Abstract

This poster seeks to explore the positive impact of a fundraising ‘Radiothon’ on internal and external relationships within and beyond a hospice for children and young adults. We learnt a great deal about people, partnerships and potential which would be worth sharing with others.

The Radiothon was much like telethons such as ‘Children In Need’ where entertainment is aired between short pieces of information about and requests for funds for a charitable cause. Our Radiothon was a partnership with a local radio station which gave us two full days of air time. The initial objective was to fundraise £20,000 through donations, as well as to raise awareness and partnerships within the local community.

When established, the hospice received a large amount of initial support from the community. As a result, the hospice has only begun to put significant investment into fundraising activities over the last 12 years. Interactions between the fundraising team (especially activities) and care teams has been limited, perhaps particularly because of the sensitive circumstances that surround those who use the hospices.

The Radiothon was presented live from one of our hospices with recorded interviews and calls to donate between entertainment. Interviews were with as many different staff and families as possible, to ensure that we gave the audience a full idea of all that we do.

The result in terms of financials was nearly double the initial target. In addition, awareness raised and community partnerships developed were excellent. More interesting and significant, perhaps, was the internal impact. Both fundraisers and care teams saw a real positive reaction from guests and families that had been involved. There was increased understanding between fundraising and care teams; we uncovered benefits for greater collaborative working. The overall impact of the Radiothon was greater (long term, wider reaching) than initially anticipated.