What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is having individuals contribute money through a digital platform to causes they are passionate about. It is a strong peer-to-peer giving experience made possible by the sharing of information about giving.

Application Process:

Who can apply to BullMarket?

• Current students, faculty, and staff have the ability to use the platform. Groups who are selected to use BullMarket must have a Louisiana Tech University Foundation fund for their raised dollars to be deposited. If you are unsure if your group has a fund, you can email Lindsey Murry (lmurry@latechalumni.org) for assistance.
• Student groups must have a Louisiana Tech employee as a sponsor, such as a faculty advisor.
• Currently, we are not accepting BullMarket applications from alumni.
• All projects will need to identify three to five potential prospects to help make the project a success.
• All projects will need to identify four to five team members.
• All project teams are asked to complete an application process. After your application has been submitted, it will be reviewed by the crowdfunding committee.  You will be notified of acceptance or rejection within two weeks of the application closing date. If selected, you will receive login credentials to access the ScaleFunder platform to begin setting up your project.

Is my project eligible?

Gifts made to the BullMarket site are treated as gifts to Louisiana Tech University and are tax-deductible.These gifts are processed through the Louisiana Tech University Foundation and therefore are restricted to projects that meet certain eligibility requirements.

• Gifts must be deposited into a Louisiana Tech University Foundation fund. If you are unsure if your group has a fund, you can email Lindsey Murry (lmurry@latechalumni.org) for assistance.
• Projects must have a Louisiana Tech employee as a sponsor.
• Funds raised must be used under the supervision of the sponsor.
• Campaigns raising money that will be passed along to other non-profits are not eligible to use BullMarket.

Projects that do not meet all of these criteria are not eligible for BullMarket.

Crowdfunding Project Principles:

To start a crowdfunding project, you must understand the following:

Time Commitment

A crowdfunding project requires daily, active commitment in the following phases: quiet, active, and stewardship.

• Quiet Phase: (4-6 weeks) Put the team together, identify email lists, set a goal, and create content. You should be spending a minimum of one hour daily on this project.
• Active Phase: (30-45 days) Send emails to your network(s), advertise via blogs, social media, and affinity organizations. You should be spending a minimum of one hour daily on this project.
• Stewardship Phase: (3-12 months after close) Thank You updates, perk fulfillment (if applicable), impact updates.

Team Structure

Student-based Projects:

• 1-2 Project Leaders
  • Build main interface with platform manager
  • Create solicitation list(s)
  • Create team
  • Set goal with advisor and platform manager
• 3-5 Collaborators
  • Responsible for specific pieces of content creation
  • Create solicitation lists and emails
• Ambassadors (as many as possible)
  • Create solicitation lists and emails
  • Find new advertising mechanisms (social media/school paper/blogs/etc.)
  • Push campaign on their own social media network(s)

Faculty/Research Projects:

• 1-2 Project Leaders
  • Professor/Researcher - serves as face of the project
  • Assistant or Development Officer - interface with program manager
  • All - set the project goal
  • Create project team
• 2-3 Project Collaborators
  • Content creation
  • Create solicitation list(s)
• Ambassadors

Departmental Initiatives:

• 2-3 Project Leaders
  • Content creation
  • Goal setting with advising from project manager
  • Create solicitation list(s)
• Ambassadors
  • Provide peer-to-peer solicitations
  • Be present in content (videos/images/etc.) - should be the "face" of the project

Strategic Goal Setting

• Set your goal based on the amount of money you can raise rather than your budgetary deficit.
• You