Concentrated, Creative Outreach

There are literally millions of diseases — some fatal, some rare, some affecting children, some other demographics. And behind each of them is a group of people who are passionate about finding a cure. And most of them depend on private donations to fund their efforts.

Many organizations look to the impressive work of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a group that has evolved into one of the highest profile and most successful nonprofits in the country. It repeatedly conveys the urgency of its cause by reminding givers that breast cancer is a disease that will affect one in eight women and their families.

“Urgency is the most compelling factor when trying to garner support for causes like breast cancer and other disease-specific causes,” says Allison Blanton, senior development advisor for major gifts at Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “Statistically, organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure are united in their crusade to fight life-threatening diseases and are able to raise funds by communicating the significance and importance of donating funds because of the very personal appeal to many of our donors.

“While many organizations are discovering the power of the Internet in fundraising, I come from the school of old-fashioned relationship building. There is never a more effective way to tell the story of an organization than through face-to-face communication where the true emotion of the cause can be heard, felt and seen all at the same time.”

Komen has enabled direct participation from donors through popular events like Race for the Cure or Art for the Cure. It also has made successful product partnerships where people can buy pink products to support the cause — and other similar causes have followed its lead.

“We’ve tried to follow the wonderful trail that has been blazed by [Susan G. Komen for the Cure],” says Jamie Bearse, spokesman for the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. “We’ve started to piggyback on their good work, since both breast and prostrate cancers are hormone cancers, and affect many people. [One in six men will get prostate cancer.] We are sort of the boy version of breast cancer.”

Bearse’s group offers similar promotions, substituting blue ribbons for pink and partnering with corporations. For example, in its Do It for Dad program, Dockers San Francisco donated $1 for every online tribute created for the “Dad’s Wall of Fame” on the Dockers Web site.

Channeling creativity
Other large groups such as the American Diabetes Association rely not just on name recognition, but on creativity to stand out.

“Many of us at ADA have undergraduate or volunteer experience in art,” says Elly Brtva, managing director of individual gifts, who has been with ADA for five years and previously had been with the National Alzheimer’s Association for seven. “We’re creative. We have a ‘Sponsor a Research Project’ where we ‘name’ the project in [a donor’s] honor. This allows us to have a great stewardship plan, which includes visits to ‘their’ lab, special evening dinners with the researcher, etc. We’ve also designed the Pinnacle Program Project, which allows donors who give $3 million the opportunity to help us craft a project that deals with diabetes,” she adds.

Creativity is at the core of disease-specific campaigns of all sizes. Take, for example, the work of the National Gaucher Foundation, which focuses on a rare genetic disorder most common among persons of Jewish and Eastern and Central European ancestry. Initially, the organization was an operation of two. Once it hired a dedicated fundraiser and marketing person, CEO and Executive Director Rhonda Buyers says, the campaign really started to develop.

“Everyone is fighting for the same dollars, so we try and do something different,” Buyers says.

NGF’s director of development — a California-based Gaucher’s patient — came up with the idea of an online auction held in September, which is National Gaucher Awareness Month. Rather than reach out to one local group through a traditional auction event, the online auction enabled the group to reach a wider audience over a longer period of time.

“Everything is handled online,” Buyers says. “We’ve gotten items from all over the country. We try and get people to give high-end and lower-ticket items. Not everyone would bid on getaways, but people might bid on jewelry or smaller items.”

NGF also ties into news like stem cell research and works with other groups to make its voice heard.

“This is an exciting time in genetics,” Buyers says. “We tell our community that this is an important issue because it could mean a cure.”

pastSince 2000, the foundation has expanded its marketing campaign to include advertising, radio and television.

“The one thing we know is that repetition is one of the keys,” Buyers says. “We would love to see Gaucher disease be a household term, and because we have this focused campaign — radio, TV and a lot of ad avenues — we’re definitely getting the word out.”

Komen’s Allison Blanton believes a disease-focused nonprofit must show the direct connection between the giving and the positive health result.

“With so many devastating diseases out there, it is often a challenge for donors to choose which causes to support,” she says.

“The level of sophistication of donors has greatly increased over the past several years. It’s up to development professionals to communicate to prospects how their gift will impact the organization’s mission and how each dollar will be stretched to maximize results and, ultimately, save lives.”

Christine Weiser is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer and publisher of the nonprofit literary-arts publication Philadelphia Stories.