Welcome to Paint the Town Pink
Thank you for your interest in organizing an event in support of Paint the Town Pink – a community-led fundraiser that supports cancer and biomedical research at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota. Event organizers are the heart and soul of this annual event, and The Hormel Institute is proud to help support your efforts.
The following toolkit contains information and resources you’ll need to develop and promote your event to ensure it is successful and that all money raised is properly accepted and distributed.
If you still have questions after reviewing this toolkit, please reach out to Development and External Relations Manager Brenna Gerhart at 507-437-9601 or [email protected].
Hosting an Event
If you are hosting, or plan to host, a Paint the Town Pink event, please fill out the Event Intake Form. Filling out this form means The Hormel Institute will be able to help promote your event and provide you with the support necessary to make the event a success.
Logo and Wordmark
When promoting your Paint the Town Pink event, please be sure to use the official Paint the Pink and The Hormel Institute wordmark. This lets participants know that when they participate in your event, money raised will go directly to The Hormel Institute and its research.
Referencing The Hormel Institute
Be sure to reference The Hormel Institute when promoting or discussing your event to reinforce where participant money will go.
Event Name – Benefitting Paint the Town Pink and cancer research at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota.
Donation Info
The Hormel Institute is part of the University of Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF) generates tax receipts to acknowledge your donation for tax purposes. You will also receive a thank you for your generous support from The Hormel Institute.
Please know (and share with your event participants) that every dollar gifted to The Hormel Institute is used at The Hormel Institute to further cancer research – not on administrative costs.
UMF is only able to provide tax-deductible receipts for outright donations directly to UMF — monetary donations not related to receiving something in return. Examples of non-tax-deductible payments include, but are not limited to, event registrations, raffle tickets, food, beverage, auction items, prizes, and gifts.
If any of the above activities are included in your event, the event organizer should:
- Collect all payments (“revenue”) received during event
- Use event revenue to pay direct event expenses, such as venue rental, food, and beverage.
- Send one check to The Hormel Institute/University of Minnesota Foundation for the net proceeds from the event (net proceeds = amount remaining after all direct event expenses have been paid). Outright donations collected during the event and made payable to the The Hormel Institute/University of Minnesota Foundation are fully tax-deductible.
For event net proceeds submitted in one check, UMF will provide one gift receipt.
If your event attendees make outright donations made payable directly to “The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota Foundation,” they will receive individual receipts directed to the check issuer.
Links to Crowdfunding
The UMF crowdfunding web platform, URaiseMN, allows users to create customized fundraising pages for University causes and events (including Paint the Town Pink), and provides users with tools to solicit their networks to raise funds for their cause. Users can create an individual page, where they can fundraise for a University cause on their own, or a team page that allows others to join them in fundraising for a University cause.
Restrictions on crowdfunding
The U’s crowdfunding site is for outright gifts only and cannot be used for:
- Event registration
- Memberships
- Sponsorships
- Any promised goods and/or services in exchange for donation
How Paint the Town Pink Funds are Used
Researchers rely on funding from various sources to turn their ideas into projects and their projects into advancements.
Paint the Town Pink proceeds support The Hormel Institute’s Internal Grants Program. Uniquely, every dollar contributed to these funds goes directly to research, not administrative costs. The program is a competitive, peer-reviewed process that allows our scientists to generate important data that will be used to answer initial research questions and seed larger research projects from external funding sources later on, making continued progress possible.
Learn more about this year’s Paint the Town Pink Research Fund recipients, and please be sure to share this information with your event participants.
Frequently Asked Questions
I still have questions, who should I contact?
Call Development and External Relations Manager Brenna Gerhart at 507-437-9601, or email [email protected].
Can someone from The Hormel Institute attend my event?
The Hormel Institute encourages its faculty and staff to attend and support Paint the Town Pink events, but is subject to availability. If you would like to request a research or other Institute representative, please fill out the Event Intake Form.
What are the dates for Paint the Town Pink?
As a community led campaign, Pain the Town Pink events can happen any time of the year. Because of scheduling and resource availability, The Hormel Institute is only able to fully support events that occur between January and the end of February.