Putting the Fun in Fundraising

Kickstarter, GoFundMe ... plenty of websites out there are devoted to crowdfunding, an often efficient and compelling method of funding a venture by raising small amounts of money from (hopefully) large numbers of contributors. But only one site lets you show your Violet Pride by donating exclusively to NYU students who are seeking to engage in cutting-edge tech projects,  advance the social good, and contribute to the life of the university. To view all of the worthy teams taking part in this year’s Rising Violets program, now in its third year, visit risingviolets.nyu.edu. Last year’s campaign saw 53 projects launched and more than $110,000 raised from over 800 contributors — almost half of whom were first-time donors to NYU.

In the meantime, check out these fund-seeking projects that prove Tandon students always have their eyes on the technological ball, and support them if you can.

Rogue Aerospace

Rogue Aerospace was founded by four people with big dreams and even bigger rockets who saw that NYU did not have a large-scale rocketry team and sought to change that. They applied for and earned official High Powered Rocketry Certifications under the National Association of Rocketry, and they’re now providing real-world aerospace experience and application to a growing number of members. As a team, they aim to start a legacy at NYU by excelling at the Battle of the Rockets, a collegiate competition with multiple levels of difficulty, and eventually, with your help, they hope to shine on the international stage at the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition, whose rules include an altitude requirement of an astonishing 10,000 to 30,000 feet, along with stringent stipulations on payload capacity.

NYU Tandon Motorsports

NYU Tandon Motorsports was founded in 2016 to compete in Baja SAE, where students from around the world bring off-road vehicles they’ve designed and built. Now comprised of more than 60 passionate students from a wide variety of backgrounds and majors (from Californian to Pakistani, Integrated Digital Media to Computer Engineering) the team represents the diversity, grit, and tenacity of New York City. It doesn’t get grittier or more tenacious than their performance last season, when their car was nearly totaled following a double-forward roll down a hill. The capstone four-hour endurance race was less than 17 hours away and without the tools on hand to pull off that type of repair, they brushed off the shock and whirred into action to gather replacement parts from other teams willing to help. From near obliteration, the car was fully functional again in a mere five hours, and the next morning, the car made it through the entire endurance race. This season, they aim to do even better. With a new R&D branch, a partnership with NYU’s Women in STEM initiative, and, hopefully, your help, they’ll have what it takes to be a serious threat to teams with decades of experience under their belts.