Crowdfunding for Social Impact: Examining University-Led Initiatives

This study highlights the key role of crowdfunding in promoting social impact at Universities (Salem State University, Boston University and Babson College). Through analysis of funded campaigns, we identify key factors influencing their success, including the importance of storytelling, institutional legitimacy, and community network activation. Sentiment analysis using TextBlob revealed that campaigns with a positive, and engaging narrative tended to perform better, although some projects compensated for weak storytelling with other levers, such as mobilizing university communities. These results confirm that universities can play a vital role in social entrepreneurship by using crowdfunding to fund impact initiatives while offering students a hands-on learning opportunity on the dynamics of participatory funding. However, the uneven distribution of funding observed highlights the need for university platforms to better adapt their evaluation criteria, to different types of projects, and to offer specific support to project leaders from under-represented backgrounds. In conclusion, this study contributes to a better understanding of university crowdfunding and its potential to generate sustainable social impact, paving the way for future research into the mechanisms of institutional differentiation and the optimization of crowdfunding strategies in higher education.