Swim for MS: Give me a T-E-A-M!

Posted on October 13, 2014 by MSAA

With the start of the new school year and a new swim team season, MSAA’s Swim for MS has seen tremendous support. All over the country, swim teams are working together raising money to improve the lives of those living with MS.

Swim for MS encourages volunteers to create their own challenge, such as swimming laps or set distances over a chosen period of time while collecting donations for their personal fundraising goal. These challenges can be done individually or through group swims by teams of young and old alike. The NCMP Aquagirls, a Girls’ High School Swim Team from Iowa, created an event that would push them into swim shape early while creating awareness and raising funds. Their team captain, Rachel, challenged the team to swimming 50,000 total laps during the month of September. They collected pledges in August and September to raise over $1,000 for Swim for MS.

NCMP Aquagirls

Lexie & Team at her Swim for MS event

Volunteers also raise funds through a variety of unique one-day events such as pool parties, water-volleyball tournaments, and cannonball challenges. Unlike more traditional MS fundraising activities, Swim for MS allows individuals with MS at any stage in their journey – from the recently diagnosed to those with limited mobility – to benefit from water exercise and assist in raising donated funds for a vital cause. Lexi and her Swim for MS Team participated in a one day Swim for MS event held at her high school in Indianapolis and raised over $2,800 in September.

Just because October, November, and December are filled with back-to-back holiday parties, doesn’t mean you can’t organize a successful fundraiser! Stay on top of your game by encouraging a team effort for this fun event. Gather your Swim Team for a fundraising event everyone can do together. Show your school spirit by having a friendly competition between team colors, pick a side, and swim your heart out. Winning team gets bragging rights for the swim season!

On our SwimForMS.org website, you can read the profiles of some of our swimmers. They can inspire you and give you great ideas for your own Swim for MS challenge. We would like to thank everyone who has or will participate in Swim for MS!

6th Annual MSAA Lone Star Roundup Cattle Drive

Posted on August 11, 2014 by MSAA

Join us for the 6th Annual MSAA Lone Star Roundup Cattle Drive and ride with honorary Celebrity Trail Boss, country star Clay Walker!

October 9th – 12th, 2014
Learn more & register at mymsaa.org/cattledrive

You, your friends, and your family may have walked for MS. You may have ridden a bike for MS. You may have even participated in Swim for MS. MSAA now invites you to add a horse into the mix and join us for an adventure of a lifetime – all while benefiting those who have MS!

When: October 9th-12th, 2014
Where: Beaumont Ranch in Grandview, Texas
(just a few minutes south of Dallas/Fort Worth)

Learn more about the Lone Star Roundup Cattle Drive

All money raised at the Cattle Drive will go toward supporting the many programs and services MSAA offers to improve lives today for the entire MS community.

This year, come meet our honorary Celebrity Trail Boss – country star Clay Walker, who will be riding one day of the event. Then, enjoy an up-close and personal concert from Walker, included after the Cattle Drive on Saturday, October 11th, 2014. Additional tickets can be purchased.

Any questions, please call (800) 532-7667, ext. 137 to talk to Becky Remington, your Trail Boss!

Yee Haw! Hope we see you there!

Register for the MSAA Lone Star Roundup Cattle Drive

Let Us Help You Help Others.

Posted on July 28, 2014 by MSAA

by Kimberly Goodrich, CFRE, Senior Director of Development

In previous blog posts and articles in our magazine The Motivator, I have addressed the controversy over whether charity ratings are really helpful in giving a true picture of an organization’s effectiveness in meeting their mission.

Earlier this month, I attended a luncheon on this topic with Steve Nardizzi, CEO of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). Nardizzi gave several examples where ratings from charity watchdogs were not helpful in determining if an organization is meeting its mission. In some cases the ratings were even misleading. One example was the Central Asia Institute, formerly run by Greg Mortenson co-author of Three Cups of Tea. When Mortenson was ordered to pay back over one million dollars in misused funds, his organization had a four star rating. How does this help us decide where our dollars should go?

This makes it harder for the donor. There is no one single number that tells us if an organization is doing a good job or not. We need to dig deeper and ask questions about goals and impact – not ratios. Ask about the people they help. Is that number growing? Are they feeding more people? Saving more forests?

WWP continues to grow despite mediocre ratings. Why? Because its supporters see the incredible impact they are having on the lives of wounded veterans. Eight years ago they had higher ratings, but only 10 million to spend on programs. By making a conscious effort to invest in fundraising, marketing, and staff, they now have lower ratings, but spend 176 million on programs for veterans. By ignoring the ratings and focusing their resources on their mission, more veterans are helped. And really, isn’t that what it’s all about?

At MSAA our mission is to improve the lives of those living with MS. Like WWP, the amount we spent on fundraising went up. Some think this is bad. However, this increased fundraising helped our overall rating to go up. This increase in fundraising led to a significant increase in revenue (16.5% growth last year). This increased revenue in turn allowed us to help more people living with MS. Our toll-free Helpline assisted 6% more people. We provided ongoing MRI assistance to 9% more people, and diagnostic MRI assistance to 70% more people than the year before. Our mobile phone app was downloaded by an additional 7,000 people who now use it to track their symptoms and improve their daily lives. These are increases we are proud of and that make the decision to invest in additional fundraising streams worthwhile.

What numbers would mean the most to you? How do you think we should decide if an organization is meeting its mission and therefore worthy of our donations? We’d like to hear your thoughts. Help us help you to help others.

*About Kimberly

I am the Senior Director of Development at MSAA and have worked in the nonprofit arena for over 15 years. I love reading, running, theatre and the Green Bay Packers. I volunteer with the Disabled American Veterans teaching outdoor sports like skiing and kayaking to injured veterans and find that I receive much more from them than I am able to give.

MSAA Attends 2014 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers

Posted on June 2, 2014 by MSAA

Several members of the MSAA team traveled down to Dallas, Texas last week for the 2014 meeting of the Consortium of MS Centers (CMSC). The meeting had approximately 2,000 registered participants (the largest CMSC ever) ranging from doctors, nurses and researchers, to nonprofit organizations like MSAA.

MSAA set up our booth and reached out to attendees to try and ensure that providers are aware of our services and can refer to them as needed.

Some of the partners MSAA works with were also in attendance, including the vendors who work with MSAA on our Cooling program:

The annual CMSC meeting is one of the best opportunities for education, sharing, and collaboration for professionals who serve the MS community. MSAA staff attended a number of helpful classes, lectures, and interactive sessions on everything from research and study updates related to causes and treatments to efforts to improve quality of life and comprehensive MS care.

Stay tuned to MSAA for more information and knowledge learned at the 2014 CMSC.

Swim Cap Giveaway – Sign Up to Swim for MS

Posted on May 21, 2014 by MSAA

Temperatures are rising across many parts of the country, and people with and without MS will soon be looking for a way to keep cool or have fun in the summer sun. Therefore, now may be the perfect opportunity to start learning more about MSAA’s Swim for MS initiative.

Swim for MS is a national fundraiser in which volunteers are encouraged to create their own swim challenge while recruiting online donations to support the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) and the MS community. Swim for MS is unique because MSAA does not plan the event – you do! Your fundraiser can be as unique as you want it to be.

Your own Swim for MS fundraiser can take many different forms. Many individuals participate in ongoing Swim for MS fundraisers as well as in one-day events. Some choose to swim outdoors, while others love the convenience of an indoor pool. In addition, many Swim for MS fundraisers involve teams filled with passionate swimmers who all have one goal in mind – improving lives for the MS community. You can see several examples of such fundraisers by visiting SwimForMS.org.

MSAA is also pleased to announce that we are giving away Swim for MS swim caps to every participant who registers for Swim for MS in May! Sign up within the next ten days to receive your official Swim for MS welcome kit, as well as our new Swim for MS swim cap! In addition to the swim cap in May, we have added one more surprise Swim for MS item to registration boxes this month. You’ll just have to register to find out what it is!

Besides the Swim for MS fundraising component, Swim for MS also features an online Aquatic Center, which contains resources for people living with MS who wish to learn more about how aquatic exercise can benefit them. For individuals who may have difficulty with traditional land-based activities, the unique properties of water combined with its cool temperature can create an inviting and sometimes ideal exercise environment for people with MS. Visit the online Aquatic Center to learn more.

How does MSAA improve lives for the multiple sclerosis community?

Posted on November 1, 2013 by MSAA

Last week, we shared an infographic with our supporters showing just a few of the ways MSAA improves lives for the multiple sclerosis community. Today, we wanted to post that infographic again in case you missed it.

But we wanted to start by posing a question: What, exactly, is a “good” charity?*

There has been a lot of talk recently about good charities and bad charities. News reports have focused on charities that do little, if anything, to help alleviate social issues…and on companies who profit from the increasing need for funding to ensure missions are fulfilled. The nonprofit world is buzzing with words like “expensive ratios,” “ratings,” and “overhead.” The result: We are now taking a new look at what being a good charity really means.

How can your donation improve a life today?

As an organization, MSAA welcomes this conversation. We believe in using our resources efficiently to best serve the needs of the MS community. We have worked hard over the years to streamline our processes and improve our program delivery.

In addition to the wealth of information and support MSAA provides, for those who would be unable to afford equipment or MRI scans on their own, MSAA’s programs make a tangible difference in day-to-day quality of life. This is attested to time and time again in the unsolicited tesmionials of our clients.

*Excerpt from “Thoughts about Giving” in MSAA’s magazine The Motivator (Summer/Fall 2013)

Also made possible through the help of our supporters…

1,040,554 visits for vital information through our website

About 215,000 MSAA publications distributed to provide information and support

66,596 views of our 36 on-demand video programs

7,174 new downloads for MSAA’s smartphone app, “My MS Manager”

Donate now and improve a life today.

“Thank you so much for getting back to me so soon! After over two years of waiting and being passed off [by other organizations], my MRI is scheduled for a couple of hours from now! Thank you!” – Jordan R. from Colorado.

Improve a life today for someone like Jordan.

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America is a leading resource for the entire MS community, improving lives today through vital services and support.

Improving Lives Today!

FOLLOW MSAA ON: