The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults (UCF) of Baltimore, Md. thanks its donors for their contributions every week in several different ways. UCF’s mission is to enhance lives by supporting, educating and connecting young adults affected by cancer and their loved ones. The Ulman Cancer Fund connects young adults and their families affected by cancer in a variety of different ways, including direct patient services, support groups, community outreach programs, awareness through sport programs, and online resources. The work of the Ulman Cancer Fund is made possible by the generosity of its donors. Therefore, the organization feels very strongly about the importance of saying “thank you.”
Each week, the staff comes together and handwrites thank you cards to a total of approximately 100 to 200 donors. Every thank you card highlights a story of a young adult cancer survivor that directly benefited from the services of the Ulman Cancer Fund. UCF thanks the supporter personally for their donation and tells them a little bit more about the particular program they donated to, as the organization believes it is important that donors know where their dollars are going and who, in turn, benefits from them.
Also, the CEO of the organization, Brock Yetso, makes personal phone calls to larger donors on a weekly basis. He calls them just to say “thanks” for their generosity and to make sure they know how much the Ulman Cancer Fund appreciates their kindness and their willingness to give back. If the donor is contributing on behalf of someone participating in one of UCF’s sports awareness programs, Brock will take the opportunity to express how much UCF appreciates what that participant is doing for the organization as well. The Ulman Cancer Fund also sends out thank you videos to all of its donors letting them know how their money directly impacted the life of a young adult battling cancer during the specific time period when they made their donation.
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UCF realizes that the cancer fight is not only physically and mentally difficult, but financially difficult as well. Because of the support of its donors, UCF is able to take some of that financial burden off of these young adults by helping them get much needed gas for transportation to treatment facilities and grocery stores. UCF recently shared a video about what a gas card can mean to a young man going through chemotherapy with our donors so they can experience the real, tangible impact they are having on the lives of these young adults fighting cancer.
The Ulman Cancer Fund also utilizes social media to thank its donors. UCF will often tweet a big “thank you” to all of its donors from the previous week, reporting how many donations it received and how very appreciative the organization is to have the tremendous support of its donors. By sharing the stories of those young adult cancer warriors who directly benefited from donations to the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, the organization aims to make sure that each of its donors knows that their generous support is what enables the work we are doing for the community of young adults with cancer.
Abby Ramirez is the stewardship and advocacy fellow at the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and is currently working on her Master’s degree in bioethics at New York University.
