Have a business or project that you need funding for? Penn State might have the solution for you. In recent years, crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe have exploded in popularity, allowing thousands of companies, projects, and ideas to come to fruition. By collecting donations from people around the world in exchange for incentives and rewards, people who traditionally would have had difficulty acquiring capital have been able to achieve their goals. Now, the power of crowdfunding is coming to the Penn State community.

Over the past few years, Penn State has been testing its own crowdfunding website called “Let’s Grow State” in collaboration with Community Funded, a company that provides crowdfunding software to other institutions like the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and Babson College. To date, only a few projects have been tested with the new website, but its use has already made an impact on the Penn State community and others around the world.

Let’s Grow State has allowed students at Penn State Harrisburg to overcome financial hardships by creating an emergency assistance fund. It’s funded the cost of laboratory equipment, supplies, and mtDNA sequencing. The platform has even helped the Penn State Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship program build five greenhouses and improve food security in Zambia.

Any student, faculty or staff member, parent, or alumni can apply to have their project listed on Let’s Grow State. Submitting a project is as easy as filling out basic information about your project and organization and how much you are looking to collect. You can even submit a video to make your case. If you reach the funding goal, the funds are available for use within one week. Donations to projects are even tax deductible by using the tax-exempt status of the university.

Ready to launch your next idea? Go out there and give Let’s Grow State a try. Submit your project here.