Phelan-McDermid Syndrome | Donations & Fundraising

Money that the 22q13 Deletion Syndrome Foundation raises is used to pay for the costs associated with our biennial conference and toward research initiatives. In the past, The Mikel Foundation and the Greenwood Genetic Center have provided money to cover many of the costs. At this time, the 22q13 Deletion Foundation is responsible for its own funding, so donations and fundraising efforts has become a priority. While we bring in speakers, volunteer parents provide for the majority of our activities related to the conference: discussion groups, family activities, conference material preparation, site planning and much more.

It is critical that each family do its part to raise money for our Foundation. It is through your personal efforts that we can make our biennial conferences possible. Below, you will find links to sample letters done in Microsoft^® Word format in order to make them customizable and fit your family’s needs in raising money for the 22q13 Deletion Foundation. We appreciate all your efforts.

The 22q13 Deletion Syndrome Foundation is accepting donations to make our biennial Support Group meetings possible, as well as for covering other costs associated with our international nonprofit group.

So, what can we, as parents, do to help raise money for our organization? We are a 501c3 non-profit foundation. We are tax-exempt, so anyone making donations will receive a receipt for tax deductions.

There are a variety of fundraising sites on the Internet. Try these for some ideas:

www.nonprofitexpert.com	www.profitquests.com
www.fundraising-ideas.org

Current Fundraising Events	Past Fundraising Events
Order 22q13 Deletion Foundation Brochures: Veronica Frunzi

The following ideas take little to no overhead:

Bake Sales:

This is an easy fundraiser that can involve family and friends. Remember to place your bake sale in a high traffic location:
WalMart, work, parking lot of church. Advertise ahead of time and be creative in making flyers or posters. Contact local businesses for pre-orders. Have a theme bake sale (Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day).

E-mail Campaign:

Sending out a simple e-mail asking donations to the foundation can help friends and extended family feel helpful in supporting our foundation.

Company Newsletter / Memo:

Potential donors can be found by simply adding a small summary about our group in their next newsletter or office memo. Include your e-mail address and phone number. Give some history about your son or daughter.

Car Washes:

Wash cars in high traffic areas and involve friends, family or co-workers. Some fun ideas on car washes: provide a free car wash but ask businesses, family, friends, neighbors to donate money for each car washed (a “wash-a-thon”). Advertise ahead of time with flyers, posters and word of mouth.

Pledge-a-thon:

The principle of the “wash-a-thon” can be applied to riding bikes, walking, swimming, etc. What a great idea to involve your children! Brothers and sisters can help raise money for the foundation.

Garage Sale:

In my band directing days, the high school band would have a huge garage sale each summer in the band parking lot and throughout the breezeways of the school. Hundreds of families would donate items for the sale. Students would raise hundreds of dollars by just cleaning out their closets and under their beds. Churches, schools, work could donate their parking lots for a large garage sale. Neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc. could donate items for the sale. The band would advertise a month in advance in the paper, on the radio, etc. Many advertisements were free.

Homemade Sale Items:

Take cookies to work. If you have a craft hobby, sell the items at work.

Special Occasions:

Instead of accepting gifts for a special occasion, like a birthday or Christmas, ask that family and friends send a donation to the 22q13 Deletion Syndrome Foundation instead in your child’s name.

Pizza Hut Fundraiser Nights:
(some managers let it go for the whole day).

Twenty percent of the profits from that night (excluding alcohol, tips and tax) go to your cause. It is fairly simple. Here's how it works:

1. Pick a date that would work for your schedule. Call up Pizza Hut (talk to the manager) and they will get all the information from you.

2. Send out announcements via e-mail or flyers to your work, church, temple, child's school etc. Make sure the recipients keep the flyers, or at least tell them to tell Pizza Hut that they're with the group that organized the fundraising effort).

3. On the fundraiser date, you don't even have to be there! The guests hand in a flyer (or a piece of paper that has the group's name on it) with their payment. It's good for dine in or carry out.

4. In about a month you get a check from Pizza Hut!

iGive.com:

At igive.com, your credit card company will donate a portion of your purchases when you shop at participating stores. Registering is easy and having your credit card send donations on everyday purchases is even easier! Since we are a qualified nonprofit, your donations are tax deductible. The keyword to use for our group is 22q13. At igive.com you'll find nearly 600 popular online stores, such as Dell, eBay, Barnes & Noble and Lands' End.

Quick Facts About iGive.com

• iGive.com has been online since 1997
• 668 stores participate in the iGive.com program
• 32817 charities and nonprofit organizations are listed with iGive.com
• iGive.com shoppers have raised over $2,117,395.67 for their favorite causes
• Just this year, shoppers have raised over $374,892.95 in donations!

Earnings displayed here are not 100% accurate, and will be
adjusted periodically to reflect actual earnings.

United Way:

The United Way will forward your donations to us. People often participate in the United Way's workplace campaigns, but don't always know where to direct their donation. This is a great way to get donations from family, friends and coworkers through United Way campaigns at their places of work. Please contact your local chapter.

eBay:

Our Support Group is registered with eBay's charity auction list through its Mission Fish program. Any registered eBay user can list items and donate between 20 percent and 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale to the 22q13 Deletion Syndrome Foundation. Mission Fish collects the money, issues a receipt and the donations are tax deductible.

You can find us by going to eBay's home page (ebay.com) and clicking on:

the Giving Works link.
Then, scroll down to the Shop by Nonprofits section.
Next, click on Search the Directory or the "#" symbol to find our group.
Finally, click on 22q13 Deletion Foundation to find items that are for sale and will benefit our group.

This is a great way to spread awareness while raising money! We need people to collect and list donated items. If you know anyone who is a seller on eBay, please let them know that they can help spread awareness and raise money by donating a portion of their sales to the 22q13 Deletion Foundation.

Domino’s Pizza Card:

You buy the cards from a local franchise for $10, with $9 going to our charity. You sell the card for $10 and the buyer gets buy-one-get-one-free deals when they use the card. Other retailers have similar programs. Check with the manager of your local franchise to see how they help nonprofit groups.