Description
Below, you can find a breakdown of how Design for America will use the funding we raise through Notre Dame Day. Last year, DFA received $1,500 from Notre Dame day as a probationary club with 20 members and 3 project teams. This year, we are a fully-fledged club with 40 active members and 6 project teams. Accordingly, our goal for this year is to raise $3,000! We hope you can help us.
Donations are applied to...
Our club is very important to us, and to achieve our goals and live out our mission we need a little help along the way. Here's how your donation could make a big impact:
Prototyping
All of our projects are committed to designing the best solution for our community partners. To prototype our designs we need materials: post-its, sharpies, cardboard, markers, wood, plastic, and a wide range of other materials to bring our ideas to life. Additionally, we need funding to help our teams develop any online or app-based resources their projects may require.
Leadership Studio & Midwest Meetup
One of the benefits of being part of Design For America's national network of studios is our ability to connect with other students from around the country. Every summer Northwestern University hosts a DFA Leadership Studio, where project leads go to learn leadership best practices and hone their design skills. Similarly, every fall for all DFA studios in the Midwest are invited to a Midwest Meetup for a weekend full of design thinking workshops and community building. Funding raised through ND Day will help us send our members to these great events.
Workshops
As an interdisciplinary club, one of our goals is to teach the design process to students across all majors. In addition to teaching just our club members, next year we will also be holding workshops open to the entire ND student body both on the design process as well as skills such as presenting, video editing, and other design programs. Funding we receive will go towards resources to make these workshops instructive for all students.
Design for America
Design for America at Notre Dame is part of an award-winning nationwide network of interdisciplinary student teams and community members using design to create local and social impact. DFA students learn how to apply human-centered design to local and social challenges as innovators through extra-curricular, university-based, student-led design studios. Here at Notre Dame, we currently have student teams working on projects focused on student mental health, sustainability, low-income technology use barriers, child technology addiction, and students feeling restricted by their majors.
DFA student teams work on self-selected design projects throughout the academic year applying the skills and expertise gained through their for-credit academic courses. They look to their local community to assess pressing challenges and work in teams with organizational partners to understand user’s needs, ideate, prototype and test potential solutions. Projects that receive validation from their partners, users and mentors are encouraged to continue into implementation. DFAers represent diverse academic fields such as engineering, design, psychology, theatre, economics, and beyond.
Please read the Description section below to learn more about our funding goals and what your donation will help support!
Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/dfanotredame/
Check out Design for America National at: designforamerica.com/home/
If you are confused by the voting and donation process, please watch the tutorial video at: notredameday.nd.edu/pages/tutorial
Why are donations necessary?
During this exciting time, we have the unique opportunity to earn a portion of a $1 Million! Make a $10 gift on Notre Dame Day (April 24 – 25), and receive 5 votes to cast. The total number of votes we receive decides our percentage of the $1 Million. Please vote for us!