Fundraising for medical treatment - non-profit co?

rdpro

Hi,

My wife suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and has been offered a place at a Russian clinic for stem cell therapy (long story short: it's not available on the NHS and won't be for the foreseeable future - see January 2016 Panorama program).

We have to raise about £50,000 in the next two years and have started a GoFundMe page. My wife wants to continue the fundraising to help others once we have reached her target, i.e., become a registered charity - we can't do that now because the funding would only benefit one person.

We would like to make headway towards that objective though and are considering the potential of starting a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee to act as the 'body' for fundraising- this would reduce the fees taken by companies (PayPal from ~4.5% down to 1.5%, etc) and possibly open up potential funding from trusts.

Can anyone advise of any pitfalls or better ways of going about this? I can register the NFP Ltd for just under £50, but if there's little benefit, I'd rather put the money toward my wife's treatment.

Thanks in advance.

DomRavioli

You would need to ask someone with specialist experience in this particular field, not an internet forum.

rdpro

Well to be honest, I had hoped that a small business and charities sub-forum of MSE might have such a person lurking within, or anyone who has looked into anything similar in the past.

DomRavioli

rdpro wrote: »

Well to be honest, I had hoped that a small business and charities sub-forum of MSE might have such a person lurking within, or anyone who has looked into anything similar in the past.

You need professional advice, not an internet forum. You cannot verify anyone on here.

Go to the CAB, get a free half hour from a solicitor, ring the charities comission for clarification. It doesn't have to cost a lot if anything but you need professional advice.

fairyclicks

rdpro wrote: »

Hi,

My wife suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and has been offered a place at a Russian clinic for stem cell therapy (long story short: it's not available on the NHS and won't be for the foreseeable future - see January 2016 Panorama program).

We have to raise about £50,000 in the next two years and have started a GoFundMe page. My wife wants to continue the fundraising to help others once we have reached her target, i.e., become a registered charity - we can't do that now because the funding would only benefit one person.

We would like to make headway towards that objective though and are considering the potential of starting a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee to act as the 'body' for fundraising- this would reduce the fees taken by companies (PayPal from ~4.5% down to 1.5%, etc) and possibly open up potential funding from trusts.

Can anyone advise of any pitfalls or better ways of going about this? I can register the NFP Ltd for just under £50, but if there's little benefit, I'd rather put the money toward my wife's treatment.

Thanks in advance.

You might like to consider a social enterprise company as well - these are quite a new concept (been around for a few years) but there are additional benefits from setting up under this option in comparison to the NFP.

Good Luck with the fundraising!

Andypandyboy

There is another poster on here who is fundraising for the same thing. I remember reading her posts a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember the postes name though.but the circumstances were exactly the same. Perhaps you could join forces?

Mupette

rdpro wrote: »

Hi,

My wife suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and has been offered a place at a Russian clinic for stem cell therapy

Andypandyboy wrote: »

There is another poster on here who is fundraising for the same thing. I remember reading her posts a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember the postes name though.but the circumstances were exactly the same. Perhaps you could join forces?

:hello: I'm the wife.

missbiggles1

Might it not be better to wait and see whether the treatment's successful?

rdpro

The treatment in Russia has been going on for over ten years now. It's probably the most well-tested site for this treatment in the world.

edgex

rdpro wrote: »

We have to raise about £50,000 in the next two years and have started a GoFundMe page. My wife wants to continue the fundraising to help others once we have reached her target, i.e., become a registered charity - we can't do that now because the funding would only benefit one person.

We would like to make headway towards that objective though and are considering the potential of starting a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee to act as the 'body' for fundraising- this would reduce the fees taken by companies (PayPal from ~4.5% down to 1.5%, etc) and possibly open up potential funding from trusts.

Can anyone advise of any pitfalls or better ways of going about this? I can register the NFP Ltd for just under £50, but if there's little benefit, I'd rather put the money toward my wife's treatment.

Thanks in advance.

Paypal etc will only reduce fees for registered charities.

Mupette

edgex wrote: »

Paypal etc will only reduce fees for registered charities.

& non profit organisations