Hosting your own fundraising event can make a tremendous difference to accelerate scientific discovery and transforming lives. And, you may find unexpected benefits along the way.
But where should you begin?
The Lupus Research Alliance is here to make Do-it-Yourself (DIY) fundraising easy with its Raise for Research DIY program. Whether it’s a birthday, a community walk, a pickleball tournament, or a simple online fundraiser inspired by someone you love, Raise for Research makes it easy to create a personalized fundraising page and share your story.
One individual who has been a successful DIY fundraiser for more than two decades is Jill Wedeen.
Jill started fundraising when her employer Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital committed to supporting the Lupus Research Alliance’s Walk with Us to Cure Lupus event in New Jersey. To boost fundraising, Jill initiated a bowl-a-thon to both raise money and bring her coworkers together. Though recently retired, Jill continues to head up the fundraising event because she feels the cause is so important.
“Raising funds for the research funded by the Lupus Research Alliance is a priority for the hospital because we must find a cure. For our hospital, the event has also served as a morale booster that people look forward to every year.”
Over the years, Jill’s bowl-a-thon has raised thousands for the Lupus Research Alliance – fueling breakthroughs to help free the world of lupus. From her experience, here are Jill’s top tips for hosting a successful fundraising event:
- Choose an activity you and your guests will enjoy. Jill chose a bowl-a-thon because it can appeal to a wide group of people – kids and adults alike. “Anyone can bowl – especially with bumpers to make it a little easier.”
- Involve others. Yes, it might be a DIY fundraiser, but that doesn’t mean you should do everything yourself! Jill has found that a committee of four people allows for easy decision-making along with a good division of labor for the event. The committee members help with critical tasks like promoting attendance, securing donated raffle prizes, and assembling giveaways on-site.
- Plan ahead. Jill suggests starting to plan around a few months in advance. That might vary for each event, but she finds starting four months out gives her enough time to get everything sorted. The first step she takes each year is securing the bowling alley.
- Make it Fun! Just giving people an opportunity to get together is a sure ingredient for a fun, morale-boosting event. But Jill has also found that adding incentives like raffle tickets for prizes, a 50/50 drawing, and prizes for such superlatives as the highest – and lowest – scores boosts spirits even more – while increasing the monies raised for critical research.
- Reinforce the why behind the event. Each Raise for Research DIY event is about something bigger: hope for people living with lupus, momentum for groundbreaking research, and a growing community bringing us closer to a cure. Jill has seen that firsthand. She’s found that giving out materials about lupus and the Lupus Research Alliance in advance of and during the event helps raise awareness among attendees while inspiring them to give, get involved, and come back year over year.
Hosting this event has gone beyond what Jill initially expected – becoming an inspiration and creating a lasting impact on those closest to her. Jill recounts how her 27-year-old son, who was four when she began taking him to the New Jersey Walk, has gotten into the cause himself, bringing his friends along,
“By watching me getting involved in the LRA and helping more and more as he grew up, my son learned such a valuable lesson about the gratification and value of philanthropy,” Jill shared.
To learn how you can host your own Raise for Research DIY fundraiser, check out LupusDIY.org or reach out to Joanne Golombos, Development Manager (jgolombos@lupusresearch.org).
Tags: Walk with Us to Cure Lupus, Jill Wedeen, Raise for Research DIY program, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital