Raising Money for the VF Can be Fun and Easy

Suzanne DePaolis, a Vasculitis Foundation board member, believes in supporting the foundation’s mission and its programs. She also believes in using her time and talents to create innovative and fun ways to raise money for the foundation.

As a board members she knows that developing the webinars and getting them to the online community is vital to patients and their families. Regional conferences allow patients and their family members to learn from leaders in the medical community while connecting with others where they live.  Having staff at medical conferences to help educate health care providers about vasculitis is crucial.

“Through the symposiums you meet people with the same disease so you don’t feel so alone, and you are meeting them in person,” DePaolis said.

The Vasculitis Foundation couldn’t do those things without donations, so DePaolis came up with creative ideas to raise both money and awareness about vasculitis.

For her it all started with Halloween and her daughter’s idea that kids should have to do something, tricks if you will, to get their treats. The family set up games for the kids so they could earn tickets for their treats. DePaolis decided to set up a Boo Bar for the parents who were waiting for their children. She put up a sign saying all tips would go to the Vasculitis Foundation. Eventually she made it a formal event to raise money for the foundation. It was a hit.

“I make a commemorative glass and if you want one, you have to do a minimum donation,” she said. “This year it is $10. We did a QR code too. People don’t have cash with them so the QR code allows them to donate. I spend a lot of the night talking about Vasculitis.”

Her community looks forward to Halloween. These days they get about 400 trick-or-treaters to their yard, which transforms it to a carnival atmosphere for Halloween. Her visitors also have learned the event benefits the VF and their donations get bigger each year.

Last year DePaolis and her friends and family made about $1,400 in donations for the VF. That amount can send foundation team members, armed with brochures and materials, to at least two medical conferences to help educate the health care community about vasculitis.

Making An Impact

In fact, small efforts make a huge impact. Every $25 donation provides a family with a Pediatric Empowerment Kit packed with helpful information for families of children who have been diagnosed with vasculitis. That same amount gives a copy of the Navigating Your Vasculitis Journey Guidebook to a person who has been newly diagnosed with vasculitis.

Every fundraiser makes a difference and together these fundraisers – whether it’s part of a big organized event or a small at-home effort — make a real difference to the vasculitis community.

• Every $10 provides a spot in one of our support groups
• $25 covers the cost of a patient scholarship to one of the foundation’s regional conferences
• $50 helps cover the cost of 25 vasculitis brochures providing valuable information and education for patients

It doesn’t take running a marathon or doing something extraordinary to raise money, DePaolis said. “Think about what you are already doing in group setting and see if you can make donations there.”

Crafters, she said, can go to a craft fair and donate the day’s proceeds to the VF. People who sell items at the flea market can designate one item or a group of items to be sold to benefit the VF.

People who like to entertain can offer to sell spots to a dinner party. Something as simple as a taco night can raise money for a scholarship to a patient conference. Let your guests know how their money is benefitting patients and their families and folks are sure to go the extra mile.

For those who want to make holidays and birthdays more meaningful, they can invite people over but say rather than exchanging or accepting personal gifts, they could donate $5 or $10 to the VF. All of the ideas not only raise money for the foundation, DePaolis said, they also offer the organizer a chance to create awareness and offer education about vasculitis.