Please review these participation requirements.

• You must be a Registered Student Organization (RSO) in good standing.
• Funds raised must be used to benefit current University of Connecticut students, staff, and programs.
• All participating groups must be approved by an appropriate University program director, staff advisor, or faculty member.
• If your group is part of a larger third-party institution, you must be identified on the giving page as “The UConn Chapter of …” at the University of Connecticut”.
• Groups cannot raise money to donate or provide support to other non-profit organizations or businesses. Funds must be raised and used to benefit the group’s UConn activities.
• Student fundraisers are strictly prohibited from keeping any portion of the funds raised as profit or compensation.
• Student fundraisers are strictly prohibited from recording or maintaining any donor information.

Donors can only give through online giving pages

• Teams cannot use personal Venmo, CashApp or any other platforms to directly accept donations.
  • There is an option on the Ignite giving platform (GiveCampus) to complete your gift with Venmo, Paypal or ApplePay.
• Groups should never handle cash or credit card gifts from donors.
• There is a $5 minimum for Ignite gifts.

Please do not make multiple gifts under different names using the same credit card number.

• Individual donors are distinguished by credit card billing name. They will only count as a unique donor once based on that billing name.
• Donors should use their real names. Fake names or inappropriate comments will result in penalties to your total points and may result in removal from the Ignite program.

Encouraging your fellow students to give is a great fundraising strategy. One way to do that is through giveaways, however there are some giveaways that are not allowed as part of Ignite:

YES: Social Media, Tabling, FREE Giveaways (token items approved by the Foundation), Newsletters, etc.

NO: Bake Sales, Raffle/Auctions, restaurant fundraisers, events, t-shirt, water bottle or other premium sales

Groups must include the following clause on their giving pages: “Any additional funds will be used for the general activities of the group.”

All contributions to The University of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. are assessed certain administrative fees that are used to support Foundation operating expenses, as well as other priority needs determined by the school, college or unit receiving the gift. A fee of 5% will apply. Everything raised after this gift fee is applied supports the designated student group.

2025 Ignite Prize Vaults

Ignite Law: $5,000

Ignite Club Sports: $10,000

Ignite Students First: $20,000

Your student organization can earn prize money by participating in a variety of fundraising and marketing challenges! At the end of Ignite points will be totaled up for teams who have at least 30 donors. Teams will be assigned a “Team Ratio” based on their team points divided by total number of points earned by all eligible teams. This ratio will be multiplied by the prize value total to determine the team’s bonus. For a group to gain entry into the vault, they must have at least 30 donors to their cause. After the competition ends all funds will be deposited into the designated UConn Foundation fund for each winning student organization.

• Dollar Challenge: 1/2 point for every dollar raised. Minimum of $300 raised needed to qualify.
• Donor Challenge: Ten points for every donor ($5 minimum donation). Minimum of 30 unique donors to qualify.
  • Unique donors are distinguished by credit card billing information

Date TBD

More information to come!

The UConn Foundation will promote the Ignite competition through emails and social media posts. The UConn Foundation will not provide email or mailing lists to any student group, faculty or staff to be utilized for Ignite. Ignite groups should use their networks to actively promote their causes.

All donations will be deposited into a UConn Foundation fund and will be available for use in accordance with UConn Foundation policies. This will ensure that donations will be used as intended. No money will be distributed to individuals and all distributions will require UConn signatory review. Registered student organizations should work with the Student Activities Business Office to access funds.

If a violation of the terms and conditions or confidentiality agreement occurs, we have the right to terminate your project and contest participation without notice.

If your group does not win the competition, your student organization will still receive all donated funds which will remain in your UConn Foundation fund for use in accordance with the UConn Foundation description of the fund associated with your student organization.

Ignite is a student-run crowdfunding competition that helps student groups raise money for the UConn-related programs and activities they are most passionate about. Over the course of a three-week campaign, student groups raise money and participate in challenges to earn a portion of Ignite prize money.

Ignite was launched in February 2013 to support student organizations. In the Fall of 2014, the UConn School of Law started its own Ignite program and in 2021 we introduced Ignite Club Sports, an initiative that supports the 35 club sports teams in the UConn Rec department.

Beginning in October 2025, Ignite Club Sports, Ignite Law, and Ignite Students First (formerly Ignite General) will occur at the same time! This change will help increase awareness of each Ignite program and give student groups the remainder of the academic year to use the money they raise.

Crowdfunding is the process of raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.

• Think about your story and how you will create emotion about your cause.
• Keep it concise.
• Don’t overwhelm potential donors with too much information.
• Practice!
• Don’t forget to ASK!