Berkeley CrowdfundingBuilding Equitable and Inclusive Foods Systems at UC Berkeley is a new online platform for Cal students, faculty, staff, and alumni to raise money for specific projects through their personal networks and communities. Since launching, the program has helped more than 30 initiatives raise nearly $300,000 across campus. This October, 11 new projects have launched in hopes of turning their ideas into impactful reality.

Two of these projects — Building Equitable and Inclusive Foods Systems at UC Berkeley and Patagonia Beetle Diversity — are being run in part by graduate students who are going above and beyond to ensure the campaign’s success.

With Building Equitable and Inclusive Food Systems at UC Berkeley,” the Berkeley Food Institute has brought together collaborators from across campus to bridge the gap between food and justice with a focus on food security. The crowdfunding project hopes to raise enough money to build a Berkeley Foodscape Map that will name and locate all food-related organizations, people, and resources on campus and illustrate how they may intersect, hinder, and/or emancipate, as well as reveal decision-making power and networks of collaboration.

Malalcahuelo, Berkeley TeamThe crowdfunding project “Patagonia Beetle Biodiversity” is in the beginning stages of planning an expedition to Patagonia to collect beetle specimens. Patagonia is currently being threatened by numerous development plans that will impact the fragile environment. By collecting beetles, the group will identify and preserve the biodiversity which will help with conservation efforts. The crowdfunding project hopes to raise enough funds for the entire beetle collecting gear, a crucial aspect to this effort.

In addition, nine other projects across campus are fundraising for a variety of causes — helping to find the cure for Alzheimer’s, building a Hyperloop system to travel from San Francisco to Los Angles in 30 minutes, and providing the tools for young workers to have safe work environments, to name just a few.

Visit the Berkeley Crowdfunding website to view all of the projects.