What is Science Donors?
Science Donors is a crowdfunding and crowdsourcing science social network. We provide an open service for the general public to donate to science projects. We also provide an open science incubator within our Think Tanks.
FAQs
Do I need to be a scientist to join Science Donors?
Absolutely not. Science Donors is an open community. We welcome all people to join up and become active within our network.
How much does membership cost?
Membership to Science Donors is absolutely free. We will never charge anyone a sign up fee.
Projects, Funding and Campaign Management
I am a scientist who needs funding. How do I submit a project?
You can submit a project proposal to us by clicking the ‘Submit A Project’ link at the top of any page within Science Donors. This will take you to our application form for project consideration. Fill out the form in as much detail as possible and we will assess your suitability for inclusion on Science Donors.
If your application is successful, one of our team members will contact you for additional information. We will then post your project on Science Donors and provide you with a number of tools which will help you to promote your project externally. Additionally, we will sign you up for a membership page with us, so you can check the progress of your project and interact with your donor base.
Who can apply for a funding project?
Anyone who needs assistance with funding their work or research, so long as it is relevant to science. This can include science writers, citizen scientists, professional researchers, school labs or science departments, documentary makers working to produce a science based film, research and development teams, home based scientists or anyone who is trying to work on a science project but who doesn’t have the collateral to complete their work.
Can I run more than one project at a time?
Yes, you can although it is not recommended.
What are my funding options?
We provide both All or Nothing and Recurrent funding.
All or Nothing funding means that project owners will receive their funding only if their donation amount meets 100% of the set target within the allotted time frame. If the funding is unsuccessful, all donations collected will be returned to the donors. No charges will occur.
If your project isn’t funded by the allotted time frame you initially set, we can also extend the date to give you more time in which to reach your funding goal.
We also provide Recurrent funding options, such as open ended campaigns where payments are collected, sent and reset on a monthly basis. This option must be specifically requested at the time of posting the project submission form.
How long can I run my project for?
For All or Nothing campaigns, you can set your own time frame so long as it does not exceed 120 days.
Can I extend my time frame if I am close to my donation target but need some extra time to achieve the amount of funding I need?
You may extend your project time line by contacting us. We will do all we can to help ensure projects meet their targets.
How much does it cost to post a project on Science Donors?
Absolutely nothing. All project submissions and postings are completely free. We will apply a flat fee of 3% for successfully funded projects. A 3rd party processing fee of 3% will also apply for successfully funded projects and donations. Additional costs may be incurred for international transactions.
How are donations collected?
All project donations are collected via credit card processing and Stripe.
How will you send my funding to me once my targets have been met?
We can send you your funding via paypal or American bank check. We will discuss these options with project owners when processing and uploading your projects within Science Donors. We may also be able to send international wire transfers to non-US based project owners. However, additional fees may apply.
What happens if I reach my goal in advance of my deadline?
In the event of donation goals being met prior to your deadline, we will continue to run your campaign until the project expires. This means that you have a greater chance to generate even more money to help fund your work.
Can I alter my project once it is uploaded into Science Donors?
You may alter aspects of your project, such as description, expectations or provide updates and futher information. You may not, however, change your funding goal or deadline. If you need to do either of these, please contact us to discuss why you need to make the changes.
Can I keep donors up to date with my project on Science Donors?
You can upload videos, pictures, news posts and more into your project page area. We recommend that you post updates as often as possible while your campaign is running.
Can I offer perks for donating to my project?
We are working on allowing project owners to offer certain small incentives. However, we will not allow project users to offer cash incentives such as profit sharing or stake holder-ship in return for project donations.
Donors and Donations
How can I donate to a project?
Each project will have an easily accessible donation box on the page. Our donation box will allow donors to select the amount of money they wish to donate to the project owner. Once the donor has selected their amount, they will be taken to a secure area in which to complete the transaction.
What methods of payment can I use to donate to a project?
Donors will be able to make donations using debit or credit cards. Currently, we can accept Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express. We are looking to add additional methods of payment and will inform our donors as new methods are added.
I’ve changed my mind about donating to a certain project. Can I get a refund?
Before you donate to a project, we suggest you take a few moments to consider if it is a cause you really want to support. We can offer refunds in certain situations, however we believe that once a donor lists their support, they should see it through.
If a project you have funded doesn’t meet its goal at deadline, and the project is categorized as an ‘All or Nothing funding’ project, we will refund your money.
I want to donate to a project, but can’t find one I like. Can I donate to a general category instead?
Yes you can. We are setting up general category donation areas for people who wish to donate to a scientific cause, but are undecided which they would like to donate to. Our general category donation area allows donors to pledge money to specific fields of scientific research, such as Biology, Physics or Chemistry. We will use these donations to top up other projects within the specified fields at the end of each month. Top Think Tank members will be allocated a major say as to which projects should receive additional funding from our general category donations.
Think Tanks
What are Think Tanks?
Think Tanks are free discussion and collaboration areas established for members of our community to use in order to discuss ideas and science projects.
Why are Think Tanks beneficial?
Think Tanks allow all of our users the ability to work together, problem solve, collaborate and come up with new, innovative ideas which can help science. Think Tanks are incubators for new scientific research and advances. We believe that open collaboration will help to generate new and exciting scientific research projects.
Do I need to be a professional scientist to join a Think Tank?
Absolutely not! Think Tanks are community tools open and accessible to all of our members. We believe that anyone who wants to be able to contribute to science should have the right to do so. It doesn’t matter whether you are a world renowned scientist, or a home based citizen scientist working on an open science project, we want you to contribute. When we all work together, we can create great things.
What can I do in the Think Tank area?
There are a number of things you can do within the Think Tanks. Firstly, you can start an open project within our Think Tanks. If you have an idea for a line of research or experiment, you may open a Think Tank and allow other members to join and contribute. By contrast, you might want to visit other people’s Think Tanks and provide a fresh perspective on their research ideas. You might be able to help a scientist who is having problems with their research by reviewing their thread and provide a solution to their problem.
Additionally, you can use the Think Tanks to form collaborative projects with other members of the community. If you do this, you can use the Think Tank to keep one another up to date with the progress you are making in relation to your project.
How do I join a Think Tank?
You need to be a member of Science Donors in order to join any of the Think Tanks within the website. If you aren’t a member already, please feel free to sign up and join us. Membership is completely free.
Once you have joined Science Donors, you will be able to view and sign up to our Think Tanks. Just find a project you are interested in and join up. Additionally, if you have an idea for a Think Tank, you can start up your own project.
What are Science Dollars?
Science Dollars are virtual currency within Science Donors. Science Dollars can be earned by actively participating in Think Tanks and other areas of the Science Donors website. We will be adding the function to exchange Science Dollars for goods and items in the near future, so start collecting them now.
Member Conduct
General conduct in Science Donors
All members of the Science Donors community are required to maintain a polite and professional attitude while using any feature of our service. Science Donors is a social community, as well as a crowdfunding resource. Our view is that members should treat one another with respect and dignity at all times.
Conduct in Think Tanks
Please do not use our Think Tanks to troll, flame or post abusive comments to other members of our community. Our Think Tanks are designed to help incubate science research and project ideas. They are not designed to allow users to embark on abusive or disrespectful activities or behavior.
We will not tolerate members using Think Tanks to abuse other members in any way, shape or form. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination within our Think Tanks. Members should refrain from making comments or posts which have threatening or derogatory tones, or which discriminate against other member’s sex, race, beliefs, educational level, financial status, appearance or physical abilities.
We will not allow posts or comments within Think Tanks which promote illegal or illicit activities. Any member found posting such content will be banned from Science Donors. We ask that other members who see such violations inform us immediately in order to take action.
We will remove users and posts which spam unrelated content.
Person to person messages
Please do not harass other members of Science Donors. We believe that we should all respect each other’s privacy in here, just as we would in real life. Do not leave abusive or threatening posts or messages on other member’s profiles. This will not be tolerated by Science Donors.
When messaging another member, please remain polite and respectful. Reports of abuse will be taken seriously by Science Donors, and we will investigate all instances of reported abuse.