as a result, university administrations often
have interest in supporting Active Minds’ mission. As a chapter leader, your task is to find out which
branches of student government and university leadership have the capacity to support your initiatives. Be
sure to use our Resources for Requesting Funds from Your School when making an ask.
Academic Departments:
At many larger universities, academic departments will provide funds to student organizations with
purposes relevant to their disciplines. Departments with similar interests as Active Minds include
psychology, public health, social work, and sociology, among others. In most situations, the most direct
and efficient means of asking for support is to contact a member of the department, ideally the head of the
department, with whom you or another chapter member has an existing relationship.
Student Government and Student Affairs:
Student Government and Student Affairs are the divisions of your university who oversee student life.
They play an enormous role in deciding which organizations are welcome at your campus, and the
amount of funding each club receives. In many cases, after student government or student affairs
approves a request to start a chapter on campus, they provide initial start-up funding to chapter leadership.
For example, at Tulane University, the student government provided an $800 start-up grant to the new
chapter after completing registration. It is important to plan what types of events you are hosting well in
advance. In most cases, student government requires a specific budget stating exactly how much money is
needed and how your chapter plans to spend it before providing any type of support. Having a close
relationship and open communication with your student government provides chapters with both an open
dialogue to university administrators, and potentially, financial support.
Counseling and Psychological Services Office:
The most important partnership Active Minds chapters can form is with the school’s counseling center.
Since Active Minds chapters often refer students to resources for help, having a strong relationship with
mental health professionals on your campus is essential. Subsequently, both counseling centers and
wellness organizations on campus often have funding for student clubs that further their goals to create a
healthier student body. Forming partnerships with your counseling center is a great way to position your
chapter for receiving financial support, as well as maintaining important relationships with on-campus
resources.
Apply for Grants:
Grants are a fantastic, yet often over-looked, way to receive financial support. Chapters can apply for
grants from various non-profit organizations, universities, cities, and even Active Minds, Inc. as a means
of furthering chapter programs and initiatives. Each organization provides specific guidelines and
instructions in their application, and the amount of money each award provides vary. You can search for
grants available nationally and in your region using our Grants Database. Your chapter can also apply for
an Active Minds Chapter Development Grant to support any upcoming program for up to $250.
Sell Items and Collect Money Digitally using SmartPhone Apps:
If you have ever tabled an event or participated in a local fundraiser this is a line you have probably heard
from students passing by: “I’m sorry, I would donate but I don’t have cash on me.” To avoid this
problem, there are at least two easy methods of digitally collecting money using smartphone apps.
Venmo is a mobile payment service that lets users transfer money to each other using iPhone or Android
phones by simply typing in the amount of money they would like to send or collect. To send money, users
simply need to enter their debit or credit card information into the application. If you are using a debit
card, the payment is free of charge. If you are using a credit card, the application collects 3% of the funds
sent. In order for users to cash out, they need to provide bank account information necessary for a direct
deposit. After a user “cashes out” Venmo take two-three days to process the transaction. Venmo allows
students to conveniently send money without ever having to carry a cash or credit cards on hand.
Additionally, Square is a one-inch card reader that plugs into the standard headphone jack of a
smartphone or iPhone. Users simply type in the amount of money they are donating, and then swipe their
credit or debit cards through the device, and the transaction is complete. Using the square application,
chapter members can easily keep track of all transactions by organizing payments under one event. After
an event is over, users can “cash out” their donations using direct deposit, receiving all the money 24
hours later. The square device itself is completely free, one simply requests a device online. However,
each transaction on the reader takes 2.75% of the money donated. This small fee is something to simply
be aware of before deciding to use the application.
Collecting money digitally is a simple way to provide both convenience and organization. While hard
money is always preferred, there are very strong benefits to using either of these applications.
Restaurant Fundraisers:
Restaurant franchises like Cold Stone Creamery, Panda Express, Chipotle, McDonalds, Uno’s Chicago
Pizza, offer “fundraising nights” where a portion of their sales from an evening or a few hours go to a
charity or student organization. Contact these franchises or your local restaurants to see if they’d be
willing to host a “fundraising night.” Remember, for these events to be successful, MANY people have to
visit the restaurant that night—so advertising is key. Check out our restaurant fundraising page to learn
more.
For more programming ideas directly related to fundraising, please visit the Program Bank. Still have
questions/concerns or even other ideas we can add to this list? Contact us at chapters@activeminds.org.