Fund raising advice

Mupette

HSCT

I'm having stem cell transplant in Russia in 2 years this needs to be funded by myself.

There is only 1 NHS hospital in the UK that is doing this procedure and other hospitals doing it as a trial.

Now the problem a lot of us MS patients have is we do not fit the criteria, and that fine we understand to ensure the figures are correct at the end of the trials all hospitals stick to the same critera.

I failed because i have not been given DMD's (Disease Modifying Drugs)

And so I have to pay for this treatment.

Lets state here and now i am NOT asking YOU for money (no need to report this post) I am not going to link or advertise the website the fb page or twitter and especially not the gofundme.

I need idea's for fund raising, I hate asking for money (I have to do that but still hate it - and when i say ask for money, contacting companies, again not asking here)


Anyone have experience of fund raising and wish to share thier knowledge.

Thank you.

shoe*diva79

My daughter has just fundraised £1700 to pay for a charity trip. She did so by asking people to donate old stuff so she could do car boot sales (she averaged £140 per car boot), she wrote to over 100 local companies asking if they would donate prizes for a raffle - she then sold raffle tickets at £1 a strip and made around £350. She also done a couple of bake sales, a sponsored sporting event, car washing event and bag packing in a local supermarket.

Mupette

awww nice

Just been to supermarket and got some easter eggs, and will do so a again a few times and raffle those off at work hoping that will help my cause

spookylukey

Could you publicise your 'story' as an article on the FB page of the society which deals with your condition? I recently read an article on FB about someone with a medical condition that was fundraising for overseas treatment and was moved to donate (and I'm quite a tight-wad!).

You often see similar artiles on the likes of the Daily Mail news app, with a link to the go-fund me etc

Best of luck!

Mupette

yes the next step is media attention, but people do like to see you are doing stuff yourself too.

unfortunately the MS related charities are being funded by pharmaceuticals and as this treatment is still in trials in all over the world, there are only a few hospitals that stand alone and have done this treatment for a good 10 years as standard, our charites refuse to acknowledge it too much for fear of loosing pharma money.

GlasweJen

I previously raised £3000 in 9 months.

I had a few income generating things that brought in little amounts of money on a regular basis (sold pot noodles and sweets at my dancing classes).

The money from these was used to buy prizes for bigger events, I organised a prize bingo night leading up to Christmas and all the prizes were toys and gift sets - some donated and the rest bought with the little money earner.

At the time I was training as a guide leader and the girls were doing their hostess badge, we had a tea night for the parents. Again had raffles and sold craft, the guides did the catering as work towards their badge and we split the proceeds 50/50.

the key is to get connected. Involve the people you work with, your local shops, any groups you're involved with as you don't know what skills people are willing to donate or what circles people move in.

Also think wide when asking for prizes, offer companies something back too like a mention on a program or a thank you on social media. At a ladies night the first prize to be chosen from the raffle was the meal for 2 from a local restaurant, definitely local companies were more generous than big companies.

Mupette

Some good points there GlasweJen

I've got the principle that i will place an advert for anyone who has donated or doing something for me if they want the attention, a friend did my logos as she is a graphic designer, when offered a mention for her hard work and advert space she said no she knew it was a good cause and that was enough for her.

I've chosen to work with a local very small business to do some printing as and when, we will both be helping each other, she's advertised my page and me of her's, i always say i will provide free advertising.

got a few small things going on at work, selling homemade fudge tomorrow, doing easter egg raffle etc and working on a presentation to show big bosses at work to get me to speak with people that hold the purse strings, i work for a global company and so once i get permission it could be linked to other countries especially right now as there is a youtube video about a bike that has MS, and we have offices in Australia there is a good link.

I also need to take care of me, i can't do a lot as i tire easily, but i need to be seen doing a lot of stuff or be deeply involed.

Pollycat

Good luck with the fundraising, Mupette.

cyantist

I think people will really appreciate that you’re not just asking for money, and are offering something in return. I appreciate you get tired easily but can you do anything crafty to sell as well as the cakes and fudge, making cards or something?

Also you could maybe try to have a few events for friends/colleagues like afternoon tea, pottery painting, cocktail making, anything really. If you approach a business and explain the situation, they may give you a good value reduced group booking rate (if you can get a certain amount of people), then everyone pays the standard rate and the difference goes to the fund.

paddyrg

Reciprocity is incredibly important. By and large people will want to help, but have 100 other causes asking for the same money, and they can only spend it once. Giving something of value in return makes a huge difference, as people will partake in an uneven exchange more readily than just handing over cash.

Make Christmas and birthday cards, maybe. You have a graphic designer and printer on board, so how about getting a bunch made up and convince some local businesses to buy them in batches of 50 for their staff/clients? Especially if you're able to print their logo on the back alongside a couple of sentences of copy about helping a local woman with MS to fund an experimental new treatment. The company gets to highlight their CSR, you get some cash, you get the idea. People generally want to help people, but a hand up is more attractive than a hand out. Think how many Big Issues are sold, despite being a fairly turgid read.

Artytarty

A local amateur art exhibition perhaps?
I regularly exhibit in small church halls etc. We pay about£4 hanging fee per picture( I usually put in three or four) exhibition would have min 100 paintings. So that's £400 guaranteed for starters. Then you take of commission, usually around 25% of the price of any sales.
Maybe local businesses would supply wine and nibbles for the opening night, raffles etc. That's also when most sales take place. It would only run for say a week at most, sometimes just over a weekend.

Eta- send out the info to art clubs and societies to get your artists. Put flyers in art supply shops too.

Some Coffee shops/ restaurants will let you hang work for sale for very little or maybe free in your case.