While talking to a friend one day, a young woman named Crystal Mills learned of a man named Dustin Hughes, a husband and father who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Feeling the overwhelming need to help, Mills decided connected with Hughes on Facebook. Using Fundly and Facebook, Mills has now achieved her goal to help.
On June 24, 2011 Hughes was rushed to the emergency room where it was discovered that he had a brain tumor; it turned out to be stage 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme, an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer. Hughes states, “In the blink of an eye, my world changed forever.”
With a burden to help Hughes and his family, Mills contacted him via Facebook and asked what top items are on his “bucket list.” Hughes replied that his biggest dream was to take his boys to Disneyland one last time.
Amazingly, in just a few months Mills’ goal of raising $10,000 for this incredible cause has been met and exceeded! Currently, $10,135 has been raised on fundly.com/operationhughestroop with the generous contributions of 110 donors and supporters. Mills shares that, “The money WILL officially be sending these boys to Disneyland, but that’s not all. Dustin had also shared a wish that he thought would be the hardest to accomplish, which is to start a charity for glioblastoma multiforme cancer, the cancer that he is winning the fight against, and help others do the same. We are going to make this happen.”
So what made this online campaign so successful and how can you apply it to your nonprofit fundraising? Well, first of all I can’t help but think that Mills is a stay-at-home mom with no marketing skills or a staff to strategize with. She was sincere, heartfelt and genuine.
Secondly, the pictures on her website are beautiful and portray a message that hits to the heart of the matter. Thirdly, this cause has mass appeal to anyone who has a family; it’s not too specific so as to alienate donors. Finally, she used social media tools brilliantly. She posted on Facebook, there were several YouTube videos to upload and the message spread like wildfire. If Mills can run a successful fundraising campaign using Fundly, just think what you can do!
Tomorrow’s blog will focus on Twitter and how to incorporate this tool into your online fundraising plan. The more ways you can connect with your donors, the better!
In this series:
Happy Social Media Week – http://bit.ly/yKlkNr
Woman Uses Fundly and Facebook to Help Fulfill Stranger’s Last Wish –http://bit.ly/wluGiv
Twitter vs. Facebook: To Tweet or Not to Tweet – http://bit.ly/ADdqwn
Implementing an Online Fundraising Plan for Beginners – http://bit.ly/x5BymH
Starting Your Own Blog – http://bit.ly/yxR2kG
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