IRB Barcelona's dancing scientists receive double honours at Spain's National Fundraising Prizes 2015

The Spanish Association of Fundraising (AEFr) has announced the winners of the 5th edition of their annual fundraising awards, during the Association's XV Fundraising Conference, held in Madrid. The jury recognized the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) in two categories: Best Fundraising Campaign for entities with larger budgets, and the Jury's Grand Prize.

IRB Barcelona entered the competition with its music video “Scientists at IRB Barcelona dance for cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes research”, in which researchers dance to increase awareness and support for the biomedical research carried out at the center. The video, launched in October 2014, has been seen more than 1,000,000 times in 200 countries, and has raised thousands of euros for research, thanks to contributions from Banco Sabadell and Sanofi as well as direct donations.

According to Fernando Morón, Managing Director of the AEFr, "the jury praised the entrepreneurial spirit of the initiative which aims to foster collaboration from the private sector in biomedical research in Spain, which is unusual in healthcare in our country and sets a new trend. They also applauded the participation of the entire organization in the making of a video that brings together technical quality with a simple, clear and charming message that draws the citizen, and potential donor, into an area of utmost importance."

Members of the jury included key figures in fundraising and communication in Spain, Javier Ruiz Gaitán, Elena García, Carmen Gayo, Pablo Herreros and Francisco Polo.

Sarah Sherwood, Director of Communciations and External Relations at IRB Barcelona and coordinator of the project, attended the awards ceremony. "The discoveries that scientists are making have tremendous potential to change our lives," she says. "Through the video, we hoped to highlight the importance of the research we do at IRB Barcelona, to show the faces behind the science, and to inspire others to get involved. The response has been overwhelming and tremendously encouraging. We are grateful to the AEFr for this recognition and hope it will help to show others that they, too, can play a crucial role in driving science forward."

The AEFr, established in 1997, is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to further philanthropy and fundraising in Spain. Members include more than 70 entities who are dedicated to causes such as cooperation, childhood, the environment, human rights, culture, education, health, and research and development, and whose  activities include designing strategies to raise funds and support from citizens as well as private organizations.

About the video: The IRB Barcelona dance video (#IRBdances) was an international collaboration including producers Heidi Berger (Heidi Berger Productions, Canada) and Richard Santiburcio Miranda (Fiction Films Barcelona), choreographers Ursula Aguilera and Sergi Orduña Colina, and more than 120 IRB Barcelona researchers and staff.

Sponsors: Banco Sabadell, Sanofi, Bio-Rad, Waters, Eppendorf, Fisher Scientific, Promega, PanReac AppliChem ITW Reagents, Sigma-Aldrich and Cultek.

In Spain, texting IRBBARCELONA to 28014 triggers a donation of €1.20 to IRB Barcelona research*. Donations can also be made via the webpage: http://www.irbbarcelona.org/donate.

*(servicio de SMS solidario operado por Altiria TIC, www.altiria.com, y la Asociación Española de Fundraising, www.aefundraising.org, nº. atn. clte. 902 00 28 98, apdo. correos 36059 – 28080 Madrid; colaboran Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, Yoigo y Euskaltel)