By Patrick Quinn
Edited by Barbara Bigelow
Have you decided to put on a fundraiser to raise money for research, but don’t know how to get started? My go to suggestion is a virtual fundraiser. Even before COVID-19 the fundraising landscape had changed. The primary reason for this is the amount of risk that is associated with fundraising for an in-person event, especially if there are large costs for the venue and food. We don’t want to put on a fundraiser that is going to cost us more money than what we bring in. Virtual fundraisers can cost as little as no money to as much as a production company will charge.
The easiest virtual fundraiser to put on is a Facebook fundraiser. Facebook gives non-profits a platform to raise funds for their charity with minimal fees to the charity and no cost to the person doing the fundraising. For Metavivor Research & Support, Facebook fundraising has raised over one million dollars annually for the last several years and has been instrumental in funding multiple research grants. This fundraiser gives the person doing the fundraiser the opportunity to fundraise by setting a goal and asking friends and family to donate to their charity of choice (hopefully Metavivor!). We see a lot of people doing this to celebrate their birthday, their “cancerversary”, or a day in remembrance of a loved one.
Metavivor Research & Support also has a fundraising platform through their website that allows individuals to customize a page with photos, descriptions, amounts, and limited ticket pricing. This type of setup is great for any type of online fundraiser (virtual races, bingo nights, wine tastings, etc.). We also recommend that anyone who is interested in doing an in-person event start with this type of fundraising to secure some funds before the event takes place.
If you’re interested in setting up a fundraising page for Metavivor, click https://donate.metavivor.org/campaign/fundraise-for-metavivor/c319115
Finally, there are larger virtual fundraisers that involve a dedicated evening toward fundraising. These typically are coordinated with a production company that involve a combination of pre-recorded segments and live action events. Production companies will charge a fee to put the event on, so you will want to work with Metavivor to ensure those fees are reasonable. The benefit of doing a large virtual fundraiser instead of an in-person event is that the cost risk is considerably less, the amount of time involved is less, and you have the potential of reaching a larger audience. We encourage anyone interested in putting on a large virtual fundraiser to contact [email protected] for additional information and support.
Fundraising is essential to growing Metavivor and helping fund more research grants. Some people find in-person events a little more exciting, but we realize not everyone has the desire or time to coordinate an evening with lots of guests. Regardless of whether it is an in-person or virtual event, we encourage all fundraising and appreciate everyone for their efforts to raise money locally for the best research nationally!
Patrick Quinn
Vice-President & Director of Fundraising
Metavivor Research & Support
Co-Founder and Co-Organizer
NWA Metsquerade
