A life-threatening or rare illness, disease or injury is not only physically, emotionally and spiritually overwhelming, but it's also financially devastating -- even to those with medical insurance. When someone we know experiences a devastating illness, especially if it happens to be a child, it can make us feel helpless. But there are many resources available to raise money to help a sick child, such as starting a fundraising group.
Step 1
Talk to the family of the sick child before you form a fundraising group to learn their needs and ensure you respect their wishes. Discuss your willingness and ability to help and your ideas for how to raise funds. This helps focus your efforts and target your actions to get the best results, and also helps you avoid duplicating any efforts the family’s friends and relatives may already have started.
Step 2
Reach out to find people who care about helping and who have good organizing and communication skills. Start a phone tree of friends and neighbors, send handwritten invitations, or create a group on Facebook and invite your Facebook friends to join. Look into online resources specifically for organizing fundraising efforts, such as Causes.com or Crowdrise.com.
Step 3
Use YouTube to communicate your efforts to start a group to raise funds for a sick child. Video is a quick and engaging media. Use privacy settings to target only people you personally know, or create a public invitation to join your group. Start a daily, weekly or monthly YouTube campaign chronicling your fundraising efforts and the child’s experiences.
Step 4
Contact local lawyers, banks and other businesses to let them know about your newly forming group. Ask them to join your group as sponsoring members, reminding them that this is not only an opportunity to help a local family in need, but also a way to build goodwill that will get them publicity.
Step 5
Seek publicity by contacting local publications and news stations about the sick child’s story and your efforts to form a fundraising group. Don’t be shy about asking for help to get the word out about what you’re doing, especially if the child has a limited time to get the medical help necessary to survive.
References
- Fox News: Raising Money for a Sick Child
- Step by Step Fundraising: Fundraising on Facebook
- Fundraising and the Next Generation; Emily Davis
- Mashable.com: Top 12 Online Fundraising Platforms for Donors & Non-Profits
Writer Bio
Heidi Cardenas specializes in human resources, business and personal finance, small-business advice, home and garden and home improvement. Her professional background includes human resources and business administration, technical writing and corporate communications. She has studied horticulture and business administration, and enjoys guest blogging for publications including Herb Companion Magazine, Natural Home Living Magazine, and Mother Earth Living.