Initial Approach for Donations

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by Jenny:

Hi Matt, Adrian, Susan, Tricia and Mikaela

My name is Jenny and the RRDi has invited us to be the new Funding Committee.

I have indicated via e-mail to Brady that I am happy to take this on and I am hoping you will all jump on board with this new project too. I’m happy to take on whatever role suits.

In order for this to run smoothly, I believe that using the RRDi Forum would be the best place for communication between us all. I have no problems with giving everyone my e-mail address too but I do believe that having a central place for communication keeps us all in the loop.

Yes, there may be times that we want to run something via personal e-mail but best if kept all in one spot.

So, what I see as the initial tasks to get us started are:

1. Formalise a list of Pharmaceutical (or other) Companies to approach. This list to include the title, first and surname of the appropriate person the letter is to be written to and the correct head office address. Brady has already started the ball rolling with the following suggested companies:

Galderma

Pfizer

Berlix

Steifel

Hoffman - La Roche

Candela

Intendis

2. Create a generic letter to be sent to these companies.

Question to Brady: Will the letter be e-mailed, put on to RRDi letterhead and then physically posted by the RRDi Secretary?

This is a start.

Input would be great.

Thanks

Jenny

Jenny:

Donation request letters should be physically posted by US Mail with the RRDi letterhead and signed by the Funding Committee Chaiman, Jenny. The RRDi will reimburse your postage, paper, and envelopes. Just keep a record of your expenses.

[brady Barrows 23.Feb.06 2:55am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by Brady Barrows:

So far you are the only one who has responded by email to take on the task of letter writing to the various pharmaceutical companies. Susan's email was undeliverable. That is the problem with email, people change their email addresses like tee shirts. I sent Susan another email to her alternate email address and so far haven't heard a word.

Some don't check their email but once a week so that may be the problem why no one is responding.

What I suggest the template letter contain is the corporate return address be contained at the top of the letterhead with the RRDi logo that is used on the website. Under the corporate address should be the address of the Funding Committee Chairman which looks like is going to be you. All mail will be sent through the post office. Once a communication is established, email can then be used. Email addresses can also be on the template letter with the RRDi logo. When you send a letter to a corporation you should keep a copy for the Secretary, Pam Tobey. There should be some phone numbers for the corporation, which is my number, and the telephone number of the Funding Committee Chairman. The address of the Treasurer should be used to send all donations to. Cathy is setting of the bank account and the address right now and as soon as I get the address I will post it here. The names of the Funding Committee should also be listed so that the RRDi is recognized for a grass roots rosacean volunteer effort.

Getting everyone to post in this forum seems like a good idea since some are reluctant to expose an identity but I assure them that this forum is a private forum and the RRDi knows the identity of each corporate member and will not reveal any personal information on this forum and the funding committee has to keep using only first names only. Email addresses are revealed only if the funding committee members allow their email address to be known to the other Funding Committee members.

This may take a long time. Volunteers are not like it is in the paid world. Patience and kindness is paramount when dealing with volunteers. I hope you have the endurance that is necessary to make this work. But I thank you for your enthusiasm and hope for the best.

I can set up email addresses like funding@irosacea.org that forwards to your personal email address for all the members of the Funding Committee. That way no one knows any personal email addresses. I will only do this if you and the other members are really going to volunteer to do this. Let me know if I can set your email up?

[brady Barrows 08.Feb.06 12:35pm]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by Jenny:

Hi Brady

The e-mail address sounds like a good idea. I think it would be prudent to wait and see if more people volunteer first, otherwise there is a sub-committee of one!

When I have time, I will start to locate the relevant names and addresses of the companies already mentioned. I will also look through my local committee work to see if I can locate a suitable template for a letter requesting a donation. I have made quite a number of donation requests here through my volunteer work, as well as grant applications to larger companies. I will just need to brush up on these skills again as I haven't done this for a while now.

Regards

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by Brady Barrows:

Jenny,

Sounds good to me. I will wait on the email set up. Susan finally contacted me and said she is too busy to help right now and declines participation in the funding committee. Haven't heard a word from any of the others. If anyone else wants to join this committee, please, come forward.

[brady Barrows 09.Feb.06 10:56am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by adyus:

Hello guys. I didn't check this e-mail until now.

Jenny, a template e-mail would be helpful since I haven't done this before.

So...the idea is to direct this e-mail to a certain person with a high enough position. Who should I look for? Researcher/ manager/ director/ PR person?

I'll try to dig up names/addresses from press releases/company website ...etc.

Jenny, it is my understanding that you have done this before. Please give me some guiding. Like I said, I haven't done this before, but I am willing to work and "dig" for names....

As a suggestion: we should give some information about the market possibilities of rosacea treatment( they can get alot of money- dontating is also good publicity), we should briefly point out ineffectivness of the current treatments, and maybe get some mini-testimonials like those on the rosacea-research website...Just some thoughts.

I'm a bit confused on one aspect: will a company which donates to a foundation hold any patent-like rights over the research results?

I mean, what will the respective company gain by donating? I guess this is the spot where we should concentrate our effots...

Anyone who wants to contact me can reach me anytime at adrian_ctn@yahoo.com

Best wishes,

Adrian

Adrian,

Thanks so much for volunteering! We appreciate all the help.

[brady Barrows 23.Feb.06 2:57am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by Jenny:

Hi Adrian and team

It is my understanding that this initial approach is to find out HOW we should go about requesting a donation from each company. That is, each company usually has a certain protocol for donation requests. This may be via a specific form to be filled out or by addressing a set of criteria, in a particular format, that they require for consideration. Not all companies are this organised, but in order to gain maximum donations, I think this first approach is a sensible one.

Adrian, if you could put together a list of head office addresses (physical addresses) for the mentioned companies, along with the name of the Managing Director, that would be fantastic. Each company may call their 'head honcho' something different though - CEO/Director/Managing Director etc. If he/she is not the one to ask, it will be directed to the relevant person for action.

I think once we have this information back from the companies, then we can proceed with a more detailed letter of what it is that we want and how they will benefit from their donation, other than helping Rosceans of course!

I will get on to doing up this letter. Has been somewhat hectic around my place of late - and still is!

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by Jenny:

Ok, you may think this is a ‘way out there’ approach, but I attended a course a few years back called “Awesome Service” which was all about ‘thinking outside of the square’! Large companies get many letters requesting donations and most simply go in the bin or get a standard rejection letter in reply. If our letter can jump up and grab them in the first instance, perhaps they will actually read it with more than a standard reply.

Draft one ‘thinking outside of the square’:

title first name surname

position

company name

address 1

address 2

date

Hello first name

Your help is needed for research on Rosacea!

Oh no, not another one of those types of letters, I hear you saying! But wait! Don’t throw me in the bin just yet! Please do read on…

As a volunteer, I have been given the task of seeking donations for research on Rosacea. This letter in itself is not a request for a donation as such but to ask the best way for the RRDi to approach your company for support.

The Rosacea Research & Development Institute (RRDi) is the first 501 © (3) non profit corporation established June 7, 2004 in the State of Hawaii, USA for the purpose of researching Rosacea established by Rosaceans for Rosaceans. The Medical Advisory Committee of the RRDi will advise the board of directors on what novel rosacea research should be done.

The RRDi is a member driven organization and invites Rosaceans to become involved. Volunteering is the force that drives the organization and is an integral spirit of the RRDi philosophy.

There are over 14 million diagnosed cases of Rosacea in the United States, let alone those that are undiagnosed and the rest of the world. According to Michael Detmar, MD, in 2003, only one paper was published for every 144,000 Rosacea patients in the United States, compared to a 1-to-11 ratio for Melanoma and 1 to 4,900 for Psoriasis.

Rosacea is not simply a cosmetic problem. Rosacea is facial skin that is red and feels like it is hot, burning, itching and sore. Flaking skin oily or dry, highly sensitive and reactive to food, climate, stress and other possible triggers as well as papules, pustules and scaring. The emotional roller coaster of a Rosacean is immense, affecting daily life. There is a lot more that could be said about Rosacea but my task here today is to ask the main question, which is:

Do you have a certain protocol for donation requests? If so, I would be grateful if you could forward that information so that we can formally apply for a donation. All donations to the RRDi are tax deductable.

Really looking forward to hearing back from you soon.

_______________________

Now, if this is too uncomfortable, I have also written a standard letter. Draft one ‘standard’:

title first name surname

position

company name

address 1

address 2

date

Dear title surname

RE: ROSACEA RESEARCH

The Rosacea Research & Development Institute (RRDi) is the first 501 © (3) non profit corporation established June 7, 2004 in the State of Hawaii, USA for the purpose of researching Rosacea established by Rosaceans for Rosaceans. The Medical Advisory Committee of the RRDi will advise the board of directors on what novel rosacea research should be done.

The RRDi is a member driven organization and invites Rosaceans to become involved. Volunteering is the force that drives the organization and is an integral spirit of the RRDi philosophy.

There are over 14 million diagnosed cases of Rosacea in the United States, let alone those that are undiagnosed and the rest of the world. According to Michael Detmar, MD, in 2003, only one paper was published for every 144,000 Rosacea patients in the United States, compared to a 1-to-11 ratio for Melanoma and 1 to 4,900 for Psoriasis.

Rosacea is (insert a standard definition)

As a volunteer, I have been given the task of seeking donations for research for Rosacea. This letter in itself is not a request for a donation as such but to ask the best way for the RRDi to approach your company for support.

Do you have a certain protocol for donation requests? If so, I would be grateful if you could forward the information so that we can formally apply. All donations to the RRDi are tax deductable.

Yours sincerely

_________________________

Input/comments would be good. Perhaps another sentence could be added to state that there is no official cause and no known "cure" would be good too?

Jenny

P.S. Just learnt that I can't use template arrows here...so had to edit without them included! [Jenny 17.Feb.06 8:47am]

[brady Barrows 23.Feb.06 3:02am]

[brady Barrows 23.Feb.06 3:04am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by adyus:

Galderma Laboratories L.P.

Private Company, Headquarters Location

14501 N Freeway., Fort Worth TX 76177, United States

(817)961-5000, (817)961-0041 fax, http://www.galderma.com

Contact: IN USA : Albert Draaijer will become the new president of Galderma Laboratories,

L.P., effective, June 1, 2005

In his new position, Mr. Draaijer will oversee Galderma's current portfolio of dermatological products, including: Differin® Gel, MetroGel®, Rozex Emulsion,Tri-Luma® Cream, Clobex Lotion and Clobex Shampoo, which recently received FDA approval, Cetaphil® Cleansers and Moisturizers, Solage® Solution, Capex® Shampoo and DesOwen® Lotion..

__________

Pfizer - Headquarters

235 East 42nd Street

New York, NY (USA) 10017

Phone: 212.573.2323

Fax: 212.573.7851

Toll Free: 800.544.8044

Henry A. McKinnell, Jr., Ph.D. Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

---

http://www.pfizer.com/pfizer/are/media/mn_...biographies.jsp

---other people in charge of Pfizer's "destiny"

__________

BERLEX Corporate Headquarters

340 Changebridge Road

PO Box 1000

Montville, NJ 07045-1000

Phone: 973-487-2000

Shipping Address

340 Changebridge Road

Pine Brook, NJ 07058-9714

USPS Mailing Address

P.O. Box 1000

Montville, NJ 07045-1000

Reinhard Franzen, President and CEO of Berlex.

BUT:

As of January 2005, Berlex's dermatology business is carried out by the Intendis Group. US Corporate Headquarters is in Montville, NJ.

[adyus 17.Feb.06 4:35pm]

__________

Germany address: Intendis GmbH

Max-Dohrn-Strasse 10

10589 Berlin

Prof Wolfgang Kehr, President and CEO

CFO Dr. Detlev Hessenbruch

__________

Candela Corporation

530 Boston Post Road

Wayland, Massachusetts, USA

Tel: 508-358-7400

800-733-8550 (US)

Fax: 508-358-5602

http://www.candelalaser.com/about/index.cf...k=officersBoard

Gerard E. Puorro

President, Chief Executive Officer, Director

Dr. James C. Hsia

Chief Technical Officer

F. Paul Broyer

Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer

__________

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd

Group Headquarters

Grenzacherstrasse 124

CH-4070 Basel

Switzerland

Telephone +41-61-688 1111

Telefax +41-61-691 9391

Chief Executive Officer - Dr Franz B. Humer

Pharmaceuticals Division, CEO Division Roche Pharmaceuticals - William M. Burns

Chief Financial Officer - Dr Erich Hunziker

__________

Stiefel Laboratories, Inc.

255 Alhambra Circle

Coral Gables, Florida 33134-7412

USA

305-443-3800

Charles W. Stiefel, chairman of the board, CEO, and president of Stiefel Laboratories.

__________

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Feb 2006 written by Jenny:

Thanks for the names and addresses Adrian. Will start a database in Word and create a letter template to link the two.

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Brady Barrows:

The corporate address of the RRDi is:

Rosacea Research & Development Institute

P.O. Box 999

Pahala, HI 96777

USA

Phone 413 928-8123

Donations to the RRDi should go to this address:

Rosacea Research & Development Institute

Cathy Rupert, Treasurer

P.O. Box 234

Pandora OH 45877

USA

[brady Barrows 07.Mar.06 2:40am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from the old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

I am a little uncertain what physical address/e-mail/phone number should go on this initial letter. I am used to being a 'one-woman-band', so to speak and usually have all correspondence that I send out on behalf of a committee, come back to me...and then designate duties as required. But in this international case, it is quite different. The logisitcs of distance are a tad difficult!

I believe only one physical address should be used - the corporate address. This should also be the same with the phone number and e-mail address on the letter head, or it gets too confusing for the recipient of the letter.

Whilst I am happy to physically print out and post these letters, I am in Australia and they would not be sent via US Mail. Is it so important to have the letters sent via US Mail? The only way I see to get around this is for me to either e-mail the finished letters and have them posted within the USA or physically sign and post the finished letters - undated - to the corporate address for posting. This seems like double handling to me.

So, in a round about way, what I propose is that the physical corporate address (PO Box 999 Pahala HI 96777) is used for all return correspondence. Copies can be e-mailed, if required, upon receipt. One phone number (Bradys) and e-mail (Bradys) should be used. That is, if necessary, phone calls or e-mails can be re-directed for further action by another person. I feel that there needs to be a central point of contact or it just gets messy and confusing.

When it comes time to receivng a cheque in the mail, yes, Cathy's physical address should be inserted into the letter, as she is the Treasurer of the RRDi.

Another thought perhaps about e-mail addresses is what Brady proposed by having an RRDi e-mail address each, but this doesn't solve the phone number or physical address problem.

Any thoughts on this? How can it be made simple and clear for recipients of letters requesting a donation, from the RRDi? Anyone know how other organisations do it or do all of their corporate team live in the same city?

Jenny

[Jenny 26.Feb.06 10:10am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

Oh, I meant to ask, any suggestions for the standard definition of Rosacea for this letter? Guess we will go with the standard approach letter, perhaps tweaked a little.

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Brady Barrows:

You should use your return address (Jenny's) in the left upper page of the website as the Funding Committee Chairman.

The corporate and treasurer's address should be under the RRDi logo in very small font so that we are consistent with every letter.

Your letter to a company will hopefully respond to you with your email address at the bottom.

Use Warrren's definition of rosacea at this page

http://rosaceagroup.org/

I suppose having the corporate address and the treasurer's address be the return addresses rather than having your Autralia address since that would be a bit confusing. In the letter body suggest that mail be directed to the Treasurer's address. You can use my phone number and also Cathy's phone number if she doesn't mind. Need to check with her about that one.

[brady Barrows 07.Mar.06 2:39am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

Final draft? This does not show the graphics.

RE: ROSACEA RESEARCH

The Rosacea Research & Development Institute (RRDi) is the first 501 © (3) Non Profit Corporation, established June 7, 2004 in the State of Hawaii, USA for the purpose of researching Rosacea, established by Rosaceans for Rosaceans. The Medical Advisory Committee of the RRDi will advise the Board of Directors on what research on Rosacea should be done.

The RRDi is a member driven organization and invites Rosaceans to become involved. Volunteering is the force that drives the organization and is an integral spirit of the RRDi philosophy.

There are over 14 million diagnosed cases of Rosacea in the United States, let alone those that are undiagnosed, plus the rest of the world. According to Michael Detmar MD, in 2003 only one paper was published for every 144,000 Rosacea patients in the United States, compared to a 1-to-11 ratio for Melanoma and 1 to 4,900 for Psoriasis.

Rosacea is a chronic disorder that develops gradually and is characterized by flushing, blushing, redness, pimples, red gritty eyes, burning or stinging and, in some advanced cases, a disfiguring bulbous nose. The disorder can be confused with and co-exist with Acne Vulgaris and/or Seborrheic Dermatitis. Men and women of all ages can be affected.

As a volunteer of the RRDi, I have been given the task of seeking donations for research on Rosacea. This letter in itself is not a request for a donation as such but to ask the best way for the RRDi to approach your company for support.

Do you have a certain protocol for donation requests? If so, I would be grateful if you could forward the information to me via e-mail at [e-mail address] so that we can formally apply. All donations to the RRDi are tax deductible.

As the RRDi consists of a team of volunteers from all corners of the globe, e-mail contact would be preferred, otherwise, if a physical postal reply is to be sent, please reply to Cathy Rupert - Treasurer, as above.

Looking forward to hearing back from you soon.

Jenny Nairn

Chairperson

RRDi Funding Committee

[e-mail address]

A few hick ups to be sorted out and hopefully this letter will be sent out next week.

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by adyus:

I like it. One little suggestion.

I think it is too impersonal. The person who reads it should feel that this letter is for him, this letter is a recongition of the value of that company, of the quality of their products.

What I mean, it just feels like a standardized letter, that is just sent to many many companies. It has to stand out a little.

I liked the personal touch of the first letter.

Adrian

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by texas2176:

Hi my name is Andrej and I joined in the begining of February

I'm not sure if Jenny has already sent these letters, but most of these companies get hundreds of letters pertaining to some king of donation request and most of them are thrown out after reading the first line.

So if the RRDi is focusing on only 10 or so companies then I believe it would be much more beneficial to customize each letter. Each letter should have a specific voice that the person reading the letter could sympathize with and with some luck pass the letter on to a higher power(I'm assuming that the CEO would not have time to read every letter addressed to him so he appoints people to read the letters and pass them on if they show some kind of potential).

Jenny I don't mean to detract from what you've already accomplished because I'm sure it took some hard work to write that letter. I'm just trying to suggest another possible route that could hold more promise.

I would help writing these letters, but unfortunately I'm in school right now(I attend the University of Texas at Dallas)and am bogged down with tests. My last final is on May 1st and after this I'll have the whole summer to volunteer and help with anything needed. If there are any small projects that wouldn't take a huge amount of time I would be happy to help with that too.

Sincerely,

Andrej Durasinovic

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Brady Barrows:

Jenny,

I tend to agree with Andrej that we should individualize each letter and take our time. Andrej has volunteered for the summer and we don't have to rush these.

I changed your avitar Andrej. If you want your own individualized avitar you will have to take the time to do that yourself.

I have begun a new forum (category) called, 'Funding Committee' since this topic should have its own menu which shows up on the far right. Let's continue this discussion over there. Whatever part of this discussion that needs moving over there can be copied and pasted into a new post.

[brady Barrows 18.Mar.06 11:46am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

Hi Adrian and Andrej (cc Brady - yet completely included!)

Welcome aboard Andrej! Glad to have you on the team!

I have just e-mailed Brady and asked if the posts in this area could be moved to the newly created Funding Committee area. In the mean time, I wanted to say welcome to Andrej as well as do a catch up.

Thanks for your feedback Adrian. Yes, the letter was created for a mass mail out but I didn't have a large number of companies to send it to. Just the ones that Brady suggested and that you searched for the names and addresses of. That is, I haven't done the research on finding as many companies as could be possible. I also like the personal approach and maybe the first letter could be tweaked a little and as you say, made more personal to each company.

Andrej, the letters have not yet been sent out. There were a few technical hiccups with e-mail adresses and I was (still am) awaiting input from Kelli about the way I set out the letter head. If you don't know, Kelli is a Graphic Designer (I think that is her title?) and is volunteering the time she has to the RRDi as a kind of 'silent volunteer'. By that, it simply means she really doesn't have the time to become an active member but will help out when she is called upon, if she has the time.

I truly understand the problem surrounding large companies receiving bulk mail and the last thing we want is for our initial letter to go in the bin (aka the auto reply mechanism). Yes, the first line of a letter is so important.

Compare:

Dear Mr Smith

We are the XYZ Company and are seeking donations for...

or

Hello John

So glad you opened me up! Don't throw me away just yet because I know that you can really make a difference.

Ok, that was just off the top of my head, but I think you get the idea. Personalised letters plus a bit of a quirky, grab your attention kind of opening phrase.

Heck, the person who reads the opening line might say "What the...?" but at least it might spur them on to read more? Worth a shot anyway.

As far as who to send the letter to, well, it has been my experience that it should go to the head honcho. Most likely his/her Secretary will open the letter and pass it to the person who is responsible. I'm not sure how to find out the exact person to send it to, other than phoning the company? I don't fancy making the calls from Australia to the USA though, with a 2 year old in the background telling me to get off the phone?! Would sound very unprofessional!

That aside, I wanted to go back on something that Adrian brougnt up before. Adrian, in the beginning of this process you spoke of what sort of benefit each company would get from donating etc. Since I have had time to think about this, I wonder if there might be a better approach?

So, perhaps, instead of sending an initial letter asking how we should apply for a donation, we could approach a research facility and find out how much it would cost to research XYZ. Then we could send the letters saying we want to research XYZ and it will cost us ABC amount of money. Then to detail how that company's name would be promoted in some way. Hey, this is the commercial world we are talking about - nothing for nothing!

Brady, what do you think of this alternate approach? It was actually suggested to me by a friend but I certainly thought it was worth consideration. I know it is different to your first idea Brady but I'm just throwing it out there. Adrian and Andrej, I want your input too! Need it actually!!!

Ok, way longer than I expected to write but that seems to be a regular occurence for me! LOL

Looking forward to hearing back.

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by texas2176:

Let me start off by saying that I'm kind of ignorant on how the whole donation thing works, but it would seem to me that a pharmacutical company would not donate any money to research that might come into some kind of sales contradiction with their products.

"So, perhaps, instead of sending an initial letter asking how we should apply for a donation, we could approach a research facility and find out how much it would cost to research XYZ. Then we could send the letters saying we want to research XYZ and it will cost us ABC amount of money. Then to detail how that company's name would be promoted in some way. Hey, this is the commercial world we are talking about - nothing for nothing!"

Jen I think this is a great idea, the companies are not going to make a 'blind' donation without knowing where it's going to go. We should make an outline of the reasearch that would be conducted, make sure it does not interfere with one of their products(like asking Galderma to donate for research on efficiency of Noritate), and make sure the company is getting something in return. This could be a promotion of their company on this website, some kind or rights over the research findings, and make sure to include that the donation is tax deductible.

I'm not sure if Brady has some kind of specific type of research in mind for the RRDi to conduct, but maybe we could start a thread on The Rosacea Forum aking people what type of research they would like to see. This will give us a general idea of what type of research will not only be beneficial towards rosaceans, but will also contribute to support of the RRDi, which is essential for it's prosperity=more donations=more research=more efficient treatments.

Another thing, since there is a short list of pharmaceutical companies, maybe we should branch out to other corporations that donate money. I have absolutely no idea on what kind of companies these would be, but maybe someone with more experience in this field could make some suggestions.

Andrej

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

I received an e-mail from Brady to explain that the posts in this area can not be moved over to the newly created Funding Committee area.

I will reply to your post there Andrej.

Future posts shoud be made in the new Funding Committee area.

Thanks

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum (newly created Funding Committee sub-forum) Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

I've never been very good at moving! I always have way too much stuff to pack up! Probably why I have lived in my home for around nine years now and continually do renovations to make it the way I want it!

I'm settling in to the new home of the Funding Committee, making a few changes beforehand, a nice comfortable place to reside.

So, to business, so to speak!

Last post from the previous Funding Committee area:

"Let me start off by saying that I'm kind of ignorant on how the whole donation thing works, but it would seem to me that a pharmacutical company would not donate any money to research that might come into some kind of sales contradiction with their products.

"So, perhaps, instead of sending an initial letter asking how we should apply for a donation, we could approach a research facility and find out how much it would cost to research XYZ. Then we could send the letters saying we want to research XYZ and it will cost us ABC amount of money. Then to detail how that company's name would be promoted in some way. Hey, this is the commercial world we are talking about - nothing for nothing!"

Jen I think this is a great idea, the companies are not going to make a 'blind' donation without knowing where it's going to go. We should make an outline of the reasearch that would be conducted, make sure it does not interfere with one of their products(like asking Galderma to donate for research on efficiency of Noritate), and make sure the company is getting something in return. This could be a promotion of their company on this website, some kind or rights over the research findings, and make sure to include that the donation is tax deductible.

I'm not sure if Brady has some kind of specific type of research in mind for the RRDi to conduct, but maybe we could start a thread on The Rosacea Forum aking people what type of research they would like to see. This will give us a general idea of what type of research will not only be beneficial towards rosaceans, but will also contribute to support of the RRDi, which is essential for it's prosperity=more donations=more research=more efficient treatments.

Another thing, since there is a short list of pharmaceutical companies, maybe we should branch out to other corporations that donate money. I have absolutely no idea on what kind of companies these would be, but maybe someone with more experience in this field could make some suggestions.

Andrej"

Hi Andrej

Yes, I agree with you. Branching out to other companies for donations is a great idea. Asking for donations is a pretty easy task, as far as brain power goes. A well worded letter may or may not do the trick, dependant on the recipient. The more letters that are sent, the better the probability of receiving a donation. This also applies to individual people when asking for a donation.

Whilst I have experience with local community committees in regards to donation requests and grant applications, I am pretty much stumbling in the dark with the idea of approaching a research facility for a 'quote' on researching what we want done. Mmm!

I do know of a research facility in Perth, Western Australia but I am not sure if I should approach them being that the RRDi is USA based? Also, we don't yet know what we want to research.

Something of interest is that the gene that causes Eczema has now been found!!! Perhaps this is the road to follow?

Throwing it back out there and hoping for more input.

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Brady Barrows:

I have made a new forum, "Rosacea Research Corporate Members Want" which is listed at the Quick Menu at the right and is on the main INDEX page at the bottom (for now) so that this subject will be separate from FUNDING which is what this forum is about. The funding committee will discuss what goes on here and anyone else who wants input into this subject.

The one thing about funding that I don't want to happen is what happened to the RRF who appealed to rosaceans for donations. If rosaceans want to donate, that is fine, but we should not think that rosaceans are the primary donors for this organization. We want to follow the path of the NRS which went for pharmaceutical companies donations and we can be just as competitive as the NRS for pharmaceutical corporation donations. We just have to convince the pharmaceutical companies that this non profit is worth donating to. We are slowly making the RRDi a respectable non profit and volunteering is the spirit that drives this organization. We need volunteers to help get donations from corporations. I am confident that we will find the right approach and a domino effect will happen which will bring more donations from the corporate world to the RRDi.

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

Thanks Brady.

I was beginning to get somewhat lost with what the role of the Funding Committee should be. Having said that, if the Funding Committee sends donation letters off to various pharmaceutical companies, shouldn't we be able to tell them what we intend to research?

The initial approach, as I understood it, was to ask HOW we should ask for a donation, but given the time to think about this, I am not so sure that would look very professional.

I would like to get things moving, but at this point in time, perhaps it would be prudent to have at least one research target in place before requesting donations?

Jenny

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Brady Barrows:

Yes, I agree, why not just ask for a donation and that we have a Medical Advisory Committee that will advise the board of directors on what rosacea research to engage in and give them a link to the MAC in the letter so they can look up their credentials. You might add something about their credentials are professional and have backgrounds in research. We want to engage in novel research on rosacea and need their donation to do this. We can also explain that we will post substantial donations on a special page on our web site, like a, this is a list of our sponsors:

Pfizer

Berlix

etc. with a link to their web site. Explain all this in the letter. It may help us get a donation.

[brady Barrows 03.Apr.06 12:27am]

[Guest Jenny]

Copied over from old RRDi Forum Mar 2006 written by Jenny:

I have given a lot of thought to how this letter should be written. Initially it was going to be a letter asking HOW we should approach these companies for donations but now I think we should go straight into asking for a donation.

I thought the idea of asking questions/having headings in italics (can't do italics in this Forum) before each paragraph might be a good approach. It's sort of in the middle of my 'way out there' chatty style approach and the standard approach of letter writing.

My thinking is that even if a recipient doesn't read the entire letter, they can skim over the headings. I do think the headings may need more pizzazz though and perhaps rearranging a little?!

I know I have been dragging my feet on sending these letters out but I truly want them to be the best they can be in order to generate the maximum amount of donations. So, here goes - very rough so far:

Hello «Title» «LastName»

I’m very excited to tell you a little about the RRDi in this letter and trust that you will also consider this a worthy project.

Who is the RRDi and what do we do?

The Rosacea Research & Development Institute (RRDi) is the first 501 © (3) Non Profit Corporation, established June 7, 2004 in the State of Hawaii, USA for the purpose of researching Rosacea. Established by volunteer Rosaceans, which is the force that drives the organization and is the integral spirit of the RRDi philosophy.

Why are we writing to you?

As a volunteer of the RRDi, I have been given the task of seeking donations for our research on Rosacea and ask that you consider donating to the RRDi. All donations to the RRDi are tax deductible.

What will be researched?

The Medical Advisory Board (MAC) of the RRDi will advise the Board of Directors on what research on Rosacea should be done. Dr Andrzej Wedrychowski PhD, Dr Peter Crouch MD, Dr Robert Latkany MD, Dr Scheffer C G Tseng MD PhD and Dr Sandra Lora Cremers MD FACS volunteer their time to the RRDi.

[Note: I am going to e-mail the MAC members individually to ask how they would like their current positions to be defined, in brackets after their names. I also want to add more into this section - add a link to the MAC section of the RRDi and bolster the point of having 5 professional MAC members.]

What is Rosacea?

Rosacea is a chronic disorder that develops gradually and is characterized by blushing, flushing, facial redness, papules and pustules, red gritty eyes, burning/stinging and in some advanced cases, a disfiguring bulbous nose. The disorder can be confused with and co-exist with Acne Vulgaris and/or Seborrheic Dermatitis. Men and women of all ages can be affected, with over 14 million diagnosed cases of Rosacea in the United States alone.

What’s in it for your company?

A substantial donation to the RRDi will generate a link from the RRDi web site to your web site, acknowledging your donation.

What to do next

Donate, of course! That’s the purpose of this letter. We need your donation to fund our research.

Heading? [Volunteer Spirit ??? Something catchy to end the letter]

As the RRDi consists of a team of volunteers from all corners of the globe, e-mail contact would be preferred, otherwise, if a physical postal reply is to be sent, please reply to Cathy Rupert – Treasurer, as listed above.

We look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Jenny Nairn

CHAIRMAN

RRDi Funding Committee

funding@irosacea.org

8 March 2006

Now, like I have said, this is rough draft and I really want some input guys!

I'm thinking also, we should say HOW they can donate - PayPal, cheque, bank transfer??? I don't know. I've e-mailed Cathy to introduce myself to her, but have not had a reply yet.

Jenny