Nolan Trust bids to raise £5m

by Hannah Jordan, Third Sector New 02-Oct-08, 13:03

The Anthony Nolan Trust is to target 3,000 specially selected high-value donors in a major new fundraising campaign requesting donations of between £8,000 and £60,000.

The charity needs £5m over the next five years to fund its new cell therapy centre, which will carry out umbilical cord stem cell research and transplants. It will also help fund the UK's first cord blood bank. Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and the umbilical cord after a baby is born - it contains many stem cells.

A three-phase strategy, devised by marketing agency Tangible Response, will focus on building long-term, one-to-one relationships.

A personalised letter will be sent thanking donors for previous support and outlining the charity's new project, but no ‘ask' will be made. The second mailing will include blueprints and equipment for the new centre and a formal invitation to the centre's grand opening.

Finally, a letter suggesting donations and asking if recipients wish to be contacted will be sent. Donors will be encouraged to give responses using a fountain pen provided with a cartridge of red ink, to represent blood from an umbilical cord.