Fundraising Ideas

By Bill Zlatos, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, December 19, 2009

Children’s Hospital of UPMC’s $625 million complex is finished and treating patients, but J. Gregory Barrett soon will be looking for money to add to it.

“This means we’re just getting started,” said Barrett, who starts Feb. 1 as president of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, the fundraising arm of the facility. “It’s what’s going to take place inside the building that’s exciting.”

Barrett, 44, replaces Roger Oxendale, who is retiring at the end of the year. In an interview Friday, Barrett discussed some of the challenges he will face nearly a year after the hospital moved from Oakland to Lawrenceville. Among them is convincing donors that the gleaming, rainbow-colored hospital needs cash.

The foundation typically raises about $20 million a year for patient care, teaching, research and faculty recruitment at Children’s. Demand has risen as it helps repay some of the up-front costs the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has borne for the complex.

The foundation began a $97 million capital foundation for the hospital, and raised $65 million. That leaves Barrett $32 million to raise for equipment, technology and repayments to UPMC.

He acknowledges that he arrives at Children’s during possibly the worst atmosphere for fundraising in generations.

“The one thing that makes this easy is how you feel when you go home every night,” Barrett said. “You look around in the hallways, and you remember why you’re doing this.”

A key area for which Barrett will raise money is free care and care not covered by government programs for needy patients. The foundation contributes $1 million to $2 million a year for that. As the economy tanked, the amount Children’s spent for such care grew from about $30 million in 2008 to $38 million this year.

“There are a lot of people hurting,” Barrett said. “If there’s ever a time when you want to support these people, now’s the time to do it.”

If Congress passes a comprehensive health care bill, the need will shift, predicted Christopher A. Gessner, president of Children’s Hospital.

“Free care may go away,” Gessner said, “but our uncompensated care may go up.”

Barrett is leaving a job as associate vice chancellor for health sciences development at the University of California in San Diego. In that capacity, he raised $53 million, exceeding a goal of $50 million.

He has raised money for Illinois Institute of Technology, Children’s Memorial Foundation in Chicago and the Chicago Historical Society.

Howard W. “Hoddy” Hanna III, chairman of the Children’s foundation board of trustees, said Barrett’s experience as a fundraiser made him stand out among 43 applicants.

“We thought it was important to get someone who can develop people to be fundraisers,” he said.

Barrett said he jumped at the opportunity to work at a hospital that attracts some of its 18,000 patients a year from around the world.

“In my profession,” he said, “this is like getting into the NBA, hitting the big leagues.”

Ashley Crewe

Today staff A local 10-year-old boy and his five-year-old brother aren’t just creating art for art’s sake, they are also in the pursuit of fundraising for cancer research. Ronil Patel and younger brother Megh were recent participants in the 2009 Big Spirit Youth Art Competition hosted at the Nistawoyou Friendship Centre last month. Using the new art supplies they received as prizes, they’re creating a spectrum of art for the individuals who donate to the Canadian Cancer Society’s Reach for a Cure campaign. “I’ve seen a lot of different fundraising ideas,” said Lauren Delahunt, volunteer resources and revenue development co-ordinator for the local chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society. “In Fort McMurray there’s a lot of head shaves that happen so my initial reaction to this was ‘OK drawing — that’s cool.’ … But when I met Ron and saw the pictures I was just shocked, they were incredible. He’s brilliant for his age with the work that he’s producing.” Ronil’s mother Daksha explained the inspiration for the fundraiser came as a result of cancer in the family. The boys’ grandmother who lives in India has breast cancer, and the cost to book a flight last minute to India this year was too expensive. She said a neighbour who is a professional artist, she suggested the boys should sell their paintings for cancer research. “She even gave them art supplies for their Christmas gift,” said Daksha. “There is artwork all over the house.” The boys have a goal of $200 and have raised $145 through online donations as of this morning. “We decided to set a lower target so they could reach it and be motivated even more,” she said. Daksha said the family has received a lot of support and encouragement from family and friends. “Framing is costly and if we go out and frame everything it will be expensive but my husband’s colleague, when he saw the site, he started giving us recycled frames to use so they are now doing a painting for him,” she said. Delahunt described the entire Patel family as “very sweet.” “The whole family has their hearts in it,” she said. “Daksha had written us an email before Christmas saying, ‘My house is full of artwork and canvasses and thank you for making this the best Christmas ever’ and I thought, no, thank you — I mean we haven’t done anything, we just gave them the tools for the website to sign up.” Daksha said all of Ronil’s art pieces are inspired by traditional Indian folk art.

“He sees it and throws his imagination into it,” she said. “Now whenever he’ll do sketching, he said it’s going to the Canadian Cancer Society. He’s also working on a project about the effects of second hand smoke — his goal is to become a researcher or a doctor.” Ronil said he’s created a couple of new paintings already. “I’m hoping to achieve more than our goal,” he said yesterday. For those who donate, Ronil said, “I’ll give them the painting of their choice and every week we’re starting a new painting so there’s going to be lots of them.” As the week of Jan. 17 to 23 is National Non-Smoking Week, Ronil said, “For that, I’m going to do a project on smoking and what effects it has on the lungs.” Delahunt said Ronil and Megh’s Drawing For Cancer campaign “has been something that made our week.” “We are always excited when someone comes to the door and they want to donate,” she said. “You can see that they’re getting excited, you can see their dedication and to see a kid get so excited about giving back at such a young age is really inspiring for us.” Daksha said in the first week of January, she and the boys will do a door-to-door campaign in their neighbourhood to see if anyone is interested in making a pledge. “If the donor lives in Fort McMurray, we will go and deliver the painting to them, if they live outside of Fort McMurray, we’ll deliver through Canada Post. We are ready for all of that,” she said. To view some of the boys’ work and make a pledge, visitwww.cancer.ca/reachforacure select 2010 Fundraisers, Make a Donation and search for Ronil-Megh Patel.

acrewe@fortmcmurraytoday.com

For people who work to save homeless animals, 2009 has been a rough year. Donations are down and the number of animals coming into shelters and rescue groups is up. Humane and animal rescue organizations that devise creative fundraising strategies now are more likely to hit their fundraising targets in 2010.

Author and founder of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals Susan Daffron offers seven tips for how rescue groups can raise more money in 2010, based on her book “Funds to the Rescue: 101 Fundraising Ideas for Humane and Animal Rescue Groups” (ISBN: 978-0-9749245-9-5).

1. Craft a Clear Message. If people don’t understand the rescue organization’s mission and message, they won’t donate. In some communities, humane groups struggle for donations simply because no one knows who they are, or because they are being confused with another animal-related organization. Ensure your message is clear and differentiated from others.

2. Increase Outreach. Many rescue groups rely on the same outreach techniques they have used for years. In an increasingly cluttered world full of marketing messages, rescue groups must explore new ways of connecting with potential donors. If you don’t have an online presence, get one.

3. Embrace Planning. Humane and Rescue organizations that struggle financially inevitably have not crafted a fundraising plan. Create a calendar and plot out all of the organization’s 2010 fundraising activities. Then methodically work the plan month by month.

4. Partner with Other Animal Organizations. The amount of petty political infighting in the humane world does nothing to help the animals. Reach out to other organizations and work together on fundraising events. Multiple groups working together can generate more exposure for everyone.

5. Stay Alert for New Opportunities to Connect. The more ways people can engage with a rescue organization, the more fundraising opportunities can result.

6. Set Goals. Each fundraising activity should have written financial goals and objectives. Understanding the “why” and “how much” of the activity helps keeps everyone on track.

7. Work with Others in the Community. Many of the ideas in “Funds to the Rescue” are partnerships between a local business and a humane group. The type of business is almost irrelevant. Everyone from hair salons to car dealers has been recruited to raise money for animals.

The author of Funds to the Rescue, Susan Daffron says, “The money is out there, but people need to get creative in their fundraising to attract attention.”

About Funds to the Rescue

“Funds to the Rescue: 101 Fundraising Ideas for Humane and Animal Rescue Groups” is $19.95 and available through major online booksellers and www.FundstotheRescue.com. At the book Web site, visitors also can receive a free special report called “Paws-i-tively Easy Fundraising Ideas: 5 Simple and Fun Fundraisers You Can Put Together Quickly.” For information on other products, visit the publisher’s Web site at www.logicalexpressions.com

About Susan Daffron

Susan Daffron is founder of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals, a membership association made up of people who are working for animal shelters, humane societies or rescue groups. Daffron is also the author of 11 books, including two books on caring for adopted pets. She is a former veterinary assistant, animal shelter volunteer, employee, and board member. She also owns a publishing and software company called Logical Expressions, Inc.

Young people in Heywood are flocking to Old Hucky’s for a slice of mentoring, a dash of education, and a heap of fun.

Heywood Youth Link is a one-to-one mentoring service for young people aged 10 and up at the centre on York Street.

Jenny Kennedy, 57, the project manager, said: “It’s named after Old Hucky’s, which used to be a restaurant here well-known amongst young people. Mike Huck, the former owner is patron to the charity.”

“Projects are run everyday. Last week, we had 56 different young people attending, some nights we would welcome over 100 in as many come along each night.

“One of our aims is to get young people back into education, training or employment, but even more importantly, we are here to guide and support young people through any issues they may be facing.”

On a Monday evening they hold a body image and healthy living session. About 15 young people come along to discuss smoking, drugs and alcohol, and how to look after themselves.

Young people attend voluntarily, and come to the centre for a variety of reasons.

They run a New Roots program on Tuesday afternoons for young ex-offenders, with referrals made by the Youth Offenders Team.

They have also been working with the Halle Orchestra education programme.

By February, one group of youngsters will have produced a DVD, after taking part in a specialist project which looks at poetry, music and behaviour.

On Wednesdays, ‘Dream Scheme’ enables young people to perform jobs, visit old people’s homes and make things. Each task earns points for the group which are exchanged for money for a group trip.

Ms Kennedy continued: “At the moment they are making Christmas tree decorations. They don’t get the money, they have to decide how to use the money. They may choose to go ice-skating for example, so they have to think about the cost of a minibus too.”

“On Saturdays, lots of young people drop-in. Some stay all day and they have fun.

“We have a cellar which we’re hoping to make into a recording studio, so they are helping to clear it out at the moment.”

By January, the Youth Link is hoping to become a registered charity. They have just been accredited with the Open College Network award despite only opening on York Street at the end of October.

They receive donations and sponsorship but as a non-profit organisation, they are in need of more funds and are looking for local businesses to sponsor them.

Ms Kennedy said: “We are relying on the good will of the local community and as a token of our appreciation we will add the businesses name to our roll of honour within the centre.”

All mentors and staff are volunteers, and as a qualified tutor, Ms Kennedy trains mentors for programmes such as ‘At Work’ and ‘Skills for You’ at the centre, generating income for the mentoring service.

Most volunteers help for 3-4 hours a week and many adults from Heywood have furthered their success by gaining paid work in the youth sector. “The charity trains local people,” said Ms Kennedy. “Four adult mentors have gone onto university and have taken further qualifications in youth work.”

As an adult mentor you are trained in Level 3 OCN with mentoring, which is an accredited course.

The next training course will run in February and March.

Jenny said: “We also do other courses such as the Inside Out course to build people’s self esteem.

“I could see there was a desperate need for this in the town. Many see their parents on benefits and don’t realise they can break the cycle.

“We’re giving adults opportunities in the town as well as young people. I have been really pleased with the outcome. We have 25 volunteers but need more.”

Jenny and her team are even opening up on Christmas Eve because one young person had been thinking of coming in to wrap Christmas presents there.

“That just shows how much we want to support them. We have to be flexible in the way we work,” she said.

“It is about occupying them to keep them out of trouble or occupying them to stop their isolation.”

“They don’t think they’re going to benefit from things. It’s about looking at their thought processes and empowering people to feel good about themselves.”

A lot of the fundraising ideas also come from the young people. They will be holding monthly coffee mornings on the first Saturday of each month, with the next being held on 2 January.

“I can’t believe how quickly it has got off the ground. Teachers were telling the young people we were here and one teacher donated to help get the centre open.

“If they are struggling in school, kids are brought in and do school work via a computer. We have two young people doing that at the moment.”

“It’s the young people who think of fundraising ideas like the ‘old broken gold’ jewellery exchange. We raised £320 last week I have seen a difference in the kids. They want to own it. They feel it is theirs. They have the confidence and want to do things.”

The centre is open from 2pm till 9pm Monday to Friday, and 10.30am till 4.30pm on Saturdays. For more information go to www.heywoodyouthlink.org or call 01706 360108.