(Photo: QEII Hospital in Halifax)
Karen Willison recently hosted her first hospital fundraiser, raising more than $85,000 to date with the one-night event.
When the campaign is over at the end of July, she hopes to have cracked the $100,000 mark, with funds benefiting hospitals in Meaford and Collingwood, Ont.
Willison, a sales representative with Royal LePage Locations North, a brokerage in Collingwood, chooses to support inclusive charities that serve diverse communities. Because people are faced with challenges they don’t expect and most pass through these doors at one time or another, supporting hospitals made sense, she says.
Stepping it up
Until now, her team has been an “active sponsor,” showing up and being part of an event, which from a Realtor standpoint is good public relations. It’s always good to be seen, she says.
But at the urging of her clients, it was time for something different. Willison, a Realtor for 24 years, and her team, K/W Collaborative Real Estate and Associates, decided to raise funds for two hospitals. “They both serve the area we cover and 99 per cent of our clients use one or the other, or both.”
Party planning started five months ago
Plans for the K/W Collaborative Hospital Fundraiser Event 2025 began in February for the July date. Willison says the goal was to create an “impactful and memorable” event.
The BYOB event included appetizers, a live band, short speeches by a speaker and a patient partner from each hospital – and lots of mingling and fun.
The team collaborated with the property owners, who donated the venue. The barn venue is rustic and not zoned for events, but the owners, The Wilkinson family, reserve it for fundraising, Willison says. The band offered a charity discount rate.
Getting organized with the foundation
When the foundation asked how much she expected to raise, she decided not to put a number on it and add to her stress. Willison told them “as much as possible.”
Willison met with the hospital foundations to find out “what they needed from us for the third-party event.”
Her questions included: How would attendees make donations at the event, (Willison says she didn’t want to process donations, pick up cheques or be accountable for the money), could she see a running donation total, how long does it take before receipts are issued to donors, if a donation is followed up with a thank you note and “if the note mentions us,” she says.
K/W Collaborative team member Michelle Bigelow says the hospital provided information about what to include on the pledge cards so the foundations could process the donations and even created a design. “We just had to print them. They also gave us a custom link to share with clients.”
Willison got the foundations’ approval before materials were printed to ensure the information was correct and no reprints would be necessary.
Getting the party started
The success of an event like this relies on the guest list. Bigelow says, “It takes community. You need donors to give. The message is important when writing and holding events.”
She says the guest list consisted mostly of people the team had worked directly with in the past, as well as guests of the venue owners, band, K/W team and hospital foundations.
Willison secured insurance for the event, a 24-hour rider from her company’s insurer.
Because it was a BYOB event, she also provided a driver if anyone needed a ride home. A photographer was also hired to capture the special moments.
Her budget: $12,000 for 175 people with a BYOB format and a donated venue.
“It was an emotional event, touching, and everyone left feeling great,” Bigelow says.
Willison’s top tips for throwing a fundraiser
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Get organized.
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Pace yourself and allow at least six months to plan/prepare
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Identify key supporters and venue
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Check with the hospital foundation at the beginning to find out their guidelines and what kind of help they can provide.
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Build your team but don’t cast your net too wide, says Bigelow. Otherwise the task could become too overwhelming with too many cooks in the kitchen.
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Pick team members based on their strengths.
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Consider partnering with the community for donations of products, services and venues.
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Expect to work. Team members and neighbours pitched in to clean the barn and her team manned appetizer stations.
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Provide custom stick-on name tags to make mingling easier
More fundraising in her future
Willison plans to fundraise every July, but to offer the large event only once every three to five years. In the meantime, she has committed to donating $5,000 per year for five years for each hospital.
The process from one hospital foundation’s point of view
The process is different at each hospital, says Alison MacKenzie, community partnerships officer at QEII Health Sciences Centre Foundation in Halifax.
Most hospital foundations have information on their websites that make it easy for anyone who wants to fundraise, she says.
The QEII website has a DIY page that makes it easy for donors. Fundraisers fill out a form to register their event and will receive a special logo to use on their promotional materials. They can also say where they want the funds to be directed.
Donors can complete a profile page and write about their fundraising project/event and add a photo. The page will be on the hospital’s website.
There is no minimum donation. “We deal with donations of $5 to millions of dollars,” MacKenzie says. “It all makes an impact. We’re beyond grateful. We couldn’t do what we do without support. So much is needed.”
Ditto for hospitals everywhere.
Connie Adair is a contributing writer for REM.