Talking publicly about your illness takes courage. If you want to start a fundraiser and get financial support for your treatment, you need to share your story. What does this look like from the perspective of someone working with a cancer foundation? See how we create fundraisers for the people we support, and let us help you organize your own. We know how to write a fundraiser description and what photo to add to inspire trust in potential donors.

How do I start a fundraiser with the help of a cancer foundation?

Description, photo, call for support—for a fundraiser to be successful, it simply needs to be well-designed and promoted. Instead of organizing a fundraiser for medical treatment through trial and error, it’s better to opt for a proven solution: setting up a fundraiser on the cancer foundation’s fundraising platform.

If you want to start a fundraiser, or if the fundraiser you’ve been running on your own isn’t yielding results and you need help organizing a new one, please contact us. By working with us, you’ll benefit from our expertise and years of experience in organizing fundraisers for medical treatment.

How does the whole process work? At Cancer Fighters, we create a fundraising campaign and write its description based on the materials you provide us, as well as conversations with the patient and their loved ones. Before anything appears on the fundraising platform, it must be approved by you. Check what we focus on when writing the fundraiser description—including how to present intimate details of the illness—and selecting a photo.

How do I write a good campaign description?

The credibility of a fundraiser helps build trust and empathy among donors. To ensure your fundraiser is transparent, it must include all necessary information. In the descriptions of our beneficiaries’ fundraisers, we outline their diagnosis and clearly state the fundraiser’s goal—the amount they are raising and exactly how it will be used. We harness the power of storytelling. Dry facts won’t stand out among hundreds of other requests for help. We tell a story.

Do I need to show my medical records?

You must provide medical documentation in order to partner with a cancer foundation and set up a fundraising campaign for treatment through it. These rules also apply to our foundation, Cancer Fighters.

Check out: How to choose a cancer foundation?

Whether to include scans of medical records in the campaign description is usually a personal decision. If included, they must comply with data protection regulations. This means redacting the Social Security number, personal information, and home address, and often the doctor’s details as well. Medical records enhance the credibility of the campaign. However, even if it is not included, medical information must still be included in the campaign description.

How much detail about the illness should I include in the report?

The essential medical information to include in a fundraising campaign description covers the type of illness, its stage, the planned treatment, and the prognosis. Instead of listing dry facts, it’s worth adding some emotion and telling a story. What should you write in a fundraising campaign description for medical treatment? We ask our beneficiaries to briefly tell us about their lives before the diagnosis, at the time they received it, and how it has affected their current lives—their health, plans, and dreams.

How to Write About an Illness in Public: Fundraising Campaigns vs. Intimate Details of the Illness

Wondering how to write a fundraising description without revealing intimate details? When creating a fundraising description and asking for financial support, you don’t lose your right to privacy. The description must include basic information about your illness, but it’s up to you to decide whether—and what—details about the course of your illness you’ll share publicly. Writing about the side effects of treatment, such as nausea and vomiting or fatigue, is common practice. More intimate stories, such as problems with bowel movements, can cause the patient to feel ashamed and violate their dignity. Including such details in the fundraiser description is completely unnecessary.

Check out: fundraisers for cancer patients. Help others or start a fundraiser for yourself or a loved one.

What should you avoid including in a fundraising campaign description?

The most common mistakes in fundraising descriptions include insufficient medical information, an inappropriate tone, and the absence of a call to action.

We’ve already discussed medical information. When it comes to the tone of communication, fundraising posts sometimes use a dramatic tone that’s disproportionate to the patient’s condition, along with emotional blackmail. Not only is this kind of communication unethical, but it also puts pressure on donors and undermines their trust. How should you describe the illness in a fundraiser? At Cancer Fighters, we have a clear message: simple language without dramatic metaphors is the best choice. Instead of writing that without a donation, a person is doomed to stop treatment, we build a sense of agency. We emphasize that every donation matters.

A call to action is a few words that let the person reading the fundraiser description know what to do. It’s a space to ask them to share the fundraiser page or encourage them to make a donation.

What kind of photos work best for a fundraiser?

A photo is the first thing that catches the attention of potential donors. When chosen carefully, it helps build trust and empathy, often indirectly influencing the decision to support a patient.

We always tell our clients that photos for a fundraiser should, above all, be authentic. Adding a random photo from a stock image database can create a negative impression among potential donors and undermine their trust in the patient. The best choice is a photo of the person for whom the fundraiser is being held. It should be natural, with the person looking directly at the camera to create the impression of maintaining eye contact with the viewer. It is important that the photo be of good quality—clear and well-lit.

A photo taken before or during the illness. What photos should I add to the fundraiser?

Many of the people we support have included a collage-style photo in their fundraising page, showing them both before their diagnosis and during their treatment. Such a photo illustrates how the disease affects their lives and appearance.

Is a sad photo or a happy one a better choice for a fundraiser? There really isn’t one right answer to that question.

A photo showing a natural pose and a smile is sure to win people over. Many people may see it as a symbol of hope and a willingness to fight for health and life. The photo could show, for example, a child playing on a hospital bed or an adult having blood drawn for testing.

A fundraising photo showing a patient without a smile, lying in a hospital bed or undergoing chemotherapy, can evoke sympathy and be associated with the need to provide urgent assistance to the patient.

When choosing a photo for a fundraiser, we should remember that everyone has a different level of sensitivity. A photograph depicting graphic details may not only cause the viewer to close the fundraising page, but also violate the privacy and dignity of the person who is ill. By “graphic details,” we mean, for example, a photograph of the person who is ill without full clothing, showing wounds, bedsores, blood, or a moment of crying.

If you have cancer and need financial support, please contact us. For many years, the Cancer Fighters Foundation has been helping patients raise funds for treatment and rehabilitation. We’ll provide you with a fundraising platform and offer the necessary support at every stage of setting up and promoting your campaign. Together, we can raise the amount you need faster!