UWinnipeg launches province’s first post-secondary crowdfunding site
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg’s Foundation has launched a crowdfunding site to make it easier for people to support research, students and projects on campus. Currently, only a handful of Canadian universities have crowdfunding websites and UWinnipeg is the first in Manitoba.
The new platform has raised $81,015 since it was activated in October 2014. One of the site’s first projects, the Lindor Reynolds Youth-in-Care Tuition Waiver Bursary, more than doubled its original $10,000 goal in less than a week and has raised $51,732 to date. The Lindor campaign is accepting donations until January 31, 2015. Created in honour of the late Winnipeg Free Press columnist and UWinnipeg alumna, Lindor’s bursary will support youth who have grown up in the child welfare system, providing them with financial support to pursue a post-secondary education.
“The website provides an interactive online platform to showcase some of UWinnipeg’s innovative research and projects,” said Dr. Annette Trimbee, UWinnipeg President and Vice-Chancellor. ”It’s great to see the community respond to enrich our students’ experience, and to support faculty and staff in turninfg ideas into action.”
An increasingly popular online fundraising tool, crowdfunding provides a way to pitch projects that the public want to help fund. The Foundation’s crowdfunding site, which was developed in-house, supports projects led by members of the UWinnipeg community – promoting campus projects which will advance teaching and learning at the university and its Collegiate.
Among several other projects currently on the website, featured campaigns include:
Support Innovative Wildlife Research: UWinnipeg Professor and Researcher, Dr. Susan Lingle and her lab are making major breakthroughs in research on animal behaviour. From understanding inter-species relationships to parent-infant communication, Dr. Lingle’s work has garnered international attention. It has been featured in academic journals, television and radio, including CBC’s Quirks and Quarks.
The Lingle Lab also provides invaluable hands-on research opportunities for students. “It’s truly amazing to be a part of such groundbreaking work,” said Cora Anne Romanow, UWinnipeg student and member of the Lingle Lab. “To have the opportunity to get out of the classroom and into the field has proven to be very rewarding and given me experience that will help me fulfill my educational and career aspirations.”
The Axworthy Distinguished Lecture Series on Social Justice and the Public Good: Launching in May 2015, the lectureship is a new initiative at UWinnipeg intended to provoke dialogues about social justice in an accessible, open forum.
The series will feature world-renowned social activists and front-ranking scholars. The University is pleased to announce that the first two lectureships will feature Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Jane Goodall respectiviely.
Dr. West is a professor at Princeton University and has taught at Yale, Harvard and the University of Paris. He is best known for his classic Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his new memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. He also appears frequently on Real Time with Bill Maher, The Colbert Report, CNN, C-Span, and PBS.
Dr. Goodall is a passionate spokesperson for animals and the environment. In 2002, she was appointed a UN Messenger of Peace by Kofi Annan. Her many honors include the Medal of Tanzania, the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Gandhi/King Award for Nonviolence, the Franklin Institute’s Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life and Science, and Spain’s coveted Prince of Asturias Award. In February 2004, she was awarded England’s highest honor, Dame of the British Empire.
This stimulating lecture series is free of charge and open to the public.
The University of Winnipeg Foundation is a registered charity recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency and all donations made are tax deductible with receipts provided.
– 30 –
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
