How to raise money for a sick child

How to Raise Money for a Family in Need: 7 Crowdfunding Tips

When a family you know is struggling, it’s natural to want to lend a hand. Maybe the family needs help as they deal with an illness or death, or perhaps a parent is struggling with unemployment. If you aren’t exactly sure how to raise money for a family in need, crowdfunding empowers you to make a difference in a low-pressure way.

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7 fundraising tips on how to help a family in need

Wondering how to give to a family in need? With the tips below, you can learn how to create a fundraiser for family in need that will meet your fundraising goals.

1. Speak to the family directly

Reach out to the family you’d like to help and ask how they’re coping with their situation. If they talk about particular challenges, respectfully ask about how financial support could help ease their burden.

Ask if the family is comfortable with you crowdfunding on their behalf. You’ll need to tell potential donors why their contributions are vital to this family, so you’ll need to understand exactly how the funds will be used by the family. Then you’ll be able to explain how and why the support will make a difference when it comes time to write your fundraiser story. Take a cue from public radio stations, which do a great job of answering the “why” in their fundraising drives. Why is this fundraiser needed? What could happen if people don’t contribute?

Here are a few examples of people fundraising for a family in need:

A Better Home for Danny

We rise by lifting others

Mohamed Bzeek – Foster Father

For additional inspiration and tips, read our blog post about how to help your community with crowdfunding.

2. Give your fundraiser a title that inspires action

The title of your fundraiser is your first chance to introduce people to the family you’re helping. Include the last name of the family in the title to make it unique. Additionally, consider including the word “family” and a modifier word that helps explain the situation or type of help needed. For example, “Help the Ford Family Fight Cancer.”

Try creating a title that’s simple, draws interest, and inspires people to take action. Find more fundraising tips in our post about crafting a fundraiser title.

3. Write a compelling fundraiser story

Your fundraiser story is your opportunity to introduce the family to potential donors. This is also the time to explain how their financial contributions would make a difference. Some tips to keep in mind:

Explain your relationship to the family, so there’s no confusion among donors about why you’re managing the fundraiser.

It may not always be clear to others how to help a family in crisis. Aside from monetary donations, are there other ways people can contribute? List those, too.

Provide a breakdown of how donations will be used. People will be more likely to donate when they understand how the funds will help.

Your fundraiser description length influences donations, so be sure to write more than 400 words.

Don’t forget to ask the family for feedback on your story before sharing it.

See our post with tips for writing your fundraiser story for more pointers.

4. Add photos and/or videos

Everyone loves a good story—and every good story needs captivating images and videos to be complete. Photos and videos that make an emotional impact help donors connect with a family and its needs and offer more clarity on their situation. Ask the family if they are comfortable with you sharing a few photos to help add a visual element to their fundraiser story.

For more information on adding visual content to your fundraiser, read our posts with fundraising tips for using an image and video.

5. Reach out to close friends and family first

The first few days are critical and can greatly influence how successful your fundraiser will be in the long run. First, share your fundraiser with a few close friends and ask for their feedback. Since people are more likely to donate to a fundraiser if they see others have already donated, it’s a good idea to secure a few solid donations before blasting the fundraiser over social media.

Another way to bring in donations right off the bat is to send a personal fundraising letter to those closest to the family. If you need some help coming up with the right words, take advantage of fundraising email templates.

6. Create a plan to share your fundraiser

Sharing your fundraiser again and again is a huge part of any fundraising plan. Once you’ve gained some initial momentum, you’ll want to share your fundraiser with everyone you know.

Spread the word on any social media platform where you’re active, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Regularly post messages that invite others to donate to the family.

Always include your fundraiser link, and ask people to share it with their contacts as well.

If any Facebook friends donated, “tag” them in a thank-you post to publicly show your gratitude.

To learn more about the best ways to share your cause, read our post that has fundraising tips for social media. To get more information on how to use specific social media platforms, read our posts about Facebook fundraising and Twitter fundraising.

7. Throw a fun and effective fundraising event

When it comes to fundraising without social media, a fundraising event is a fantastic way to spread awareness for your cause. From potlucks to car washes, there are countless fundraising event ideas to rally the community together for the family in need.

Start helping families in need today

All it takes to touch someone’s life is for one individual to step up and take action. Thankfully, making a difference by helping families doesn’t require hours of work or elaborate plans. There are ways to help families in need through crowdfunding. You can create a fundraiser on GoFundMe within minutes and begin raising money for a family in need right away. With our fundraising platform, the family you’re helping can keep even more of their donations, and you can even have the money sent directly to them. Sign up today to get started.

Start a family fundraiser

How to Start a Fundraising Group for a Sick Child | Budgeting Money

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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.

How to raise money for treatment yourself

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How to raise money for treatment yourself

Prepare documents
You must have a complete package of certified medical documents, the proposed treatment program and its cost. Be sure to attach a photo of the medical history, doctor's report, receipts and receipts for examinations and medications. Describe in simple human language your medical history and diagnosis.
Open a separate bank account
Be prepared to provide a daily report on all receipts, as well as expenses for treatment. Keep all receipts and statements.
Ask everyone you know for help
Tell your family, friends, old acquaintances, colleagues about what happened - ask for help from everyone you know. You will be surprised how often people are ready to help.
Start talking about yourself on social media
1. Create accounts in popular social networks - Instagram, Facebook, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Twitter, YouTube. Tell your story in detail, what happened to you, how you are recovering, why you need help, and what treatment you are planning. Write honestly and openly, then your story will evoke emotions.
2. Look for thematic groups and communities, ask friends and acquaintances to share information on your page. It is important that everyone who helps you indicate that they know you personally. In each post, place your contact number, a link to your account and bank details in your name.
3. Post daily reports and photos. Keep a diary. Shoot short videos where you thank for the help, talk about what is happening. It will take you a long time, but reply to every message and every comment. Be polite, even if people aren't being tactful or asking inappropriate questions.
4. Perhaps many will want to send you private messages, call you to make sure the reality of the request. Don't be afraid to include your phone number. If you are tired after the procedures or do not want to talk, prepare an SMS template in advance: “I am resting after the procedure. I'll call you later". At the time of the collection, you are a public person. Ask a close family member or friend to help you respond to messages and comments.
5. Try asking bloggers or other media people to talk about you. Maybe one of the popular personalities was born in your city or went to the same school? Reach out to anyone who could potentially spread the word about your situation.
Beware of fraud
Always ensure that photos and documents are watermarked. To do this, open the photo or scanned document in a photo editor. For example Paint. Select the "insert text" option, copy the address link to your group, and place it on the photo so that this text cannot be removed from the image.

Do not post passport data, do not send three digits from the back of the card to anyone, do not tell strangers the numbers from bank SMS.

Remember that social media fundraising is a business that should not be abandoned halfway through. Think in advance what you will say to subscribers and how to account for the money spent.

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How to ask for help if your child is sick

If your child is sick and you urgently need help from a charitable foundation, you need to know how to ask for it correctly. What knowledge do you need to have?

Firstly, , you should understand that charitable foundations are created consciously and the people who work there can really help you. They have experience in such work, they can minimize all risks, as well as you parents about the real danger, at least - provide competent legal advice.

If you need financial assistance, you need to submit an application and find out if the organization works in the direction you are interested in. If the disease that is diagnosed in a child is included in the list of specific activities of a charitable foundation, you are in luck. But we must not forget that decisions will not be made on emotions.

Secondly, , as a confirmation of the diagnosis, the child's parents must go through a certain procedure, including the provision of documents. It could be:

medical report;
extracts from hospital records;
cost-based treatment program;
receipts for payment for services;
receipts for payment of medicines, etc.

These documents will be the first request from the charity. If possible, you can enlist the support of the attending physician - this will be an advantage. You should not take these requirements as a personal insult - officials are more likely than you to encounter scammers. You also need to be prepared that the charitable foundation will check the information.

Thirdly, to increase the likelihood of success, you can turn to outside help - relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. – some people have many connections that can speed up fundraising. Do not ignore social networks - they work wonders. Thanks to them, the maximum number of people will be involved in the process.

It is a mistake to assume that if a problem arises, the state will not help you. Sometimes, upon request, the parents of a sick child receive a request for treatment abroad, they can get a consultation from a special commission, etc.

Fourth, , if the charitable foundation has given its consent, you don't need to lie and hide parallel fees in other organizations - this can turn against you. If the amount to be collected is quite large, the desire to raise money is natural and understandable.