Birdshot Uveitis Society of North America
Birdshot Uveitis Society of North America
Donor Report
January 1, 2021- December 31, 2021
2021 was the first full fiscal year for Birdshot Uveitis Society of North America (BUSNA). BUSNA is dedicated to supporting patients, raising awareness of the disease and fundraising to support the various Birdshot research efforts across the US and Canada.
SUPPORTING PATIENTS
As part of our mission statement, BUSNA created The Gathering to support patients. In May we launched and hosted our first online gathering event on Zoom. This informal chat was followed by three additional meet-ups during the summer and fall. These friendly and supportive events were forums where BUSNA Board Members and fellow birdies enjoyed meeting each other and sharing birdshot stories. There are plans for more gatherings in 2022!
RAISING AWARENESS
Website: BUSNA's website had over 2,500 unique visitors this year, and more than 2,000 people read our 2021 blog posts. Our website supports patients while raising awareness of Birdshot Uveitis. We featured three new pages: Birdshot Resources (including several “Low Vision” links) Wellness Room (links for living a healthy lifestyle) Birdshot Research (highlighting BUSNA-supported research). We also updated our “About BUSNA” page to include a short bio on each of our (volunteer) board members.
Social Media: During the past year we were very active on several social media platforms. BUSNA can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn. Our Facebook page currently has 461 users and our posts have been viewed 30,000 times!
FUNDRAISING
BUSNA celebrated its first anniversary in June of 2021 with a Special “Tiered” Fundraising Campaign that rewarded donors with a cap, tote and/or magnifier. During July, BUSNA partnered with Jersey Mike’s in Allentown, PA for a round-up event. The local community generously donated over $350 to birdshot research! Also, BUSNA was the recipient of several Facebook Birthday Fundraisers during 2021. Our final fundraiser for the year was our second Giving Tuesday campaign on November 30th.
Thank you to all who hosted and contributed to these events.
Thank you for your generosity! BUSNA received 281 donations and increased revenue by 450% over 2020.
A total of $16,822.01 was raised in 2021. Of that, $6,915 was donated to research in the US and Canada.
WHERE BUSNA IS HEADED IN 2022
The Board of BUSNA is a group of dedicated volunteers that have achieved amazing results in just 18 months. As volunteers, one of our goals for 2022 is learning new nonprofit skills and technology through professional development education. So far this year, board members have attended online webinars from respected nonprofit educational organizations such as Nonprofit Tech for Good, Candid and Pennsylvania Association for Nonprofit Organizations (PANO). Topics have included website optimization, digital and email marketing, and corporate sponsorship. We continue to seek and attend relevant and productive educational opportunities at low or no-cost, and will keep you posted.
A second goal is investigating the possibility of obtaining corporate sponsorship for BUSNA events, as well as corporate donations to our organization. We will be sharing updates if and when we have news. We are also working to develop a speaker series and are inviting top Birdshot researchers for webinars. When dates and times are confirmed, we will let you know.
We are also developing relationships with additional Birdshot Uveitis research institutions and hope to support their endeavors.
You, our subscribers and donors, are the heart of BUSNA. Please let us know how we can serve you. Let us know your thoughts and suggestions. While we may not be able to pursue all of them (for financial, legal, or resource reasons) we would love to hear from you and add your thoughts to our list of possibilities. Contact us at: BirdshotUveitisUSA@gmail.com.
Please feel free to share this Donor Report with family and friends who may be interested in learning about Birdshot Uveitis.
We thank you for your support... as we aim for clearer vision!