Putting the fun into fundraising for an important cause

Posted on 17 Sep 2024

By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

The crowded fundraising landscape means organisations trying to raise money for a good cause must continuously come up with new ideas to cut through the noise and encourage Australians to reach into their pockets.

When it comes to raising much-needed cash for cancer research, the team behind an innovative campaign hope they can engage with donors by inviting them to participate on their own terms.

According to the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP), each year more than 40,000 people in Australia and New Zealand are diagnosed with “below the belt” cancer.

This equates to 111 people learning to live with cancer of the testicle, prostate, kidney, penis or bladder.

ANZUP’s 111 Your Way campaign encourages participants to complete 111 instances of an activity of their choice in October.

People can choose to do anything from performing push-ups to swivelling a hula hoop or completing household chores – all in the name of raising money for clinical trial research.

ANZUP was formed to bring together a world-leading multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals, scientists, researchers, and community representatives working in areas related to urogenital cancer.

“We're inviting everyone to join us in taking on an exciting challenge to support the 111 people diagnosed with “below the belt” cancer every day across Australia and New Zealand.”

ANZUP CEO Samantha Oakes.

ANZUP CEO Samantha Oakes said fundraising was an important part of the organisation’s activities and allowed it to support new clinical trials.

ANZUP CEO Samantha Oakes.

“We're inviting everyone to join us in taking on an exciting challenge to support the 111 people diagnosed with “below the belt” cancer every day across Australia and New Zealand”, she said.

“Since 2008, we've proudly enrolled more than 8,000 participants in 33 national and international clinical trials, and now we're aiming to raise $10 million over the next five years to expand our impact even further.”

Ms Oakes urged Australians to combine fun and creativity by first registering before tackling the 111Your Way challenge in their own way, whether that was running 111 km during October, doing the same number of cartwheels or marking the milestone in the number of books read.

“I'll be surfing 111 waves each week – it's going to be a challenge, but it's all for a great cause.”

ANZUP will share some of the creative examples of people taking part in the 111 Your Way campaign on their website to inspire more people to get on board.