Crowdfunding Procedures

UVU CROWDFUNDING/CROWDSOURCING PROCEDURES

The following procedures apply to Crowdfunding and/or Crowdsourcing Projects undertaken by any individual associated with Utah Valley University (“UVU” or “University”) including employees, affiliated faculty/staff, and students.

I. DEFINITIONS

A. Annual Giving Department. The highest-level official (or designee) department at UVU who processes crowdfunding applications, schedules consultations, trainings, and post campaign meetings/activities for all projects as specified in Section II.A.

B. Marketing Department. The highest-level official department at UVU who approves all use of UVU branding and logos to ensure consistent use of logos, colors, and typography.

C. Crowdfunding. Seeking to fund a discrete Project through the solicitation of donations of money (typically small) from large numbers of individuals, typically carried out in an online environment to benefit UVU. Crowdfunding activities include, but are not limited to, funding for the following endeavors: scholarships, creative work (movies, plays, music, etc.), department/college needs, research, engagement, clubs, intermural, and travel.

D. Crowdsourcing. The practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers.

E. Project Administrator. A UVU employee or student who proposes and executes a Crowdfunding or Crowdsourcing Project.

F. Project. Projects using UVU Crowdfunding are only available to entities directly affiliated with UVU. Any type of Crowdfunding or Crowdsourcing effort must be initiated only by UVU employees or students and funds must be used to benefit UVU. This definition is intended to be construed broadly to encompass any/all Crowdfunding and/or Crowdsourcing Projects initiated by UVU employees, affiliated faculty/staff or students.

G. Third-Party Platform. Utah Valley University has a contract with a third-party vendor (Community Funded) for all university-affiliated Crowdfunding or Crowdsourcing projects located at https://uvucrowdfunding.communityfunded.net/.

H. UVU Email Lists. Refers to any and all email lists containing email addresses belonging to UVU students, staff, faculty, administration, donors and alumni.

I. UVU Resources. Refers to the use of UVU’s branding, name or logo, UVU intellectual property, UVU IT or computing resources (e.g. UVU computers and Internet networks), UVU research or laboratory resources, UVU facilities, or UVU email lists. This list is not exhaustive, and this definition is intended to be construed broadly to encompass any/all UVU resources used in any Crowdfunding or Crowdsourcing Project.

II. SUMMARY OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. UVU Annual Giving Department:

1. Processes Crowdfunding applications.
2. Schedules consultations, trainings and post-Project meetings for all Projects.
3. Trains and provides direction to Project Administrators in Crowdfunding best practices, proper content creation and appropriate stewardship steps.
4. Requests proper allocation documentation when appropriate and gives guidance in the identification of budget managers.
5. Requests appeal codes and ensures they are included in all required places.
6. Performs all necessary functions with UVU’s System Advancement in conjunction with the Third-Party Platform to create a Project.
7. Is available to the Project Administrators throughout the life of a Project.
8. Ensures that all stewardship of gifts is completed after the close of the Crowdsourcing Project.
9. Audits all allocations opened for Crowdfunding purposes.
10. Identifies any Crowdfunding processes that need revision and remains in constant communication with the UVU Foundation and UVU system to assess the health of the UVU Crowdfunding program overall.

B. UVU Marketing Department:

1. Part of the approval process for any Crowdfunding Project.
2. Ensures all branding and logo use within video or photo materials and content submitted for a Crowdfunding Project are compliant with University Style Guide.

C. The Project Administrator:

1. Creates and submits application for a Crowdfunding Project.
2. Attends all scheduled consultations, trainings, and post-Project meetings for the Project. Attends trainings pertaining to Crowdfunding best practices, proper content creation, and appropriate stewardship steps.
3. Identifies the Project goal, budget, funding needs, purpose, marketing strategy, team members, and potential campus support.
4. Adheres to UVU policies and procedures when collecting and spending money fundraised through the Crowdfunding Third Party Platform. Works with the Annual Giving Department and budget managers to appropriately spend University funds.
5. Creates content for crowdfunding project platform campaign, emails, social media posts, and stewardship communications, including Project advertising video(s), hashtags and Thankview video, following the University style guide.
6. Organizes timeline for when all channels will be utilized throughout the duration of the Project and adheres to the timeline.
7. Updates all necessary content including personal network lists, videos, photos, and site content.
8. Ensures that all stewardship of gifts is completed after close of Project.
9. Meets with UVU Annual Giving Department representatives to assess the overall Project and make sure the funds are accurately spent.

III. PROCEDURES

A. Approval Process for Projects that Use UVU Resources.

1. Projects that use UVU resources or that claim to be on behalf of UVU, or affiliate themselves with UVU in any capacity, must designate a Project Administrator responsible for seeking the approvals required by these procedures.
2. Projects that use UVU resources or that claim to be on behalf of UVU, or affiliate themselves with UVU in any capacity, must receive institutional approval from Annual Giving. Such approval must be granted prior to any Project being published or going live. Organizers are encouraged to seek approval as early as possible.
3. Projects that use UVU’s name, branding and/or logo may not be used without prior approval by the UVU Marketing Department within the Crowdfunding platform approval procedures.
4. All Projects which receive payment via credit card must be approved by the Annual Giving department and be hosted on the contract-approved third-party platform to protect the security of cardholder data.

B. Application Process.

1. Projects that use UVU Resources or that claim to be on behalf of UVU, or affiliate themselves with UVU in any capacity, must submit an application at https://uvucrowdfunding.communityfunded.net/ via the UVU Crowdfunding third-party Platform.
2. Upon receipt of the application, the Annual Giving department will schedule a meeting with the Project Administrator to discuss:
   a) Project goal;
   b) Purpose;
   c) Team;
   d) Which campus groups need to be included, like University Communications;
   e) Identification of budget manager;
   f) Budget identifying the use of funds and the Index account from which collected donations will be spent on the Project;
   g) Timeline and responsibilities of individuals involved in the Project; and
   h)Description of the purpose to which funds will be directed in event that stated funding goal is not met;
   i) Marketing strategies and timeline
3. The Annual Giving department will determine if the Project meets the criteria for a successful Project. If approval is granted, the Project Administrator will be asked to complete a UVU Crowdfunding Campaign Development Packet and provide all requested information from the Annual Giving department for the Project.

C. Pre-Campaign Launch.

1. Following approval, the Project Administrator and team members must complete core team training to learn best practices, create an outreach calendar, and solidify content.
2. If necessary, the Project Administrator must complete an allocation form to determine allocation of funds raised.
3. Annual Giving will request the appropriate appeal code for the Project.
4. Immediately prior to the launch, the Project Administrator will ensure all content on the third-party Platform website is complete, and that all targeted pre-launch emails are sent.
5. Once assurance of content is given, the Project Administrator will submit the Project page for the third-party Platform website for review and approval by Marketing and Annual Giving and, if needed, UVU Foundation.
6. In conjunction with the UVU Foundation, Annual Giving will confirm the allocation and Index with the Foundation Accountant and ensure that the website link is correct and contains the correct appeal code.

D. Project Launch.

1. Once the Project is live, the Project Administrator is responsible for social media, emails, and outreach throughout the Project period.
2. Each Project will close after one-to-four weeks.

E. Post-Project.

1. After the Project closes, the Project Administrator and team will work with the Foundation Accountant and appropriate Index responsible party to spend funds raised in the manner that has been approved.
2. The Project Administrator and team will meet with the Annual Giving department to begin stewarding donors, discuss experiences with the platform, and outline plans for future fundraising.
3. The Project Administrator and team are responsible for conducting stewardship efforts in the months following the Project with the assistance of Annual Giving.
4. Annual Giving will conduct an audit of the allocation used during the Project and determine if it needs to be closed.

F. Additional Guidelines.

1. Project Administrators may only operate Crowdfunding Projects to receive contributions given without expectation of receiving anything in return.
2. Project Administrators may not provide tax advice to donors regarding deductibility of the donation unless such advice has been approved by Annual Giving.
3. Project Administrators may not issue securities to donors, nor may Project Administrators operate or market a Crowdfunding Project as an investment vehicle.
4. Project Administrators may not grant rights in University intellectual property to donors.
5. Project Administrators may not offer any gifts or benefits not identified in the Project plan.
6. Any Project that does not receive approval upon following the procedures set forth in this policy may appeal the decision to the Vice President of Utah Valley University Institutional Advancement.

IV. COMPLIANCE

All other Utah Valley University rules, policies, compliance regulations and state and federal laws remain applicable to such Projects, including limitations on and policies concerning outside consulting pursuant to UVU policy 323.