College football fan Carson King raised $2.95 million for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital in Iowa City, in a project that began with an attempt to crowdfund a case of Busch Light, he told local news station WHO-TV on Oct. 1.
Mr. King, an Iowa State fan, held up a joke sign at ESPN's "College GameDay" on Sept. 14 in Ames, Iowa, that asked viewers to Venmo him so he could replenish his supply of Busch Light. To his surprise, the donations started pouring in. Mr. King decided to donate the funds to the children's hospital, and a massive homegrown fundraising effort was born.
It attracted matching donations from Venmo and Anheuser Busch, drawing in more than $1 million in just 10 days.
Mr. King decided to keep the Venmo account open for donations until the end of September. Local musicians performed at a benefit concert Sept. 30 called the "Carson King Countdown" in a last-minute push to raise funds for the children's hospital.
See the full interview with Mr. King here.
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