Happy Fall Y’all!

With cooler weather, colour-changing leaves, warm beverages and Thanksgiving on the horizon, fall has always been a great time for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation (PECMHF) team to express gratitude to the community for reaching out and showing their support and appreciation for having access to healthcare services close to home.

Fall is also a busy time with the return of so many of our beloved fundraising events that are hosted in our community that benefit the hospital.

PECMHF was blessed to be the recipient of proceeds from almost 20 third-party fundraisers since June. We have been blown away by your enthusiasm and creativity in organizing and executing an event for our hospital’s benefit.

Because of this, it felt timely to share some information that may help those considering hosting an event for the hospital. Below are some tips to help you get started.

A third-party event is an activity that is planned and executed by an outside party to raise money for an organization. The revenue raised, minus expenses, is then donated to a charity, like PECMHF.

Our foundation hosts a few annual fundraising events of our own while members of our community host third-party events. An example of a third-party event benefitting the hospital foundation right now is the Smile Cookie fundraiser at our local Tim Hortons restaurants underway until Sunday.

Events are important to us. They can provide a fun, inclusive and exciting way to raise money and brand awareness for the foundation.  

The first thing we recommend you do is reach out to us. By letting us know your intentions early, we can work with you to make sure the timing of your event is appropriate, help set clear expectations, answer questions, and help promote your event.

PECMHF must approve events where our name and logo are to be used. This assures the public that the money they give to your fundraiser will be received by the foundation. We can also help determine whether the funds you raise qualify for a tax receipt. Registered charities are governed by the Canada Revenue Agency and must adhere to laws around issuing a charitable receipt. This is why it is best to check with us first to see if your activity qualifies for issuing receipts before you promise them to your attendees.

We also want to caution our supporters about attending and supporting third-party events. In some cases, we may not be aware of an event and your contribution may or may not support the hospital fully. If you have any concerns or questions about a particular event, please contact our office and we can help to give you piece of mind and help you to understand if your support could result in a charitable tax receipt or not.

Over the years, proceeds from third-party events have helped to equip our hospital with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medical equipment that makes it possible to deliver exceptional care close to home.

Events can be incredibly rewarding and fruitful for our organization – if done well. And by “well” we mean executed with strategy and fundraising purpose. However, getting to that purpose can be challenging and that’s where our team can help.

By including us early on, we can share with you our third-party event kit (also available online), filled with lots of information to help make your fundraising event a success!

The foundation needs you and your energy to help us continue to advance health care for the patients of the hospital and people of Prince Edward County. Please notify us in advance so we can do the following:

·      Provide you with our logo and brand identity manual.

·      Loan you promotional materials such as a roll up banner.

·      Help promote your event through social media and on our website.

·      Help you announce and celebrate the results of all your hard work after your event concludes and the funds are donated to the foundation.

If organizing a third-party event isn’t for you, we hope you’ll keep an eye on our social media pages for opportunities to attend an event that benefits our hospital.

To access our third-party event kit, visit www.pecmhf.ca/host-an-event or call us at 613 476 1008 ext. 4502 for more information.