Our Crowdfunding Groups
What We Do
The UMD Concrete Canoe team competes in the annual ASCE Concrete Canoe competition. We compete against about eight teams in the regional competition, and only the winning team from our region advances to the national competition. For the first time in twelve years, the 2014-2015 UMD Concrete Canoe team won the regional competition and had the opportunity to compete in the national competition. This year’s team is determined to build upon the success of the previous year and return to nationals.
How We Do It
We spend the whole school year working hard to design and ultimately build a strong and maneuverable canoe out of an original light-weight concrete mix. We spend the bulk of the fall semester working on developing our concrete mix, and we test about fifty different mixes until choosing the mix with the highest strength to weight ratio. At the same time, our construction and aesthetics teams are working well into the spring to design and build the display stands and table for competition.
Our Goal
Our biggest setback is the issue of transportation. We have less capability to transport a canoe since we do not have our own trailer like many of the competitive teams at nationals. Our goal for this year is to fundraise for a trailer for our team to help us be more competitive with our rival schools. Currently, our mobility is very limited. In order to get the canoe anywhere, we have to rent a moving truck. It takes many people to get the canoe in and out of the moving truck, and the cost for rental adds significantly to our budget every year. Obviously, the trailer would be useful for taking the canoe to competition, but it would allow us a lot of other opportunities. We would like to have the trailer to transport our practice concrete canoe during the school year to allow our race team to practice in a canoe similar to our competition canoe and be even more prepared for competition. In addition, this summer, we were invited to an ASCE conference, but we were unable to attend due to our lack of transportation. Having a trailer for the canoe would allow us to attend more important events such as the one we had to miss.
Gifts in support of the University of Maryland are accepted and managed by the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, Inc., an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization authorized by the Board of Regents. Contributions to the University of Maryland are tax deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax advisor for details.
You will receive a very gracious, personal Thank-You email because every little bit helps bring us one step closer to our goal!
You will receive a personalized, handwritten Thank-You note for helping us reach 1/140th of our goal!
You will receive a personalized, handwritten Thank-You note and a 4 by 6 photo to show our appreciation. The impact your donation has to help us purchase our trailer is invaluable!
You will receive a personalized, handwritten Thank-You note, 4 by 6 photo and a mention on UMD ASCE website/Concrete Canoe FB page because everyone deserves to know how you helped us. We are as proud of our donors as they are of us!
You will receive a personalized, handwritten Thank-You note, a signed team photo, and a mention on the UMD ASCE website/Concrete Canoe FB page because we are grateful for your donation, and everyone should know how you assisted us reach our goals. You helped us get 1/14th closer to our goal!
You will receive a personalized, handwritten Thank-You note, a signed team photo, a mention on the UMD ASCE website/Concrete Canoe FB page, and a company logo/name on trailer because you will have made a major impact on our team. We sincerely appreciate your support of our team, and we want to honor your contribution into the future.