The Michael J. Fox Foundation's unconvential path to fundraising success

By Cheryl P. Rose and Margaret Battistelli

Another area where MJFF flies in the face of convention is prospecting. The organization eschews a great deal of traditional prospect research (though it does some)  and finds most of its donors through traditional relationship building, much of which starts with the highly engaged members of its board and "junior board" leadership council. It also hears from many individuals who become donors that its website was one of the first places they went looking for information about Parkinson's disease following their own diagnosis or that of a loved one.