Frequently Asked Questions

Superior Ideas is an entity of Michigan Technological University that helps bring university research and public service projects to life. By harnessing the power of crowdfunding, we can raise funds for small, high-quality university research projects that are not normally suited for grant funding. Funding is raised through many small donations, with social media and word-of-mouth spreading the news of exciting projects.

Superior Ideas functions based on a fairly new concept: crowdfunding. This process lets us fund projects by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people using the Internet and social media. The name comes from a recent federal law—Capital Raising Online While Deterring Fraud and Unethical Non-Disclosure Act of 2012—or the "CROWDFUND Act." The act was drafted to authorize raising capital online for business start-ups. Through Superior Ideas, you can make donations to causes and ventures you believe in, furthering the work of innovative university scientists and researchers.

Superior Ideas is based in Houghton, Mich., and is affiliated with Michigan Technological University.

People donate to initiatives that are most important to them. Through their donations, donors are giving someone else the chance to make a change, a discovery, or a breakthrough in their research.

Researchers from any higher-education institution may submit their university-run research projects for posting on Superior Ideas. Both Superior Ideas and the researcher's home university will then approve the project before posting it on the site.

Superior Ideas is open to anyone over 18 years of age, from any region of the world, who wants to support university researchers and their projects.

Yes, it is. Superior Ideas, acting on Michigan Tech's behalf, is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

It is free to join and donate to Superior Ideas.

For researchers who post their projects on Superior Ideas, a 7.5-percent administrative fee will be charged against the total amount of raised funds.

Please feel free to contact us with additional questions or comments.

Yes, it is. Donations to Superior Ideas are fully deductible on your federal tax return if you itemize (subject to limitations based on percentage of taxable income).

Superior Ideas uses an automatic payment process set up by Michigan Tech.

All major credit cards and checks are accepted. Checks may be mailed to:

Superior Ideas
c/o Michigan Tech Fund
Lakeshore Center, 200A
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931-1295

When mailing a check, please include the project name on the check's memo line, and make the check payable to the Michigan Tech Fund.

Donations made through Superior Ideas are processed by the Michigan Tech Fund. The Michigan Tech Fund's EIN is 381554664, which can be used for corporate matching programs.

Michigan Tech Fund.

Your credit card will be charged within 24 hours of making your donation.

Yes! Large or small, every donation matters. Superior Ideas is deigned to maximize the impact of many smaller donations. Five or ten dollars multiplied makes a big impact.

Before being posted on Superior Ideas, every project is approved by the Superior Ideas team. It is important to Superior Ideas that each and every donation be used for the purpose communicated by the donor. The designation of cash- and security-based donation is confirmed on the official tax receipt issued to the donor.

Your receipt will be sent to the email address you provide during the donation process.

Rewards will be sent to the address you provide during the donation process.

Please allow up to two weeks after the project end date for your rewards to arrive.

If you have additional questions, please contact us.

The Superior Ideas staff selects projects that suit our mission: supporting research, innovation, and creative work that promotes sustainable economic and social development.

The researcher/project owner retains 100 percent ownership of his or her work.

Most projects on Superior Ideas are not eligible for traditional grant funding through organizations like the National Science Foundation or National Institutes of Health.

Projects on Superior Ideas may be pilot studies or exploratory efforts that, if successful, may be expanded into a grant-funded project. Superior Ideas also aims to find additional funding for projects that are currently being conducted. We frequently pick projects because they:

• are looking for additional funding to complete a segment of their project that is not covered by grant or contract; or
• continue the initial studies after grants or contracts have expired.

We recommend limiting your funding goal to $10,000. If you set your goal too high, you will likely find difficulty in achieving your goal. For projects that seem to merit a high funding goal, Superior Ideas suggests splitting it into smaller sections—and running more than one project on Superior Ideas. Projects with smaller, more specific, and more easily achieved goals often see more success than projects with a larger scope. Please keep in mind that only one project may be listed per researcher at any given time.

No. Once a project has been approved and appears on Superior Ideas, you may not change the project details.

Yes. Small changes to the scope or goal of the project are permitted, given the spirit of the project remains intact. Superior Ideas will determine if a proposed change is eligible for submission. The researcher must notify donors who have already made a donation when this type of change is made.

Yes. Each researcher may only have one project listed on the site at any given time.

Yes. Projects can be listed on our site for 15 to 90 days. We recommend choosing a project time in the middle. Too short can hamper your ability to raise funds, and too long can let project interest fizzle out.

Please contact us for more information about partnering with Superior Ideas.