Rare diseases are unfortunately often overlooked by the majority of the population until the need arises. However, more people are affected by rare diseases than you can estimate. Countries usually have their definition of a rare disease. According to the World Health Organization, a disease or a lifelong disorder can be classified as a rare disease when it occurs in one person or less per 1000 people. Furthermore, if it affects less than two patients per 100,000 people, it is classified as an ultra-rare disease. Through this article we would like to shed some light on Fundraising Tips for Rare Diseases
Currently, there are 7,000 rare diseases identified and categorized across the globe. In India, approximately 72,611,605 people out of the total population are affected by such rare diseases. Therefore, this number is more than you may have perceived it to be. It is therefore imperative that as individuals, we educate ourselves and contribute to their research and treatment in all possible ways – for example, through rare disease fundraising.
What is Ketto?
Ketto is a prominent Indian online crowdfunding platform founded by Varun Sheth, Kunal Kapoor, and Zaheer Adenwala. It allows individuals to create an online fundraising campaign to support both personal and non-personal causes.
Individuals and NGOs can start a fundraiser to meet personal needs like medical and disaster relief. Entrepreneurs can start an online fundraiser for their start-up, business projects, etc. More than 1,100 crore rupees have been raised by this crowdfunding platform from 2012 to 2020, with about 2 lakh successful campaigns supported by more than 55 lakh generous donors.
Ketto’s headquarters are currently located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, but it has several dedicated social workers representing the platform across the country. This platform works relentlessly to help individuals and NGOs raise funds and also spread awareness about less-discussed topics like rare diseases. They have hosted fundraisers for causes like medical treatment, child welfare, animal welfare, education, and creativity. Ketto can be used to fund vital yet expensive treatments for people with rare diseases. If you’d like to know how to start such a fundraiser, read on to know some fundraising tips for rare diseases.
Choose dedicated days
Commemorating a day to causes or people is a conventional way of spreading awareness and positivity. World Rare Disease Day is observed on the last day of February every year. Worldwide, advocacy groups of almost 7,000 categorized rare diseases hold events, campaigns, and other awareness activities on this day. The main objective is to build awareness among the general public, media, and legislators to raise funds for treatment and research. Therefore, utilizing this day to create your fundraiser event or online campaign is a practical move.
The public would already be sensitized by the media about this issue and would be emotionally receptive towards knowing more about such a campaign. Thus, they would be more likely to donate and the media would be more likely to cover the fundraiser. Appealing to people on a day dedicated especially to your cause will help even small platforms and fundraisers get adequate attention. Such messages often tend to get lost among the daily hustle and bustle of the internet, where even bigger platforms struggle to attract and sustain attention.
Come up with creative and interactive ideas for your rare disease fundraising campaign to spread awareness effectively about your fundraiser. Have goals, for example, a year-round fundraiser that will end on the next World Rare Disease Day, or having a specific goal amount that has to be raised, which will serve as motivation for everyone to contribute.
Harness the power of social media
It doesn’t need a special mention that if you need something to go viral, post about it on social media. With several trends being introduced every day, social media has an extremely wide reach. You will find people using smartphones even in the remotest part of the country.
Harness the power of social media to increase the reach of your fundraising for rare disease campaigns. Set up accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and make creative content to engage with social media users.
Narrate the story and motive of your rare disease fundraising campaign through videos and images. Find and interact with people diagnosed with rare diseases. Feature such individuals and organizations working with them on your page with their permission. Another idea is to feature doctors specializing in rare diseases and conduct a live Q&A session on your page. These ideas will help people understand the seriousness of the issues through experts and lived experiences, and urge them to donate in any way they can.
Hiring a social media manager to optimize your campaign is ideal. As they are up to date with the recent algorithms, they can widen the reach of your campaign. The official hashtag for World Rare Disease Day is #ShowYourRare. Similarly, you can create an innovative hashtag for your fundraising campaign to gain attention on social media.
Host a fundraising event
This is a classic old-school tactic that still works effectively if done correctly. Fundraising balls and events have been around for a long time and the idea can be adapted effortlessly in today’s world. Each event must be more creative and better than the last. Therefore, you need to come up with out-of-the-box ideas and themes to throw a fundraising event.
One of the main parts of the event is the guest list. Make sure to invite the press, board members of the hospital, doctors, local politicians, celebrities, patients with rare diseases, and their families. You can even tie up with hospitals and NGOs to host the event. Some of the patients or their family members can be invited to make a speech and share their stories dealing with the diseases to connect with the audience. Use your social media accounts to spread the word of your invite to get a higher turnout.
Final words
One of the leading causes for patients succumbing to rare diseases is the lack of funding available for research. Therefore, as individuals, we must do everything in our power to gain the attention of donors and media to join the bigger conversation and push the need for research funding. Ketto is an exceptional platform to start your online rare disease fundraising journey. This reliable platform has helped many fundraising campaigns hit their target.
Use the above-mentioned fundraising tips for rare diseases to amplify your campaign. For more support, queries, and information on how Ketto can help your fundraiser, visit Ketto’s official website today.
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