Step 3: Take Charge and Plan Your Event

 

Team UP – Get Volunteers

You are the team leader, but you are not alone. Gather your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers and ask them to join your team. Have a kickoff party and assign everyone to a task. You will be amazed how easy it falls into place.


Expenses
Consider your expenses and establish a budget. Be resourceful — have items donated if you can. Everyone likes to have T-shirts printed, which is expensive. If you can’t have them donated, ask everyone to wear the same color that day, or have balloons printed (which are far less expensive) with your team name — and everyone loves balloons. E-mail and social networking are the cheapest way to spread the word.

Set your team’s fundraising goal
To Team Up for BRAIN & BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION means raising funds for innovative brain and behavior research. And remember that 100% of all donor contributions for research are invested in NARSAD Grants. Your goal should be comfortable and challenging at the same time. Everyone should be equally responsible for raising funds. Create a competition among your team — reward the volunteer that raises the most. This is an exciting time and don’t be surprised if you exceed your goal — it happens all the time.

Set up your event web page
BRAIN & BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION will set up a promotional web page just for your event and collect secure online donations, which we track and monitor. Web pages may contain event details and other relevant information such as: pictures, photos, logos; links to Facebook, official website, etc.; and videos. We also have the ability to set up basic online registration. Please discuss the details with the BRAIN & BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION Special Events Department.

Communicate – Network – Get the word out!
Now it’s time to spread the word. Everyone has an e-mail database and/or address book.  Today, most of us are on Facebook: here are stitistics taken right from the Facebook website:

- More than 750 million active users
- 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
- Average user has 130 friends
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

Reach out to family, friends and members of your community. Invite them to come and ask them to invite their friends and family — it’s contagious! 

Your community is filled with ways to let everyone know about your event — local newspapers, community bulletin boards, Pennysavers, chambers of commerce, retail stores, religious centers. Someone on your committee might know a local politician or someone on the school board. Most people and organizations will help if they can.

Event Day!
The special day has finally arrived and you and your team are ready. You are surrounded by warm familiar faces, and you have a lot to be proud of. Don’t forget to take pictures and send them to us. And don’t forget to enjoy the moment.

Send in the proceeds
No doubt your work has paid off and you have collected funds. Please do not mail cash. All donations should be made payable to “BRAIN & BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION” and cash should be converted to check or money order. Mail your event’s funds to:

BRAIN & BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION
60 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 404
Great Neck, NY  11021
ATT: Events Dept.: THE NAME OF YOUR EVENT

Show Appreciation!
Saying thank you is always appreciated. Send thank you notes to your attendees, sponsors and anyone who helped you reach your goal. You may want to have a post-event party for your team.  Present an award to the highest fundraiser. And don’t forget to mention doing it again next year!

Here are some helpful resources for you to download and help get you started with your event:

Sample Fundraising Letter Sample Thank You Letter
Sample Press Release Donation Receipts
Pledge Form Promotional Templates
Deposit Slips  

 

ABOUT Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation is committed to alleviating the suffering of mental illness by awarding grants that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in scientific research.

How we do it:
100% of all donor contributions for research are invested in NARSAD Grants leading to discoveries in understanding causes and improving treatments of disorders in children and adults, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety disorders like obsessive-compulsive and post-traumatic stress disorders.

Our credentials:
For a quarter of a century, we have awarded nearly $300 million worldwide to more than 3,000 scientists carefully selected by our prestigious Scientific Council.

Our Vision:
To bring the joy of living to those affected by mental illness - those who are ill and their families and friends.

What we believe:
- Better treatments and breakthroughs come from scientific discovery.

- Only fund scientists whose research is reviewed and recommended by a world-renowned Scientific Council including Nobel prize winners and chairs of psychiatric departments.

- 100% of contributions go directly to research. Costs for administration and fund raising are underwritten by outside grants.

- Our financial operations must be transparent. Those who manage our Foundation must be committed to honesty and integrity.

- Strategic partnerships that further our mission will be developed with transparency.

 

BRAIN & BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION stands alone in the scope and breadth of research grants awarded to scientists at all levels — those just beginning their careers as well as Nobel laureates.

For a quarter of a century, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation has been a leading force in the fight against mental illness by funding research in the search for better treatments, therapies and cures for the 1 in 4 Americans who are diagnosed with a mental illness each year.

And remember: 100% of all donor contributions for research are invested in NARSAD Grants.

Globally, 154 million people suffer from depression and 25 million people from schizophrenia.
    — World Health Organization

Approximately 40 million American adults have an anxiety disorder.
     — National Institute of Mental Health

Approximately 5.7 million American adults have bipolar disorder.
     — National Institute of Mental Health

For more information about the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, please visit: www.bbrfoundation.org