How/where can I find ppl who need professional medical fundraising help?

October 15, 2020 3:27 PM

After raising about $36,000 USD in various fundraisers for two friends with life-changing diagnoses, I'd like to explore finding others to offer services to. Yes, people can fundraise with GoFundMe, etc., but often aren't successful, or don't easily have someone to manage such a large undertaking. (I'm not looking for a predatory arrangement. I have significant professional fundraising and communications experience, and when I applied this to needs for remaining solvent, independent and housed while living with cancer and treatment, it was **tremendously** helpful for my friends, and very fulfilling for me.) I envision both teaching people to manage fundraisers for needs for a vulnerable person with a life-changing diagnosis (medical travel, bills and payments, medical expenses, housecleaning, mortgage, etc.) or managing it myself for a percentage of the donations received. (I've been doing this for awhile, and have a system coming together.) BUT -- when I reach out to medical social workers, patient navigators at cancer centers, etc., I almost never hear back. I have cold called, left messages, and sent emails. Assuming that my approach and my materials are not the problem, am I missing something? Who are the people who might know who really needs this kind of help, and how do I reach them?
posted by Jennifer S. to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for and this specific example is local to me, BUT my local Mutual Aid network is a clearinghouse for people seeking donations and financial help for a variety of reasons, many of which are medical. As you can see, it's pretty scattershot, but you could probably reach out to individuals asking for help there. They also have a section for non-financial requests. This project is clearly a work in progress...anyway, the bottom line is that I would suggest trying to find a mutual aid network near you.
posted by zeusianfog at 4:01 PM on October 15, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'd be surprised if people will recommend you as someone who can handle money if they have never heard of you, particularly for vulnerable people.

Maybe you can get your foot in the door by removing yourself from the fundraising/financial portion of the business at first? Would feel fulfilled if your first few clients were using GoFundMe and just used your communications skills to promote their page? I know the 2.9% fee is a lot and it would be really great if there were real alternatives.

Not sure if this is practical, but is there someway to show you've had a background check done?
posted by likethenight at 4:59 PM on October 15, 2020

I think most GoFundMe and similar donors would be pretty horrified if they found out that the recipient was not only paying a percentage to GoFundMe but also to a professional fundraiser. They're not that keen on fundraising costs when they donate to actual registered charities and the non-registered, personal donation sphere is so much more likely to be rife with problems that it would be a huge turn-off. Developing an expertise that allows you to sell how-to e-books or by-the-hour coaching services would likely be much more palatable to people.

If you want to be known as an expert in this area, though, your best first step is probably to start by developing a social media / blogging profile. Write posts and stories about your successes and your hints and tips for other people to follow in your footsteps. Volunteer to help a few more people if you need more content and stories about how awesome you are. Build up your profile as an expert and then people will seek you out for help and advice.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:01 PM on October 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

I have significant professional fundraising and communications experience

Then surely you know it goes against the fundraising profession's code of ethics to charge a percentage of money raised. Reputable non-profits who serve these populations will not want to touch a commission-based service like this, especially one that is aimed at vulnerable people.
posted by lunasol at 9:44 PM on October 15, 2020 [10 favorites]

I believe that your intentions are genuinely good in posing this question -- you're asking how you can use skills that you have to help people in need while also supporting yourself financially, or at least receiving some income. But as @lunasol said, it's against the professional fundraisers' code of ethics to take a percentage of funds raised and approaching this population could appear predatory, similar to the lawyers who chase ambulances (which their code of ethics prohibits too.) I'm not surprised that nonprofits and hospitals have declined to reply to your messages because they want nothing to do with someone who approaches people in vulnerable situations and asks them if they can help raise money for their needs in exchange for a cut of what they raise.

A different way to approach this might be to see if GoFundMe or other platforms would be interested in paying you to help their clients make their fundraisers more effective. GoFundMe benefits when their fundraisers are more successful and you would just become part of the overhead fees charged.

You might also see if there are any nonprofit organizations that help fundraise for unpaid medical expenses. I agree that the suggestions above about booklets or webinars that people who are doing their own fundraisers could purchase might be a good idea, or you might consider what a flat fee service could look like: for $750, I can do these things for your fundraiser that will make it more effective and it usually means an increase of $X in how much you raise. That seems less exploitative and more about a concrete value that your knowledge has, versus the exploitation of someone's unique tragedy.
posted by Colonel_Chappy at 9:42 AM on October 16, 2020 [2 favorites]