Client Spotlight: No-Shave November

No-Shave November was started in 2009 in memory of the Hill family’s father, Matthew Hill, who passed away from colon cancer in 2007. The concept is simple, put down your razor for the month of November and donate the money saved on grooming to cancer research! Many cancer patients lose their hair during treatment so No-Shave November encourages participants to embrace their hair and #letitgrow!

Behind the No-Shave November campaign is the Matthew Hill Foundation, Inc., which was set up to honor the late Matthew Hill. Today we have the pleasure of interviewing Nicholas Hill, Matthew’s son, and the co-founder and President of the Foundation.

Thanks for joining us today. Would you tell us more about the history of the Foundation and how the No-Shave campaign was started?

No-Shave November has been a tradition for many years, but it wasn’t until the fall of 2009 that our family decided to use it as a means to raise money for charity. Participants in No-Shave November have always been willing to ditch their razors and, more recently, donate to cancer-fighting foundations. But what started as an easy way for a few followers on Facebook to donate their hard-earned money has turned into a nationwide celebration. Every November for the past six years, these No-Shavers have donated the cost of grooming (from a few dollars on razors to $100 on a salon visit) and helped our organization raise over $2 Million dollars to date.

As a family run, web-based organization, No-Shave November has grown exponentially since 2009. Our goal is to keep raising money for cancer prevention, education, and research and to let that hair grow in the process! We want every participant to embrace their hair for the many cancer patients that lose theirs due to vigorous treatments. We believe that together, anything is possible, and we’ll get closer to eradicating cancer one whisker at a time!

How has being setup correctly as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and registered to fundraise in each state assisted with your fundraising efforts?

Filing as a 501(c)(3) has helped tremendously and allowed us to invest our time and research into the organizations that we care most about and share our passion for finding a cure for cancer. State registration has made our fundraising efforts much more seamless as we can solicit online and in every state.

Would you tell us what sort of impact you’ve been able to make with No-Shave November?

We have had the opportunity to work directly with all four of our funded programs (American Cancer Society, Prevent Cancer Foundation, Fight Colorectal Cancer, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital). All four do amazing work to help fight, research, and educate us on cancer.  To see where our grants go and the impact we can make to potentially save lives or allow someone already living with cancer to cope or live a longer life, it truly makes it all worthwhile.

What are you most proud of regarding what you’ve done with the funds raised?

There are a few that come to mind, but the most recent is Fight Colorectal Cancer was able to take a large portion of last year’s grant and invest it towards a research project. FightCRC had a donor on their side match their research efforts, which instantly doubled the funds towards what we hope is a successful project.  

Please tell us how other organizations can participate!

Within an organization you can have different teams (Sales, HR, accounting, etc.) that compete against one another to raise funds for the cause. With each team, individual employees can sign-up and send donation requests to friends and family to help reach their fundraising goal. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out!

What advice do you have for someone wanting to start a nonprofit?

The best advice for anyone looking to start a nonprofit is that no cause is too small. My family and I never imagined that No-Shave November would ever raise over $1 Million in a single campaign, but we just kept dreaming big and worked hard to get the Foundation to where it is today.

Anything else you would like to add?

Harbor Compliance has been a great asset for our Foundation. There was no way we would have be able to run our campaign last year (and again this year), without the help of Mike Montali and James Gilmer. James has been instrumental in helping our organization stay compliant in chaotic world that is charity registration. We appreciate his and all your team’s help in this regard.

Registration is now open for this year’s No-Shave November! You can register here! Follow along with No-Shave November on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #letitgrow!