iCAN Fundraising ToolKit
Are you passionate about Empowering Pediatric Patients Worldwide and are wondering how to support the incredible work that iCAN kids accomplish around the world? iCAN encourages you to channel that passion into tangible change! Help support the organization's mission to reach more kids every year. It doesn't matter if you are a young person, parent, sibling, or patient, your creativity and skills are unique and unmatched! Check out the tools below to kickstart your fundraising journey! Welcome to healthcare's rising change makers.
"channeling Your Voice" - iCAN Summit 2025
iCAN Fundraising Ideas
Get Inspired, Be Empowered!
We encourage creative ideas! From online to in-person, group to individual, any idea is a good one. Below you will find a wealth of ideas to get you started! As you craft your fundraiser, be sure to make note of what type of activity you are excited about and fits your skillset. Your passion will shine through!
iCAN Chapters and youth members across the world continue to change the landscape of pediatric medicine! They have hosted fundraisers and awareness campaigns across the years and have demonstrated that anyone (no matter their age, nationality, or talents) can make a difference. Demonstrated here are real-world examples of fundraisers iCAN chapters have hosted as well as other ideas to inspire your own project or event. Take these ideas as models or come up with a brand new idea - we are so excited to learn about what you will do! Historic iCAN Chapter Fundraisers: - Benefit Concert: KIDS CHOC members, Fiona and Sofia used their incredible talent for piano playing to host a benefit concert in their local community. Through friends and family as well as community donations, they were able to raise over $7,000 to attend the iCAN Summit. - Local Business Partnership: KIDS Rady partnered with a local ice-cream shop to host a community fundraiser. A percentage of all funds raised during that day went directly to the chapter’s Summit travel expenses. - Running Challenge: KIDS Uganda ran for 1 mile a day as a part of iCAN’s annual Challenge of 10 fundraiser. They received corporate sponsorship for their challenge. Fundraising ideas: - Letter writing campaigns - Donation cans at local businesses - Bake sales - Auctions - Benefit shows - Community business fundraising (chipotle, grocery stores, chickfila, home depot) - Pancake or pizza nights - Tabling at local fairs, farmers markets, or college campuses - Raffles - Car washes - Virtual challenges - Video game tournaments - Social media Campaigns - Social media influencer partnerships - Virtual trivia - Virtual classes
Getting Started
Change Starts with Small Steps
So you've been inspired and have started brainstorming your ideas! What now? Getting started can often be intimidating, but remember, change has to start from somewhere. You've already taken the first step to change the world!
"Making a difference together!"
Your iCAN family thanks you for hosting a fundraising event or activity! There are a few starting steps that you can take in order to clearly outline your fundraising end goal. These steps can be adapted to your own vision and individual project. 1) Start by picking your fundraising project! - This project can span a wide range of activities. From online to in-person activities, creative to physical, group or individual, iCAN encourages all creative ideas and concepts. Make sure to look through the first section if you are stuck on where to start. Think about what is most accessible to you. For example, if you are a student in high school, what school resources can you use to support your fundraiser? If you volunteer with a local hospital or are well acquainted with the healthcare system, could you target doctors or use space within the hospital to host an event? Hint: It is ok to start small! Small fundraisers with manageable goals are a great way to start your fundraising journey. Choose a project that aligns with your passions. If you love to draw, craft your fundraiser around that. The more engaged you are with your fundraising idea, the more your passion will shine through to your audience. 2) Create a project outline! - Answering the important questions: For both in-person and virtual fundraising it is important to think of logistics. For example, you will need to identify the following: Who your audience is?Where your event will take place?How will you ask for and collect donations?What is your ultimate timeline?, etc. By outlining these questions ahead of time, your project will be better organized and you will be more prepared to answer questions down the line. Example project outline: - Title: KIDS Utah Bake for Betterment - Type of Fundraiser: Group fundraiser, In-Person - Timeline: Valentine’s Day, 2026 from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm - Fundraising Goal: $750 - Location: Utah University’s campus - Audience: College students and other people on the campus - Idea: We want to have a bake sale on valentine’s day. My friends and I all like baking, and we think that we can raise money for the 2026 Summit by baking a variety of sweets to sell on Valentine’s Day. Each sweet will come with a flower. We already have a table and a few chairs, and our parents have offered to drive us to the campus. We think that we will need $150 in order to buy supplies. - Marketing Plan: Posting flyers around campus and letting older siblings and friends know about the opportunity. Reaching out to a campus newsletter is also a good idea. 3) Carryout the Project Logistics and Marketing - Once you have your outline, run it by a friend and the iCAN team for additional feedback. Working with a group is always a helpful way to split the workload. Make sure that you have all the permissions you need if you are hosting an in-person or virtual event tied to a platform or entity outside of iCAN’s requirements. You can also reach out to specific sponsors for your event. Local companies may not be able to provide monetary support to the fundraiser, but may be open to in-kind donations. For example, a grocery store might donate baking supplies or a printing store could donate flyers. Don’t be afraid to ask! Particularly for young people, in-kind donation requests can be both lucrative and simple to acquire. 4) Post-event checklist - After completing your fundraising project, make sure to say thank you! Craft a thank you letter to your donors as well the people and/or companies who supported you. This action is not only appreciated by participating community members, but can help prompt return commitments and donations. Hint: Encourage your donors and supporters to engage with iCAN beyond the constraints of your fundraiser!
"Teamwork makes the dream work"
Support from iCAN
Innovation Doesn't Happen in a Silo!
As you continue on your fundraising journey, iCAN is with you every step of the way! We want to make sure that your fundraising event or activity is a success. Learn how we can support your efforts below.
The iCAN team is dedicated to making sure that you are excited about your fundraising project or activity and we encourage you to keep us in the loop. We are here to help brainstorm, share the world, and highlight your successes and efforts! We encourage you to reach out to iCAN staff via their emails or through the general iCAN email (contactus@icanresearch.org) during any point of your fundraising journey. Additionally, we suggest that you have iCAN staff review your event as we may be able to give additional ideas and resources. iCAN can set up your funding webpage for you! Whether it be through Gofundme or Zeffy, iCAN staff can set up a page specifically for your fundraiser. This process streamlines online donations and ensures that the funding is hosted in a secure location. Let us know about your upcoming events, so we can host those events on the iCAN homepage and share them with our network via the monthly iCAN newsletter and email blasts. iCAN can provide support in creating marketing materials as well as access to the iCAN style guide. These resources will guarantee that your fundraising project aligns with iCAN’s branding and media requirements, cementing brand consistency and recognition. Marketing materials could include “thank you letters on iCAN’s letterhead”, social media designs, flyers, presentations, etc. We encourage the event organizers to create the materials themselves, with iCAN staff helping as needed!
Fundraising Guidelines
Stepping Stones Towards Success
As you continue to mold your fundraiser into its final form, it is important to consider iCAN's established guidelines. Following these guidelines will help your fundraiser run smoothly and ensure that it is in alignment with our overall mission. Use these guidelines as building blocks to support the success of your event or activity.
"community full of heart!"
iCAN Sanctioned Activities: Across all marketing and logistical elements of your event, the International Children’s Advisory Network, Inc. or “iCAN”/”iCAN Research” is required to be listed as the fundraiser’s beneficiary using the language “to benefit or to Support iCAN/The International Children’s Advisory Network, Inc”. If there are questions from a chapter’s host organization (for example, the hospital or other non-profit), the iCAN team is happy to respond to all inquiries. Please do not hesitate to connect with us! Fundraiser Expenses: all anticipated and actualized expenses resulting from the fundraising event are the sole responsibility of the individual project coordinator. iCAN or any iCAN representative, are not responsible for expenses and are released from all liability related to event process or activities (both virtual and physical). iCAN Branding: iCAN encourages you to utilize and adhere to brand guidelines, including the usage of the iCAN logo, iCAN chapter logos, and other visual elements such as fonts, colors, images, and iconography. iCAN reserves the right to request edits to iCAN branding elements and respective usages and can require the removal of any brand element at any time. Event Proceeds: iCAN will and can host personal event fundraising pages (typically through platforms such as Zeffy and/or GOFUNDME. These platforms will also automatically create a tax-receipt for individual donations, as iCAN is a 501c3 designated nonprofit. Donations can also be accepted via check or cash; however, only the individuals who make a donation directly iCAN via check will be eligible for a tax receipt for their donation. Donations written to the community organizer or another entity, such as your event name, will not be eligible for a tax receipt from iCAN. iCAN Messaging: At any point, event organizers are welcome to request help from iCAN staff in looking over messaging developed about iCAN. When in doubt, reach out! A sample in-kind donation letter and one-pager explaining what iCAN is is hosted at the top of the page for your use! Editable versions are available on request.