My concern is always the same. Why should I trust these admins I'll be donating to? Should I send money to people I don't know? What's the guarantee that they do what they say and not spend the money living the high student life?
Just questions...
Having said that, if you guys get a trusted admin to manage the funds, and publish online how, when, by whom and what the money is spend for, you could fly higher than you thought.
The next thing you should do is to look at the novel ways in which Red Bull advertises to your same target market. WHy? Because if you can promote to the students in say, a motocross or paragliding event you could
1) market to those present at the event
2) benefit from the press picking it up
3) be in the youTube videos of those filming the event
They are valid questions but no different then questions asked of any service. I suppose it's the same question as to why does anyone donate to KickStarter? There is no guaranteed anyone there will deliver either. The way I look at it get engaged with the project creator and learn more just how serious they are. If they seem like the are putting 100 percent into it then they are most likely sincere.
I do like your proposal how to go about marketing the project better also.
Just me 2 cents.