Harry Perkins Institute wins 2023 Fundraising Team of the Year
In the midst of the Golden Globes and the Oscars season, a small team in Perth who support medical research has won three sought-after fundraising gongs, including Australia’s 2023 Fundraising Team of the Year.
The team from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research took out the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA) Awards for Excellence ahead of state finalists from across the country. The Perkins team were also awarded the Impact through Events Award (joint winner) for the MACA Cancer 200 Ride for Research 10th Birthday event; and the Best Pivot Campaign, for the Safe Harbour – A Giving Circle initiative.
Chief Development Officer Paige Gibbs says the team set out to support medical research in a unique way, with heart and wit, to open the laboratory doors and welcome in donors.
“Everyone at the Harry Perkins Institute is united behind a common purpose, to help people live healthier, longer lives, and while the researchers do this with science, we do this by engaging with supporters and empowering them to be our partners in the labs.
In the past year the team has run two major events, the MACA Cancer 200 Ride for Research raising $7.1M and the Walk for Women’s Cancer that delivered $1.14M to cancer research. Both events were managed by an in-house team who also worked in partnership with corporate supporters to reduce event costs.
In addition, $4.9M was successfully raised through major donor campaigns and the number of bequests and people wanting to leave a legacy substantially increased. Eight appeals raised a total of $2.87M and more than 300 members of the community attended Perkins Q&A events showcasing researchers, medical doctors and patients discussing major diseases and research breakthroughs.
“Results from fundraising initiatives have been strong this year. Partly due to a focus on data management and acquisition, but also due to strong donor stewardship.
“The fundraising team is integral to the sustainability of the Harry Perkins Institute. It’s important that researchers are kept informed of and included in fundraising initiatives.
“One of the most rewarding campaigns was to create a fund to support a full 3-year scholarship for young researchers. We aim to do that each year.
“The MACA Cancer 200 has injected funds into important cancer research and critical equipment and supported infrastructure costs. The New Town Toyota Walk for Women’s Cancer has given our women’s cancer researchers salary support as well as funding for novel bee venom research as a potential cure for breast cancer and our major donors have funded four researchers to provide peace of mind so that they can continue their work.
“Corporates are now coming to us asking how they can get involved in our work,” Ms Gibbs said.
Did you know that in Australia, fewer than 1 in 10 grant applications for medical research are successful? In Western Australia, it’s even fewer – around 3%. Researchers at the Perkins rely on community support to continue their ground breaking discoveries. Click here for more information on how you can support medical research in WA.
