Need to raise money for cancer treatment

jadsima

Hi All,
I'm sorry for posting this here and if its in completely the wrong section as I suspect it is then could the moderator please move it to a more appropriate section of the forums.

I desperately need some advice on how to go about raising funds for my sister-in-laws medical treatment.
6 months ago she was diagnosed with AML - a form of cancer that attacks the bone marrow. She has had 3 courses of Chemo (the last of which we had to pay for) but the cancer has so far been resistant. She has now been told by her doctor that she has 3-6 months to live.

We have been in contact with some doctors in Germany (where apparently more research is done into cancer) and in conjunction with her consultants here, it has been decided that she will be a good candidate for a stem cell treatment over there. The cost of this treatment is prohibitively expensive at almost £100,000!!
We might be clutching at straws but we want to be able to tell her kids of 5 and 7 that we did all we can and there is a good chance by Gods grace that the treatment will work. She is only 33 years old.

I need advice on how to raise funds, we plan a series of bake/car boot sales etc and also loans and credit cards but we are still far short. I'm thinking of probably getting her local press involved as well and see if that generates any interest.
Time is of the essence and we need ideas that will raise quite a bit in a short time.
Again I apologise for the sombre email and if I have posted in the wrong section but hope some of you out there can help with ideas or if you know of anyone who has raised funds in similar circumstances.

fengirl_2

I'm not an expert on raising funds from indiviudals, so I would always try grantmaking trusts. Your local library reference dept should have a copy of 'Grants for Individuals in Need' which lists hundreds of trusts which will fund individuals - the book is divided into the areas of help which the funder srae interested in.

jadsima

Hi Fengirl,
Thanks for your vety prompt response, I will check the library and see what I can find.

fuzzball172

sponsored events, see if yo can get local kids groups involved, your kids school. Its hard for people to turn down kids with a sponsorship form. The actual events can be fun too, and also an opportunity to make money from selling refreshments etc...

Contact local businesses to see if they would offer product for a raffle, might even be worth trying something like a car place if you can get your regional TV onboard. See if you can get a car showroom to donate a car, if you can get a TV report (free advertising) done on their forecourt. Also see if the TV news people will come and do the draw for you on TV at the showroom. Some companies will bend over backwards to get free TV coverage.

If you do get some good stuff to raffle, don't make the mistake of pushing the ticket price too high. I often see car raffle stands empty because organisers try to get too much for a ticket.

If you do get media involved, make sure you have a paypal account set up, so that you can tell readers / viewers how they can donate easily. Paypal is easy to work and a lot of people have access. You might also want to talk to your bank about an account that none internet contributers can use. Some people won't make the effort to come to your event, but they might send money via the internet or their bank.

Another idea I had is to use a premium rate number for people to phone and donate via their phone bill... like children in need kinda thing. I have contacted the company that does my phone number routing for more info about costs, I'll post their reply (if its worth it) when I hear from them.

One thought, (am just playing devils advocate here) how do people know this isn't a scam, as your activites will only benefit a single person, you cannot register as a charity. You need to think of some way to assure your potential contributers that this is a real cause...

I'll keep thinking of ideas and good luck
Lee

Ste_C

It's commendable that you want to raise some money, but £100,000 is a huge amount of money to raise. Small charities would struggle to get anywhere near that, never mind a cause where the money would 'only' be benefiting one person.

Without wanting to sound harsh, I think you're living in dreamland if you think you could raise even a fraction of the money required through fund raising and through people putting their hand in their pockets.

Cake stalls and raffles are all well and good, but that isn't going to get anywhere near to what is required.

faevilangel

how about a website ? It could have a paypal button for people to donate.

Include information about your sister in law, pictures and about what she is going through, even have a blog so she can update on her progress

You can then put the website link on forums etc to spread the word, and even on flyers

I would be willing to help you out, with hosting and setting the whole thing up if it appeals to you. The only cost that you would need is a domain name, a .co.uk will set you back less than £6.

£100,000 is a lot to make but using lots of media / adverts then you will spread the word. Have you spoken to any cancer charities to see if they can offer some guidance on where to get funding etc ?

paulwf

What a very sad situation, my thoughts are with you and your family.

What are the chances of the 100K treatment being a success? Sometimes things are priced like this to put people off and basically say "it can be done in theory but not in practice". Are you sure no one is exploiting you for the money and it is a genuine not for profit organisation, or 100% ethical if a profit making one?

Next what is the timescale you need the money in? I'm guessing treatment would have to start in the next couple of weeks to have a good chance which would make it very tight unless you can defer the payment?

Can you negotiate on the figure? Can the NHS pay a part of it? Will life insurance pay out early for terminal conditions? What will happen to the money if you only raised part of it?

£10K could be raised by conventional means but £100K in such a short timescale seems unlikely. Your 3 best chances are:

Get national media coverage (unlikely)

Get a company or millionaire to fund you (unlikely)

Realistically, your best bet is for someone in the family (probably your parents or grandparents generation) to sell their house or do an equity release scheme. Selling cars might also raise a few more thousand. I'm not even sure the money from property could be released in time but if you're serious about getting the money that's the best option...someone may have to sell their house.

ukbill69

Im very sorry to all family about this. Im not sure that 100,000 is going to be met, but I hope you do get there and all my love to your family.

marshallka

Don't know if anything on this site may help
http://www.ideasfundraising.co.uk/LinkToOurSite.html

vikki_louise

Hello, Im sorry to hear about your sister in law. could you get your community involved? Starting by setting up a website (including the name of the hospital she is currently treated at) and contacting local media. If you had local people doing events in the local pub, car washes, bag packing, sponsored events etc would all add to it. Thats a few of the things ive known people do to raise funds for treatment abroad. I hope the fundraising goes well x

blue_haddock

As others have said whilst things like this are tragic what are the realistic chances of you actually raising £100,000 and if you do what is the chance of it actually curing the cancer rather than just delaying things.

Would it not be better to graciously accept defeat and enjoy the short time she has left?