Fundraising Tips

WHAT I DID... Carol D & Steven.jpg (14613 bytes)

Note: The fundraising events mentioned here have mostly already taken place and were HUGE successes. The first prize in the raffle, a new mountain bike, was re-donated by the winner to be raffled again next year! The generosity that this gesture shows is just amazing and very appreciated.

For me, the most difficult part of raising awareness, and gaining public attention, is thinking about it. The same can be said for raising funds.

The first step for me was to sit down and construct a viable plan, not to be too impatient and to set realistic goals. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day and taking small steps first rather than giant strides will likely have a much more positive effect on the final result.

It was always my intention in raising funds to include the coverage of the newspapers. That way we were going to achieve two vital functions of the group in unity.

Many rainy Scottish evenings, I would ponder over where to start. I spoke it over with my young friend Lisa who has some wonderful ideas. The first thing that came to mind was organizing a “raffle”.

Once the seed was sown, I knew that I would have to plan how the raffle should be coordinated. I would have to decide what the prizes would be, when the draw for the “raffle” would take place and where it would take place. I would need to organize a date, time and make sure that there were witnesses present to watch all that was taking place. Then, I would have to work out how to collect the money and who to approach.

Decisions were made relatively quickly and Lisa donated her mountain bike as first prize. This was a bike given to her by her grandmother and she used it only once. I had a bottle of whisky in the house that I won in a raffle, so that was second prize and we have a huge cuddly Lion soft toy that was never used as a third prize. I decided that I would print out a sheet that would include a small note of what NPS is and include the prizes, when the draw will take place and added the websites for further information. The next step was to buy a raffle ticket book and each person would give a pound and receive a raffle ticket number, sign their name and contact number on the copy. They would also fill out a separate sheet that I created with their raffle ticket number, name, address and telephone number. The draw for the raffle will take place on the 16^th of September. I asked many people to take it into their places of work to hopefully get some more help. This has been incredibly successful, far more than I had anticipated and already to date, we have reached a grand total of £232.

As this was so successful I decided that more fundraising would be needed. I am, at present, gathering books, videos, toys, games and generally all household items to sell at a “stall” in East Kilbride. I have roped in a good team for this and I have a good feeling that it will be a great success. We will print out copies of information to take with us about NPS, just in case anyone may want to learn more. My daughter, Nicola and her little friend want to sell cakes and Lisa will do face-painting. I will, hopefully, be collecting money for our much needed funds. I should be organizing this event for the end of September or the beginning of October.

The next thing is booked and finalized for the 18^th of November. This will be much more complicated and more involved than the other two. I hope to organize a “Disco” with games and raffles all evening. I was incredibly fortunate to get the function suite free of charge and the Disc Jockey at no cost either. My friends and neighbors will help with the buffet. At this moment in time, I am working on how I should decorate the room for our guests. I can get as many people as 110, so I will be hoping to get a large number with a ticket fee of £5.

I also want to put out literature for the people who come to allow them to learn the importance of what we are doing, in very informal surroundings. I have asked for the landlady’s permission for me to invite the press and she is more than willing.

The other ongoing fundraising project is one I call “saving pennies”. It is really successful and is so easy to organize. I have a little bank to put the cash into and money bags to sort the correct amounts of money into, and that is all that is needed. I also told many people about this idea and they also now collect and pass it onto me to put into the funds. We have raised about $100 so far.

I was also so pleased to donate one of my paintings to be auctioned at the conference. I think this is a nice idea because it is very personal and I was astonished to hear that it put $85 into our funds.

Working on the “Poetry Book” was a wonderful experience also. I feel that it was something that allowed many people who enjoy writing to express themselves in a very unique fashion. For me, it was extremely therapeutic and allowed me to face many past experiences in a wonderful way.

Facing the newspapers was always going to be a bit more difficult. I was not sure for a while whether or not it was actually something that I wanted to do. Once I had decided that I wanted to go ahead, then I seen no reason not to go ahead then and there.

I felt that contacting the local newspapers was a good way to start the publicity. I always hoped that by doing this, then the larger newspapers would want to become involved also.

I began by emailing the editor of the East Kilbride News, which is a very popular newspaper. I knew that if they would show an interest in the story, we could at least allow the local community to share in our knowledge of NPS and hope for some feedback. Within twenty-four hours, I received a reply and a reporter and photographer arrived at my home two days later. It was a reasonably informal meeting and I gathered all the NPS material that I have and laid it all out for her to see. I gave our story, had some pictures taken and hoped for the best. The next issue of the East Kilbride News carried the story and I was inundated with phone calls. I had never anticipated this type of reaction from the general public. The next important issue was to allow the NPS group to read it online, so a link was found and the editor was thanked from all over the world. This had an incredible effect on the editor who allowed a follow-up story to be carried out in the next issue of the paper. I felt that it was essential for me to thank the people involved and decided to meet him in person. He was extremely kind and showed a great deal of understanding about the need for the urgent appeal.

From the moment of the first article, the pace at which the publicity grew was tremendous. The press agency intended to assist me in getting the appeal out to the national newspapers. The success of the campaign went beyond my wildest dreams. “The Scotland on Sunday” were interested, so the story was submitted. The press agency arrived at the house and took more pictures and details for their own records. Two days later “The Scotland on Sunday” carried a small story. It was the most incredible feeling of accomplishment. The following day “The Scottish Daily Express” carried a much more detailed account and a few days later, “The Evening Times” printed a much more detailed account over two papers and also a picture on the front page.

My aims now are to get it to all countries. There is no point in the Scottish people being educated about NPS and the rest of the world still remains ignorant to all the recent information that we now have. I still have a lady working on the women’s magazines for us and I hope to hear some positive news from this. I have never in my entire life felt so much alive. I feel so lucky to be able to be in a position to do all this. I do it because I WANT to do it. I have found people in our group who I honestly love and care for very deeply and I simply want to help. I think of the people who have kidney complications and the children who may face so much ignorance due to the lack of information that is available for us all. I feel we need to make a stand. We are entitled to the medical care that others receive.

At present, I am working on numerous projects with other members of our group and it is so fulfilling to see it all coming together. I plan to do alot more.

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