How to Donate to the Stanford Solar Car Project

Thank you for considering a donation to the Stanford Solar Car Project. We are deeply grateful for your support. Your help will enable us to race our newest car, Xenith, in the 2011 World Solar Challenge.

We are always looking for companies that would like to play a keystone role in the development of our car. If you would like to make a large cash or in-kind donation to the Stanford Solar Car Project please contact us at contactsolarcar-bounces@lists.stanford.edu and we can discuss sponsorship options.

There a multiple ways to donate to the Stanford Solar Car Project:

Online:

If you would like to make a small or medium sized donation there are two easy ways to give to the team:

The first way is to donate to the team through the website, GivingToStanford.Stanford.edu. Here are the simple instructions for making such a gift from your computer:

1) Go to GivingToStanford.Stanford.edu. This should bring up the home page for the Giving to Stanford website.
2) Click on the button that reads, “Make a gift now” in either the top left hand or the bottom right hand of the page. Either link will take you to the next step.
3) Under the selection of choices that reads, “Please select the school or group to which you wish to make a gift”, you must select “other” at the bottom. After you have selected other, and the second bar reads, “One-time gift” then click “Continue” in order to proceed onto the next page.
4) Under the option for “Further Designation”, scroll to the bottom of the options and select “Other Designation (specify below)“.
5) In the space provided, copy and paste this message: “This gift is to be given to the Stanford Solar Car Project.” Once you’ve typed this in, enter the amount of your gift and then click “Continue”.
6) On the final pages, follow the instructions for giving the required information, submit the forms, and then feel great that you’ve helped the Stanford Solar Car Project make it to Australia!

By Mail:

The second way that you can give to the team is by sending a check. Please send all checks to:

Felicity Meu
Assistant Director of Student Philanthropy
Stanford Alumni Center
326 Galvez Street
Stanford Ca 94305

1) The check should be made out to “Stanford Solar Car Project”.
2) Please be sure to also include a note in your letter that this gift is intended for the Stanford Solar Car Project.

By Phone:

You can call the Stanford Office of Development to make a gift or pledge payment by credit card at (866) 543-0243 or (650) 724-0627. Call (650) 926-0244 to make a  securities gifts.

Estate Gifts:

You can set up an estate gift or a life income gift through our Planned Giving Office by e-mailing the Office of Planned Giving or calling (800) 227-8977, ext. 5-4358 (see Planned Giving for more information).

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Please send us a message at contactsolarcar@lists.stanford.edu if you make a donation so we can recognize your gift. This also helps verify that we have processed and received your gift. You can contact us if you have questions and you can read the Stanford Giving FAQ here.

If you work for a company or organization that matches employee donations, consider asking if they will match your gift. Your funds combined with the additional leverage of the match could double the impact of your generosity. Please don’t hesitate to contact our financial manager if you have any questions about the giving process, the fundraising campaign in general, or Xenith.

Thank you,

The Stanford Solar Car Project


Comments

2 responses to “How to Donate to the Stanford Solar Car Project”

  1. Dear Stanford Solar Car Project Office of Development,

    I saw this; http://www.ecofriend.com/entry/everything-i-need-to-know-about-flywheel-energy-storage-system/ after listening to an NPR program the other day (…science Friday — http://www.sciencefriday.com/). When I saw your project, it seemed to click that the program you guys are developing might be enhanced by the use of this technology. If you have not considered this, I would be interested if you make contact, and the results of a collaboration. Please keep me informed (information below). I hope this was helpful.

    –“Rocky”

    1. Yes, we’ve actually thought about this! Thanks for the link.

      Flywheel technology is interesting. In its current state, as far as we’re aware, flywheels have significantly less energy density (ie, kWh per kg) than the lithium-ion battery we’re using on Xenith.

      The article mentions various applications for short-term energy storage (eg storing energy when a bus brakes, recovering it when it accelerates again). We have an alternative system for regenerative braking. When the solar car decelerates, it charges the battery. When we accelerate, we get upwards of 70% of that energy back.

      We’ll let you know if we ever do use flywheels.