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Fundraising
When done correctly, fundraising can be an important source of income for a student
organization and also an opportunity to aid various worthy non-profit organizations or foundations. First, please be aware of MIT policies and procedures for use of funds.
There are two different types of fundraising for MIT student groups:
On Campus:
The first step to on-campus fundraising is to contact the Undergraduate Association
or the Graduate Student Council to request funds.
If you funding needs are not met by your student government funding board there are additional sources of funding available on campus. See http://web.mit.edu/slp/money/groups.shtml
Lastly, all student group fundraising must be consistent with university policies.
Off Campus:
Off campus fundraising can include soliciting alumni for funds or soliciting corporate sponsorships.
Before soliciting funds, please contact the Alumni Association. There are limitations for soliciting from alumni.
Groups are only allowed to solicit funds from alumni who have given money before or have a previous relationship with the group
For soliciting funds from businesses, there are steps that should be taken. For questions contact giving@mit.edu
- Determine your target audience
- Research the company's previous sponsorships
- Set the sponsorship levels and benefits according to your research and the project
- Locate and develop a contact within the company
- Follow up on letters with phone calls but try not to overwhelm the company
- Develop this relationship with the sponsors
- SEND THANK YOU NOTES
Some other words of advice include start fundraising early. Provide the same benefits to a donor regardless if they donate goods or materials or money. For instance, if a merchant gives approximately $100 worth of food or refreshments give them the same benefits as if they really donated $100 of money. Also make donating worth the company's time. One way to do this could be by stating
"Monetary contributions of more than five hundred dollars will allow your company's graphic to appear on the event's
sign and t-shirt" and also offering sponsorship levels such as (bronze, silver, gold, platinum). A word of caution is that the company may not take over the event no matter how much they donate (i.e. the event should not be the XYZ Company Road rally, instead it should be the MIT student group name Road Rally sponsored in part by XYZ Company.)
A note of caution is to make sure that the Institute is not already soliciting funds from the same corporation
as the
corporation may donate to the student organization alone and neglect the contribution to the Institute.
This can be insured
by contacting the MIT Industrial Liaison Program or by checking their web page for a list of members.
The list can be
found at http://ilp-www.mit.edu.
Policies
Detailed answers about what is and isn't allowed can be found in the MIT Policies and Procedures Guide Section
12.6
on the web at http://web.mit.edu/policies/12.6.html
If a sponsors will receive any benefit (prominent advertising placement, preferential treatment, complimentary
tickets, so on) for donating to your student group these gift may not be considered tax deductible. Your group should first
check with the company to find out if they would be considering this donation as a business
expense instead of a tax deductible donation. Many times the tax benefit does not matter to a company as much as you might be expecting.
If they will not receiving a benefit or considering the donation as a business expense their gift must be processed through the MIT Treasurer's Office
(instructions at http://web.mit.edu/slp/money/other.shtml.) Please note that if the funds are
acknowledged as a gift to MIT designated for your student group they may only be used for program and event expenses directly for your
student group. Acknowledged gifts to MIT designated for your student group may not be used for donations to outside non-profit organizations.
Some important things to remember are:
- fundraising may only be conducted under the supervision of recognized MIT campus organizations
- collected funds may be used for off-campus projects by the organization or may be sent to legal
off-campus
organizations with proper documentation
- any gifts received and acknowledged by the Institute must be used for student group expenses and may not be sent to an off campus non-profit organization
- funds raised may not be used on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office
- all payments for services must be paid directly by MIT to the service proviider and must be accompanied by a contract
- organizations should not be formed with the sole intention of raising funds for off-campus causes
- advertising for donors should not take over the event:
- reference to sponsors should appear at bottom of material
- links should go to company's homepage and not directly to a product
- phrasing such as "sponsored in part by (company's name)" is to be used rather than "the (company's name) event"
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