Special Events

Cocktail Party or Gala – organize a cocktail party or gala and have a silent or live auction during the event. Ideas for silent and live auction categories include items for kids activities, sport themes, travel, pets, jewelry, etc. The list is endless! The CRF will provide you with auction forms and procurement letters to help with your auction.

Theme parties – organize a barbeque, luau, movie night or wine tasting for local supporters. Add an auction or raffle items to raise additional funds.

Sporting events – solicit support from local and national sports teams. Ask them to donate a portion of ticket sales for a particular event to cystinosis research.

Tournaments – put together a golf, flag football or softball tournament in your area. Contact local clubs and teams for support. Find a local golf course or stadium that will host your organized tournament. Incorporate fun activates such as hole-in-one, field goal or home run contests. Live or silent auctions can also be planned for these types of events.

Friends & Families

A relatively easy way to raise money for cystinosis is to do a letter campaign. Many times letter campaigns are written around the time of a birthday or holiday. Some letters ask the recipient to send a donation to the CRF in lieu of sending a birthday or holiday gift.

Start by making a list of those who will receive your letter – friends, family, church or school group and other supporters. Send a heartfelt letter describing your commitment to supporting cystinosis research. Explain why finding better treatments and a cure for cystinosis is so important to you (do you have a child with cystinosis, a neighbor, relative, friend)? The more personal your letter, the more compelling it will be to others. Your letter should also mention how the donations will be used so it is important to include information about cystinosis and the CRF. In order to make it easy for people to donate, include a personalized, pre-printed envelope or direct them to the CRF online donation page.

You can sign up as a CRF Partner on the Tools for Fundraising page to receive sample letters that other families have used.

Local Community Ideas

Pancake breakfast – host a pancake breakfast on school or church grounds with ticket sales going to the Cystinosis Research Foundation.

Bake sale – great for moms and young children.

Bike, ski or walk-a-thon – organize or participate for cystinosis research! Contact local sporting goods stores or other local and national businesses for sponsorship. Each biker/skier/walker can collect pledges on behalf of CRF.

Garage sale – host a neighborhood garage sale and pool the proceeds to benefit the foundation.

School involvement – many schools would like to help support children’s causes especially if there is a child with cystinosis attending the school. A school might help organize “spare change” day or “doughnut day for cystinosis,” etc.

Business & Corporate Ideas

Local support – be sure to actively communicate your commitment to cystinosis research to local businesses and press. This can help with raising awareness and obtaining donations in cash, goods or services. The CRF can provide you with information to present to the business community and to your local media and press.

Casual dress day – great for schools or businesses. Allow students or employees to “purchase” casual dress allowances and have the proceeds go to cystinosis research. Create a fun theme such as wear-a-hat day. Have contests and give awards.

Matching gifts – find out if your company has a matching gift program. Ask your fellow co-workers for pledges and approach your employer to match the gifts dollar-for-dollar.