Thank you for joining the Mother’s Day Squad
We are so grateful you decided to join the squad to fundraise for Raghav’s medical research. This is a fundraising effort around Mother’s day 2021 (May 1 - May 15th) to celebrate and cherish motherhood (not for just moms) but for every women who is kind, generous and makes the world a better place. Thank you for taking on this initiative in addition to the million things you already do. The goal for this campaign is to bring together people to help fundraise through a peer to peer model for Raghav and HAVE FUN during this process.
Why are we fundraising for Raghav this Mother’s day?
Raghav has an ultra rare genetic disorder called Sedaghatian type Spondylometaphyseal Dysplasia (SSMD). He is 2.5 years old, but cannot sit up without support. He doesn’t have the muscle strength to hold a toy in his hand. He doesn’t have the oral strength to swallow food. He cannot hear normally. His bones are not developing as expected. Raghav’s future is described as wheelchair bound, non-verbal and prone to premature death. Despite all this Raghav manages to always smile, be it waking up from his crib or from an ICU bed. He is that resilient! Learn more about Raghav’s journey @ curegpx4.org. No treatment today, but there is hope! Raghav’s parents (Ramya and Sanath) have partnered with leading researchers to develop a gene therapy drug to fix the faulty gene. It costs $5-7 million. This fundraising effort is to fund Raghav’s Gene therapy research.
Your role as a Fundraiser
We are asking you to reach out to your personal network to fundraise for Raghav’s gene therapy research (costs $5-7 million). This fundraising effort is to fund a crucial step in the gene therapy drug development process.
Key Dates:
May 1st: Complete fundraising page set up
May 2nd - May 14th: Share with your network & actively fundraise
May 15th: Fundraiser ends
Your Fundraiser page is already set up & ready to go!
Surprise! All the content is already ready for you. You just have to follow few simple steps to get started
GO to https://give.classy.org/cureraghav
Step 1 : SIGN UP TO BE a fundraiser
STEP 2: Create an account TO SET UP a fundraising page
STEP 3: SET a FUNDRAISING GOAL
The ultimate goal we have ahead of us is $7 million. This cannot be reached in a day. We recommend setting at least a minimum of $500 - $5000, but it is okay if you are not able to. Please know we are here to help you reach your goal, regardless of the amount you set. We encourage you to set a goal you are comfortable with and make this a fun and inspiring activity.
Few numbers to help you decide a goal:
$5000 - Support one month of research + infrastructure
$2000 - Support two weeks of research
$1000 - Support one week of research
$500 - Fund research supplies
STEP 4: CUSTOMIZE YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE
While the fundraising page comes with default content, the success of a fundraiser depends on how unique and personal it is. You are doing the fundraiser because you deeply care about the cause. We would love for you to add your connection with the cause that makes it more meaningful when you share and start fundraising. Please click here to download pictures of Raghav to give a face to the cause if you’d like. Ramya and Sanath have approved using these pictures for fundraising purposes.
Sample Description 1:
I am fundraising for baby Raghav who is 2.5 years old. Raghav is the son of my friends Ramya and Sanath. I have known this family for the past several years and they are one of the inspiring and kind families I have known.
Raghav is diagnosed with an ultra rare genetic disorder, Sedaghatian type Spondylometaphyseal Dysplasia (SSMD). Kids diagnosed with this condition don’t live beyond 30 days of birth. Raghav is now 2.5 years old and is a survivor! However this condition affects his quality of life significantly - he is unable to sit, stand, eat, walk or talk independently. His parents are working with leading researchers on a Gene therapy drug to cure his condition. It costs $5-7 million dollars. I want to help my friends get their little boy a wonderful life he deserves. I am asking for your generosity to contribute to this fundraiser.
Sample Description 2:
This fundraiser is for a little boy who never misses an opportunity to smile. Raghav (2.5 years old) is a resilient little boy of my dear friends Ramya and Sanath. I am fundraising to help with Raghav’s Gene therapy research which costs $5-7 million. By contributing for this cause you will be supporting a time crucial effort to save the life of a little one.
About Raghav:
Raghav is diagnosed with an ultra rare genetic disorder, Sedaghatian type Spondylometaphyseal Dysplasia (SSMD). Kids diagnosed with this condition don’t live beyond 30 days of birth. Raghav is now 2.5 years old and is a survivor! However this condition affects his quality of life significantly - he is unable to sit, stand, eat, walk or talk independently. His parents are working with leading researchers on a Gene therapy drug to cure his condition. It costs $5-7 million dollars. Please be kind, generous and contribute to the cause. Thank you.
STEP 5: SHARE with your network
The main purpose of this fundraiser is to ask for your help to reach out to your personal contacts. Here are some ideas to do that
Send a personal message to your friends/family on whatsapp
Email your friends and family
Make a post on social media and tag your friends with a description of what the cause means to you
Tips to make your peer-peer fundraising campaign a success
Here are some links that might help you with running a successful peer to peer campaign -
https://www.classy.org/blog/dont-start-peer-peer-fundraising-campaign-without-10-things/
Lastly, please know you are not alone
There are other people in the squad doing this along with you. They are not here to compete, but to collaborate and support you. Reach out, share ideas and celebrate together as you fundraise for Raghav’s cause. Once again we are very grateful for your time, talent, treasure and voice. Thank you so much for being a part of our journey to find a cure for Raghav.
Fundraising can be daunting, but we are here to support you along the way. You are doing this because you care about the cause. You are doing this because you want a better tomorrow for Raghav. We have huge respect for your time, effort and commitment to this.
Ramya’s role will be to empower you with the required technology, and be a cheerleader for your efforts. She will always be there to answer questions and help give you ideas to fundraise.
Ramya will not be able to promote this fundraiser on her social media for two reasons (1) There are quite a few fundraisers going on at the same time and her social channels are saturated with asks (2) Ramya has a big personal fundraiser (for Raghav) coming up in August 2021, so we want to give her social media a rest in preparation for that.
However, please tag Ramya in any posts you decide to share on social media or the emails you will send out. Ramya and Sanath are very grateful for all your efforts.
Kavya Sarat is a fundraising expert with years of experience helping non-profits fundraise. She works as a development consultant, raising funds for women experiencing homelessness and consulting with organizations trying to tell their stories, raise awareness and funds for their missions.
Kavya has generously agreed to be a resource to help you through the fundraising process. You can reach out to her for ideas about fundraising and rely on her for any questions you have. Please reach out to her at kavyadharmarajan@gmail.com