Dive Brief:
- The Lupus Foundation of America is trying to raise money – and awareness – by encouraging people to cut out something small, such as coffee, desserts or movies, for 14 days and donate their savings.
- The group officially launched its crowdfunding campaign, called Cut it Out, on Nov. 1. Its national fundraising goal is $50,000. Its slogan: "Small Sacrifices Equals Big Impact."
- LFA hopes its 14-day challenge will make the public more sympathetic to what people affected by the autoimmune disease go through: "Every day people with lupus are forced to cut things out of their lives in order to manage their disease," said LFA President and CEO Sandra Raymond.
Dive Insight:
Money raised by the campaign will help to fund promising stem-cell research led by researchers at the University of South Carolina, said LFA spokesperson Tracy Cooley in an interview. "We thought this was a good starting point for a study people can get excited about,” she said, noting researchers are using mesenchymal (non-blood adult) stem cells.
As for the campaign's approach, Cooley said, "We thought it made sense because when we talk to people with lupus we hear again and again they have to make sacrifices with their disease." LFA does fundraising campaigns throughout the year, but "Cut it Out" is tied to the stem-cell study, she said.
Do campaigns such as this – and the Ice Bucket Challenge that raised money for research into Lou Gehrig's disease and helped scientists discover a new gene —make advocacy groups more relevant? Can they spark movements?
Key components for collaborative fundraising are to make it entertaining and let people participate in an interesting and unifying way, said Denise Tumulty, senior director of client services at Wax Custom Communications, a Miami-based healthcare marketing agency. She cited the 22 Pushup Challenge, supported by various celebrities, trying to bring attention to the number of U.S. military veterans committing suicide each day.
The lupus challenge, similar to the ALS campaign in which freezing water numbed the body, is starting from a place of empathy, Tumulty said. Fourteen days "is a very long time, though," she added. "People are willing to support a cause, but it has to be something quick and easy to do….I think people would just donate money, but why go through that for two weeks...especially when it's something you can't share [on social media]?"
When Tumulty first heard of the Lupus Foundation's Cut it Out campaign, she initially thought of a participant cutting something out and posting a photo on social media. "At the core, I think it's a good idea," she said. "Maybe they can build on it in the future to make it more viral and participatory."