Every Vanderbilt student arrives with a vision, career goals and intentions to make a difference. Their experiences here spark new ideas about ways to advance their goals: service trips, research equipment or new events generate awareness and excitement. But those ideas are just the first step-bringing them to life is next.

For students at other universities, that can be a winding path through layers of bureaucracy, but Vanderbilt is different. Its unique culture of radical collaboration encourages students' passions and anchors them in the inherent support of the broader Commodore community.

Vanderbilt Crowdfunding, an initiative in its inaugural year, offers a new level of possibility through student-led philanthropy. Supported by university resources provided by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, the forward-looking approach to engagement and philanthropy reframes fundraising from a formal transaction to a shared investment in future leaders-to a community coming together for support.

Give by Friday to support the fall 2025 Vanderbilt Crowdfunding initiative.>>

Crowdfunding is a resource beyond the traditional funding offered by Student Affairs, and it allows students to bring more ideas and projects to life. Through the crowdfunding initiative, a motorsports team fundraising to go to a national competition and a student group coordinating a networking summit have become more than abstract concepts. Projects like these are meaningful extensions of the student experience that now have the funding to be successful.

Through this program, students are empowered to speak directly to the faculty, staff, alumni and peers who believe in their vision. The support provided by the university allows proactive leadership to thrive while alleviating the pressure of legal and logistical components, which are time-consuming and often impede success. By building confidence in advocating for themselves and their ideas, students gain experience that will prepare them to become philanthropic leaders after graduation.

Individual students or student groups can apply have their idea accepted for Vanderbilt Crowdfunding. Once approved, they receive support to launch a campaign-for donations but also community-wide engagement for impact. Soon their campaign becomes a collective movement: perhaps a student in another major sees potential and contributes five dollars; they tell a professor, who shares the campaign on their social media platforms or in their classes. Eventually, an alumnus who cherishes their own Vanderbilt experience funds a matching challenge.

This kind of collective mobilization illustrates core differentiators of the Vanderbilt student experience: recognizing and rewarding student initiative and community investment in new ideas for change. If a student can see their project meet its fundraising goal in a few short weeks, they learn the power of their voice and the enduring strength of the community. And every small gift toward that goal is proof of personal support and, in some ways, informal proof of concept.

The university provides the platforms for promotion and processing, but students, faculty and alumni provide the momentum. This shared investment ensures that visionary aspirations are realized and amplifies the benefits of an extraordinarily opportunity-rich campus.

Vanderbilt operates as a community of possibilities, not of barriers, and across campus, students are turning their passions into action.

Visit the Vanderbilt Crowdfunding site to explore the student projects featured in our first student organization fall crowdfunding cycle, which concludes on Friday, Nov. 21. Your support can help bring these initiatives to life.