Children’s Organ Transplant Association ®

1. You can help make miracles for children – join us today to take the lead! Children’s Organ Transplant Association®

2. Children’s Organ Transplant Association The Children’s Organ Transplant Association is a 501(c)3 national charity dedicated to raising funds for transplant-needy patients.  COTA’s priority is to assure that no child or young adult is denied a transplant due to lack of funds. 

3. Children’s Organ Transplant Association 100% of all funds raised in honor of patients are used for transplant-related expenses.

4. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Since 1986, COTA has served more than 1,400 children and young adults, working with families in 49 states.  In addition, more than 100,000 people have volunteered and made gifts to help these families meet their transplant-related financial needs. 

5. Children’s Organ Transplant Association We call these individuals and organizations Miracle Makers, as they help us Give Hope...and Make Miracles.

6. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Over the past two decades, members of The American Legion family have provided generous support for COTA. Dating back to 1988, The American Legion family has contributed generously and have spent thousands of hours volunteering to help transplant patients and families.

7. Let me introduce Suzanne Seiders…and let her tell you her families story of hope and miracles.

8. Children’s Organ Transplant Association MEET STEVEN According to Steven's father, "Steven’s transplant journey has been filled with miracles including finding 10 donor matches for Steven through our bone marrow drives, Steven's remission from leukemia, his quick recovery following the transplant, and his outstanding health today -- two years post transplant."

9. Ten Tips for Fundraising Success Children’s Organ Transplant Association

10. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Titles/text here Start Now! Apply the same determined approach to fundraising as you would to starting a new task at work or to conditioning for a sporting competition. Make a list of things to do and then get started.

11. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Events take Volunteers. Usually a lot of them! Carefully consider how much manpower it will take to pull off the activity you are considering. Remember, an event chair cannot and should not do all the work. Set up committees for each aspect of the fundraiser: publicity, supplies, donations, decorations, food, entertainment, set-up, entertainment, etc.

12. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Make it Personal. COTA can match your post with a local child who needs assistance. Be sure that you, and your volunteers, are knowledgeable about a COTA family’s transplant journey. Where is the family now (at transplant, waiting for the call or celebrating a miracle)?  

13. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Simple can still be Profitable. Fundraising events do not need to be large or complicated to be successful. Selling home baked cookies, collecting coins or asking a local restaurant to share profits one evening do not take weeks of planning or large numbers of volunteers!

14. Children’s Organ Transplant Association No Cost Fundraising is Best. Try to get all expenses covered, but should you need to ‘spend money to make money’, make a plan to minimize your risk and maximize your proceeds. In any event, expenses should be less than 25% of the anticipated income from the event.

15. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Promote Wisely. Media coverage and signage are important, but do not guarantee people will come to a fundraiser or make a donation. Many times the best advertisement is word-of-mouth. Get your team talking about their fundraising activities and commitment to helping a local COTA family! Use social networking, the Internet and community communications tools, as well as traditional media like newspaper, radio and television. 

16. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Make it Easy to Give. COTA can offer a variety of giving options: online donations, credit cards, checks, national bank accounts for cash and gifts-in-kind. Remember to include all of these giving options in your marketing materials. And provide links to the patient campaign donation page and the campaign website in all e-communications. People can’t help if they don’t know how!  

17. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Be Creative. Duplicating what another group has done to raise funds is not a bad thing – doing what works is smart. And adding a new twist to a standard money maker is even smarter! For instance: don’t just wash cars, also offer bicycle and dog washes.

18. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Remember your Manners! You cannot say ‘thank you’ often enough. Do it in writing, verbally and via the media whenever you can. Appreciated donors and volunteers are more likely to keep helping!

19. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Keep the ‘Fun’ in Fundraising. Get donations such as pizzas to serve to your crew at an activity set-up or wrap-up party or ice cream coupons to tuck into thank you notes or prizes for top ticket salespeople or volunteer recruiters! Good attitudes + incentives = success!

20. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Words from Katy, a teen in Wichita, KS: Over the past few months, I’ve realized how truly blessed and fortunate I am. I have boundless energy and nothing holds me back from accomplishing the things I need to get done. I get up every morning, go to school, come home, or go to the gym. This is just my typical daily routine, and I think nothing of it. However, for a special friend of mine every single day is a battle.

21. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Courage, hope, and strength are only a few words that describe one incredible young man, Kyle Hicks. Kyle does his very best to be a normal eighteen year old. He enjoys school, working with computers, movies, television, chocolate, Pepsi, and his cat, Sharon.  He has a dry sense of humor and loves to talk. But Kyle is not like his classmates. 

22. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Painful recurring blisters and open wounds cover nearly all of Kyle's body.  He only weighs 51 pounds and is barely 4 feet tall -- about the size of a 7 year-old.  Kyle has the inherited skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).  EB is a painful disease. To help prevent infections, Kyle must keep all external blistered areas clean and covered with fresh Vaseline gauze and bandages.  Each day, with his mother's help, he has to spend two hours soaking off old bandages and putting on new ones.  

23. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Team Kyle has taught me that anything is possible with the right attitude. I’ve never seen a group of people more eager to work at a garage sale on a hot summer day. I regret all of the days in my life that I wasted being negative and complaining because I’ve learned that life is the thrill of never knowing what tomorrow will bring, but embracing each and every moment of today. It’s your choice what you do with every day, but if you want my advice… do something for someone else and you’d be surprised how great you’ll feel!

24. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Are YOU ready to begin giving hope and making miracles for COTA families like Lauren’s, Steven’s and Kyle’s?

25. COTA challenges you to collect one million pennies… and to help COTA make one million miracles.

26. Children’s Organ Transplant Association Pennies, nickels and dimes add up. Coinstar®, a national coin redemption machine manufacturer, estimates an average eight ounce jar of coins equals $14.27 and a gallon jug filled with coins can net as much as $228.34. Using Coin Collection as part of your fundraising activities allows your community to turn everyday change into lifesaving dollars!

27. Children’s Organ Transplant Association For more than 20 years, Legionnaire Tony Lori has placed COTA coin collection canisters across the state of New Jersey. His efforts have resulted in more than $80,000 -- mostly pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters -- for COTA children who call New Jersey home. In New Jersey, each of the 21 Chairmen manages a COTA ‘jug’. Every six weeks, the donations are counted and the Post writes a check to the Department of New Jersey. The checks are combined and sent to COTA to help make a miracle for New Jersey families.

28. Children’s Organ Transplant Association COTA provides Coin Canisters in almost any quantity at no cost. COTA also provides a personalized Canister Sheet featuring a photo of a local COTA patient, as well as other important campaign information. To request Canisters, complete an online supply request form, e-mail CampaignInfo@cota.org or call 800.366.2682.

29. To get started, go online to get more information ... tools, tips, ideas and resources are available at no charge. Log onto www.cotamiraclemakers.org or call 800.366.2682 to register your Post today.

30. Thank you for being a Miracle Maker for children – join us today! Children’s Organ Transplant Association®