Running A Successful Medical Crowdfunding Campaign: Case Study of a Dedicated Father

Determination and love are a powerful combination. One can find the drive to make the impossible happen when a loved one is in dire need, or worse, in pain. This is the case with thousands of medical crowdfunding campaigns around the world. The rising expenses of healthcare are slowly fueling the crowdfunding industry in India and around the world. Medical campaigns constitute nearly half of the crowdfunding that is done on Indian platforms.

Cancer is one of the most common diseases whose treatment campaigners are seen crowdfunding for. With some of the most expensive medical procedures ever, families of even average means are unable to bear the bills hospitals burden them with. A father from Bhopal, India is one such campaigner who needed help with funds. He started raising funds with Impact Guru when his 4-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer.

Beginning with a fundraising goal of Rs 5 lakhs, the dedicated father, Sanjeev managed to raise nearly double, Rs 9.3 lakhs in less than a week!

What steps did he take that helped him make such a hit of his fundraising campaign?

1. He sprung into action quickly: Sanjeev was effective in gathering his supporters and finding donors before he created his campaign. He alerted them the moment his fundraiser was approved. Crowdfunding experts say that the first few days (and even hours) are the most crucial for any fundraiser and we agree. When a social media user happens upon a fundraiser, they tend to feel discouraged if they see that the campaign has been active for a while but hasn’t acquired a significant portion of its goal yet.
2. Encouraging a collective goal: He was proactive in encouraging his network to make an emotional connect to his story; they were quick to spur into action. His family, friends and colleagues were informed of and included in his fundraising endeavour before his campaign went active.
3. Emailers and social media: Sanjeev actively wrote individual emails and WhatsApp messages to potential donors. He spread them within his personal and professional networks, and was adept at eliciting positive responses. He shared regularly on Facebook as well, and ensured his closest relations did the same.

The power of a large business network: Being a government official with influential and wealthy contacts at his disposal, he could acquire donations easily. An employee of the electricity board in an Indian city, he was well-known and thus capable of reaching far and wide to easily win the trust of potential donors and collect contributions.