On December 2, 2025 join us for Giving Tuesday Fundraising!
Dearest BCM Family and Friends,
Giving Tuesday is approaching, and with it comes a powerful opportunity to support our mission to find a cure. From now until December 2, thanks to John & Kay McCrary, every donation will be matched dollar for dollar up to a limit of $10,000, doubling the impact of your generosity.
As a rare disease community, every contribution matters deeply. Let’s take full advantage of this matching opportunity and move forward with full energy and purpose.
Please consider putting up a fundraiser on Facebook and Instagram and helping us spread the word within your network so we can reach as many people as possible. Together, we can make a real difference.
With gratitude,
Dr. Renata Sarno
President of the BCM Families Foundation
Current Funding Needs for 2026
Your support will directly contribute to the following essential programs:
- West Virginia University: a new grant for a very important research on subretinal AAV vectors has been approved for Dr. Wen Tao Deng at WVU for $88,000.
- No-Cost DNA Test Program: $27,500 needed to provide free genetic testing for BCM patients in 2026. Learn more.
- Patient Registry Maintenance: $10,000 to maintain and enhance the international patient registry—vital for future clinical trials for 2026. Learn more.
- Clinical Project: we continue to support Dr. Cideciyan and Dr. Aleman ‘s UPenn group.
- Support for Families: for webinars and families meetings.
Some of these programs run annually, and your generosity ensures they continue making a lasting impact. Read Personal Stories from the BCM Community to see how your support makes an impact.
Download GivingTuesday Banners here:
HOW TO DONATE:
1) Donate Online using PayPal or any major CREDIT CARDS or via a bank CHECK (US) payable to ‘BCM Families Foundation’. The check can be mailed to the following address:
BCM Families Foundation, PO Box 7711 Jupiter, FL 33468-7711 USA.
2) BCM Giving Tuesday Fundraising How-Tos
Facebook – ON DESKTOP
You need a Facebook account at www.facebook.com
• Either go to facebook.com/fundraisers and log in, or go to your facebook home page, click on the menu icon on the upper right corner of the page (9 little dots in shape of a square) and look for “Fundraiser”
• In the prompt asking you to choose your nonprofit, type in BCM Families Foundation
• On the left side bar, you can enter the details of the fundraiser you want to post.
• How much you want to raise – You can edit this amount and you can enter the final amount you would like to raise with your fundraiser.
• When should the fundraiser end? – Please put December 2, 2025 or some few days after to give more time to donors to make a donation.
• What’s the title of your fundraiser – you can put for example: “[your name]’s Giving Tuesday Fundraiser for BCM Families Foundation”
• Why are you raising money – Here you cut and paste the write-up below. Or you can tailor the message as you wish, but try to make it as impactful as possible. Below is just an example you can use, amend or completely disregard, as you wish. If you feel comfortable adding your personal story, you can put it here:
💙 Join Me in Making a Difference Join me in supporting a cause that is very close to my heart — the BCM Families Foundation, a nonprofit organization led by families affected by Blue Cone Monochromacy (BCM).
Your contribution, whether it’s $5 or $500, will directly help advance research and bring us closer to finding a treatment and cure for this rare genetic condition. Every donation truly makes a difference, and right now, your gift will go twice as far thanks to the special John & Kay McCrary matching opportunity available until December 2 and up to $10,000!
Blue Cone Monochromacy (BCM) is a rare genetic retinal disorder that affects an estimated 1 in 100,000 people worldwide. The BCM Families Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) charity, is dedicated to find a cure for BCM by funding the most promising biomedical and scientific research. To support affected individuals and their families, the Foundation also provides a No Cost Genetic Testing Program for those with a clinical diagnosis of BCM. This ensures that access to accurate diagnosis and participation in research are available to everyone, regardless of cost.
Together, we can bring hope, knowledge, and progress to the BCM community.
💙 Please donate today — and help us make every dollar count twice before December 2!
Cover photo – Download the Giving Tuesday image below to your computer. Then go to your fundraiser page, tap on the small photo icon on the upper right corner on the Cover photo space, and upload the downloaded image.
• Lastly click the “Create” button and your fundraiser is live!
Congratulations!
• After creating the fundraiser, it is recommended that you check up on it every few days or week to see how it is doing. You may want to send reminders, re-post, or send personal messages urging people to donate. The more of an active role you have in the fundraiser, the more you will likely raise.
Facebook – ON MOBILE DEVICE
For Facebook it is better if you go through the laptop since the app does not support fundraising easily. However if this is your only option then proceed as below.
• Open the app, and tap the post icon, the plus (+), on upper right corner of the screen then tap Post.
• Drag the Create post list to reveal the full list of posts (drag the gray bar line in the middle of the screen up)
• Tap the Raise money icon (the pink coin with the heart icon)
• Search for BCM Families Foundation • In the Let people know why …” section, you can make your own writeup or use the one under Facebook desktop instructions above.
• When you have finished, tap “Post” on the upper right corner of screen.
Instagram
An important point to remember is that Instagram fundraising is available only on mobile. Desktop Instagram does not support fundraising.
• Suggestion: follow these instructions on mobile to make copying and pasting easier.
• Go into your Instagram app and go to your profile (if you’re on the homepage, tap on your icon on the bottom right corner)
• Press the plus (+) creation button on the top right corner to create, and choose Fundraiser
• Search for BCM Families Foundation
• Add the logo for Giving Tuesday and the written description of the fundraiser and BCMFF above or any of your choice.
• Then press the blue button below “Create Fundraiser”.
• The fundraiser will last 30 days automatically if you do not specify shorter. You can change the end date and amount any time during the fundraising period.
BCM is a very rare disease and many men have spent a large proportion of their lives living with no diagnosis or alone with no contact with others in the same situation …. continue reading
How to earn a John & Kay McCrary Matching Donation!
All donations by December 2 that meet criteria for a matching donation to BCM Families Foundation, can, together, provide a match total of up to $10,000 thanks to John & Kay McCrary!
Donate at https://www.blueconemonochromacy.org/donate/
Our heartfelt thanks to you for your support.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is this charity’s mission one that I support? What priority?
This is a personal decision that only you can answer. Many supporters of BCM Families Foundation have BCM and/or have sons or grandsons who have BCM. They have a personal stake in wanting a better future for loved ones. Additional supporters are needed: BCM is an extremely rare disease whose genetic correction can also impact cure of additional diseases.
2. Does this charity manage donations well according to impartial oversight measures? Does the charity value & publicly share external oversight (have “public transparency”)?
Yes. BCM Families Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is available on GuideStar, a website used by many Secretary of State offices in the USA to evaluate applicants seeking to fundraise in their state. GuideStar is also a resource for potential donors to check whether a charity manages its donations ethically and wisely. BCM Families Foundation has earned GuideStar’s Silver Medallion rating.
3. What percentage of donations are spent on the mission, versus on staff salaries + expenses?
100% of donations are spent on our mission #Cure4BCM. 0% of donations are spent on staff salaries. Volunteers operate BCM Families Foundation. The Board of Directors are all unsalaried volunteers who donate both their time and money to the Foundation. This notwithstanding, the organization, like any, has some expenses for which it must use funds to operate. We do our best to minimize the cost of expenses and some are directly covered as donations-in-kind.
4. What is this charity’s track record of making progress toward achieving its mission?
Superb! Since applying to become a 501(c)(3) public charity, a plan of specific sequenced steps has been in place to follow in order to reach a cure for Blue Cone Monochromacy. A BCM support and education website www.BlueConeMonochromacy.org was developed and is operated continually by our founder Dr. Renata Sarno. A Board of Directors as well as a Scientific Advisory Board of expert BCM Researchers were recruited, established, and continues. Development of mice having Opsin deletion BCM and mice with C203R BCM were arranged and funded by BCM Families Foundation along with a method for their distribution to researchers. Membership in NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.) was achieved at the Platinum level. A BCM Patient Registry has been designed, established, and is fully operational.
5. Are there special challenges this charity faces that deserve any special consideration?
The fact that Blue Cone Monochromacy is so rare, estimated to affect 1 in 100,000 people, has been extremely challenging in multiple ways but especially in raising funds.
6. How has this charity raised funds in previous years?
From a few large donors —most of these people have now reached the maximum donation amount for our charity to remain a 501(c)(3). Thankfully, a few others are emerging.
From people wishing to make a one-time donation.
From Recurring Donors, including a growing number of committed Monthly Donors.
From supporters’ fundraisers such as “instead of birthday gifts”, “instead of Christmas gifts”, “in lieu of sending flowers to a loved one’s funeral”, “instead of 50th Wedding Anniversary gifts”, “instead of wedding gifts”, as well as supporters’ annual “Giving Tuesday” fundraisers on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
After you have passed age 70 and a half years old, you may be required to make annual withdrawals from your IRAs and other tax-deferred accounts. Your tax professional or financial advisor can advise you of ways that you can gain substantial tax benefit by donating portions of these Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) to recognized 501(C)(3) charities, for example BCM Families Foundation.
From grants or sponsorships, such as the Waldesian Church’s grant that has previously supported some ongoing expenses.
7. How aggressively does this charity seek donations? Does it pressure donors? Does it ask anyone to “give until it hurts”?
No pressure. BCM Families Foundation seeks to explain, rather than pressure, hoping that potential donors will understand and evaluate how they wish to distribute their available donation dollars to the charities and the missions that they value. We hope our mission is among these. Affordable small donations are definitely valued by our Foundation! —So many of the contacts to our websites are young parents whose baby has just developed nystagmus: definitely for us, it is about more than raising money. But to reach our mission, necessary expenses are reality.
8. What is the best way I can financially support the mission of BCM Families Foundation?
Two ways! Become a Recurring/Monthly Donor, please, giving the amount you can comfortably afford. To maintain our 501(c)(3) status, the number of donors matters as well as amount of donations raised annually. BCM Families Foundation is very grateful for our growing number of committed Monthly Donors. Be aware that regular, expectable donations allow our Foundation to better plan our budget & expenditures. Also, a second way is to participate actively in our “Giving Tuesday” fundraiser on December 2. Please help multiply our outreach by posting a “Giving Tuesday” fundraiser for BCM Families Foundation on your personal Facebook page.
9. Is there a recommended way to donate to the BCM Families Foundation?
BCM Families Foundation gratefully accepts donations in any method preferred by our donors.
Checks may be sent to BCM Families Foundation P.O. Box 7711 Jupiter, FL 33468-7711 USA.
Donate Online at https://www.blueconemonochromacy.org/donate/ using Pay Pal or any major credit card.
Monthly Donors are people committed to ongoing support of our mission. Monthly Donors may conveniently use Pay Pal so that our charity will be directly notified of your gift.