Grassroots Fundraising
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You make a difference.
Since 1997, people like you have raised over $750,000 for Nevus Outreach by holding fundraising events.
Grassroots fundraising is a strategy for obtaining small donations from neighbors, community members, and other individuals. It is a decentralized, community-driven way to support our community's advocacy and needs. It also allows you independence, creativity, and the ability to advocate for our cause. Grassroots fundraising is different from grants and scholarships, which rely on one central funding source.
Get inspired.
Event Idea Starters!
Over the years, many people have raised money for Nevus Outreach on their own. Here is an outline of ways people have done this before. You’ll be amazed at how creative people affected by large nevi can be!
Event Ideas for anyone
Easter Baskets
$1,000/year
The Lady Bass Anglers of West Michigan kicked off their annual Bass Fishing season by raffling off a huge Easter basket every spring. They manage to donate about $1000 a year to Nevus Outreach by doing this.
Pledge-Per-Whatever
Automated System
Like RideBrianRide, Nevus Outreach supporters have collected pledges-per-whatever for everything from miles run in a marathon to rounds won at the National Scrabble Championships. The Nevus Outreach Grassroots Fundraiser system allows you to use an automated pledge-per-unit system to collect and record commitments from donors.
Non-Events
$18,000 Raised
These days we all seem to get invited to far too many things! In a great twist, grandparents Jerry and Joanne Cunningham and Nita and Jim Roethe in Northern CA decided to invite people NOT to attend a make believe event, giving them excuses with suggested donations attached to all the reasons not to attend! They mailed out their cleverly hand-produced non-invitations and when the dust settled, Nevus Outreach had received just under $18,000 in donations, all for not attending a non-event!
Vocal Recital
$20,000 Raised
You play the cards you are dealt. Kathy Stewart is a professional concert singer, and sang a recital in her hometown of Bartlesville, OK that included sorrowful songs about the death of children and uplifting songs about hope and strength from adversity. Donations from the concert totaled over $8000 for Nevus Outreach.
Angels for Austin
$100,000 Raised
Our first $100,000 success was the brainchild of Karen and Brett Zimmer who along with a supportive church community, focused a whole week of activities in their small coastal town of Santa Maria California, on raising money for Nevus Outreach. There were financial angels, pledges, barbecues, newspaper stories, bike races, all kinds of things. It was truly spectacular.
Hey Teachers!
If you know someone who buys a lot of books or music, or these days just about anything, showing them how to use the Nevus Outreach gateways to these organizations can make some big bucks. A teacher who spends their $2000 annual book budget at Amazon or music budget at Sheet Music Plus equals a quick $80 to Nevus Outreach. Anyone can choose to make a major purchase through Amazon – they seem to sell everything these days.
Event Idea for kids
More than one family has helped their children put up a lemonade stand to raise money for Nevus Outreach. Families have raised from $50 to $600 by doing this. How do you say “location is everything?”
Lemonade Stand
Event Ideas for adults
Holiday Party
$1,350 Raised
Jim and Julia Morris hosted his officemates for a holiday party, accepting donations for Nevus Outreach. They sent in donations for $1,350.
Gold Party
$300 Raised
Wendy Kushner held a party in her home where everyone brought old jewelry, etc, they collected it together for Nevus Outreach, and sold it to a company that buys old jewelry. The event raised over $300.
Ski-Run-Ski
$4,000 Raised
Tim Mercer and Debbie Meade with their Yellowknife Multisport Club in the more northerly latitudes of Canada, held a Ski-Run-Ski relay event and raised well over $4000 for Nevus Outreach to touch people affected by giant nevi.
Fabulous Women's Event
$825 Raised
Stephanie Delaney of Petaluma CA is a member of a group of Fabulous Women. The idea is to bring a bunch of fun women together to do something social and meaningful. The guests show up with food, drinks, and some cash. Stephanie says, "After a very emotional afternoon, 25 women raised $825.00!"
Corporate Matching
$500 Raised
We have saved the easiest for last! A number of people who support Nevus Outreach increase the value of their own donations because their employer matches their charitable giving. One supporter gives $500 every year and her company sends us another check – for $500. Of course, it starts with YOU, right? Ask if your employer does this. If they do, let us help you get it done!
World Series Party - Super Bowl Party
$200-$2,000
There is some discussion about which one is better. The point is, use a big-screen-TV-and-food party as an excuse to raise some money for a worthy cause. Almost anyone will write a check for $10 or $20 (and some will write a check for a lot more than that) to get together with good friends and eat food that’s bad for you and get loud and act like adolescents again. Many people have done this with donations ranging from $200 to $2,000.
Gabriel's Gala
$40,000 Raised
Pierre and Jennifer Gremillion, with the help of a whole committee drawn from friends, family and church, put on a remarkable evening of fun and fundraising in a public combination indoor/outdoor space in Metairie, LA. Over the course of close to 8 hours there was great food, a (donated) full bar, silent auctions of a huge number of very fine donated items, raffles, and the whole evening culminated with a raucous live auction. Gabriel’s Gala raised over $40,000 for Nevus Outreach.
Comedy Night
$1,500 Raised
Kim Reinart found a local comedy club that occasionally does charity benefits and convinced them to make Nevus Outreach their charity of choice for one Comedy Night event. This event raised $1,500.
Cars for Kids
$70,000 Raised
Ken and Connie Ward persuaded a world famous annual Porsche meet in Orange County CA to channel their admissions proceeds to Nevus Outreach, calling the event “Cars for Kids.” Over two years, this raised over $70,000.
Bass Fishing Tournament
$12,000 Raised
For four years in a row, Shannon Ertner and the Lady Bass Anglers of West Michigan have held a charity Bass Fishing Tournament in June to raise money for Nevus Outreach. Shannon and her club have raised over $12,000 for Nevus Outreach by doing this.
Jeans Day
$800 Raised
Here’s one that we could do 100 of! A biggish company lets their employees wear blue jeans on Fridays if they donate $2 to their charity du-jour. They chose Nevus Outreach as their charity of choice once or twice a year, and we get a check for about $800. Do any of you work for a biggish company that does a Jeans Day?
Cask Night
$1,600 Raised
There is at least one Microbrewery that does this and we can’t imagine they are the only one – once a month the Bethlehem Brew Works holds “Cask Night” and allows all the proceeds from a single cask of beer to go towards a charity. Kim Reinart raised over $1600 by doing this. She sold raffle tickets at the pub and then raffled off wonderful gift baskets which had been donated. Imagine 50 of these in 50 different towns around the world!
Stanley Cup Party
$5,000 Raised
When you win the Stanley Cup, everybody on the team gets the cup for a day to do whatever they would like to do with it. In the case of Matt West, a staffer for the Carolina Hurricanes, he devoted his day with the cup to a series of fundraising events for Nevus Outreach. There was a fabulous lunch reception, then in the evening Matt and Juliana threw a party in Durham, NC for friends to ogle the cup, handle it, kiss it, get their photos taken, etc. Admission was a donation – the event raised over $5,000 for Nevus Outreach.
Golf Tournament
3-6K Raised
About 5 or 6 families have put on a number of golf tournaments for Nevus Outreach. In fact, the biggest ever single event fundraiser for Nevus Outreach was a Golf Tournament that raised $108,000, with large thanks to Kevin and Sarah Cunningham and their family. There are also quite a number of lower-key ones that raise from $3,000 to $8,000 or so each time they do it. In one case, a medium-sized corporation puts on their own Golf Tournament every year and an employee has managed to point them toward Nevus Outreach. A recent golf tournament in Round Rock, Texas, organized by Jerry Pruiett, raised over $16,000. You can read more about it here.
Get started today!
Show your passion for our cause.
Many people hold fundraisers simply because they want to raise money for Nevus Outreach. Over the years, many people have raised money for Nevus Outreach on their own. Through their creative and fun efforts, they have helped Nevus Outreach defray the costs nevus family members to attending the conference, get support in their communities, advocate for our rare, and much more. Whatever your reason, take the first step and get started by registering your fundraiser with Nevus Outreach.