Floor to our merchants: Fondazione Umberto Veronesi
Ferdinando Ricci
Responsabile Marketing
Fondazione Umberto Veronesi
In 2023, Fondazione Umberto Veronesi is celebrating its 20th anniversary: a story of excellence that has captured the hearts of people across Italy. Could you tell us how it began and what its aims are?
For 20 years, Fondazione Umberto Veronesi has been committed to the fight against cancer in two key ways: funding outstanding research, and developing campaigns and projects to promote scientific literacy and health education. Since its founding in 2003, Fondazione Umberto Veronesi has supported the work of 2,193 researchers in oncology and chronic diseases at 176 institutes and universities. We have funded 147 research projects of the highest scientific calibre and launched 12 treatment protocols for cancers affecting children and adolescents. During 2022/23, we also launched a project to establish two pioneering international research and treatment platforms.
Alongside research, we provide ongoing support to Scuola Europea di Medicina Molecolare (SEMM), an institution offering advanced training in biomedicine. This work, together with our science communication activities for students and the wider public, is made possible by our donors, the bequests they choose to leave to Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, Italy’s 5 per thousand tax allocation, our corporate supporters and a growing number of forward-thinking organisations.
Digital technology has also transformed the non-profit sector, providing valuable support to many organisations. Fondazione Umberto Veronesi has made the most of these opportunities, first and foremost through a well-structured website. What does the website represent for you today?
The website, www.fondazioneveronesi.it, is not simply a snapshot of Fondazione Umberto Veronesi’s commitment and activities. At its heart is a team of respected journalists who produce articles and in-depth features on medical and scientific topics. For years, the site—also regarded as a fully fledged news publication—has provided a daily information service on health, prevention and research. In 2022, the Magazine received more than 32 million unique visitors and recorded over 35 million page views.
The findings of a recent study* confirm that health and scientific research are the area most often chosen by donors (54%), and that the preference for online donations continues to grow. How are you making it easier for people to donate online?
Online donations account for a significant share of transactions and support for outstanding research at Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, too.
Our donation platforms are simple and straightforward to use, and allow people to donate using different payment methods. They also ensure that donations are traceable and reflect the transparency that is central to our work.
(*Donare 3.0, a study conducted by BVA Doxa with PayPal Italia and Rete del Dono)
Why is it important for Fondazione Umberto Veronesi’ supporters to have access to an alternative payment method that does not rely on a card, such as MyBank?
It is essential to be able to receive donations through a range of payment methods, as this allows supporters to choose the option they feel most comfortable using.
With MyBank, we offer an alternative to the other payment methods available on the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi website. Donors can make a contribution directly through their bank’s online banking service, without using a payment card, creating a new account or downloading an app.
Anyone wishing to support our research through MyBank selects their bank on the payment button and is redirected to their online banking service, where they log in using their usual credentials. A fully pre-filled bank transfer is then displayed, with no details to enter: all the information—the amount, beneficiary, payment reference and bank details—is already there. The transaction is approved with a single click, and confirmation is immediate for both the donor and Fondazione Umberto Veronesi.
Using trusted, well-known services such as MyBank helps reassure donors that their transaction will be completed successfully.
The choice of payment methods is often overlooked in the non-profit sector, even though the relationship of trust with supporters is also shaped by the donation options available to them. Beyond transaction security, how important is protecting users’ data in your work?
Data protection is very important to us. Every donor must be protected at every stage of the transaction, particularly when making a larger donation. That is why we always choose payment networks that can offer the highest levels of transparency and control for both the donor and Fondazione Umberto Veronesi.
With MyBank, we can rely on a payment service that complies with EU regulations on PSD2, GDPR and AML, and places the protection of the payer’s data at the heart of its solution. That data is never shared with third parties—reassuring safeguards for our donors, too.
Prevention is possible through education and awareness-raising, a commitment you pursue consistently and across many areas. Which activities and topics are you focusing on in particular at the moment?
For 20 years, Fondazione Umberto Veronesi has been promoting prevention campaigns, informing and encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles to protect their health. We cover a wide range of topics, from healthy eating and physical activity to reducing stress and protecting the skin and eyes from UV rays.
We also work to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis: depending on their age and personal risk, people should have regular check-ups for certain conditions so they can be detected promptly and treated as effectively as possible.
World No Tobacco Day is marked every year on 31 May. Tobacco remains one of the main threats to public health. Smoking-related diseases cause eight million deaths worldwide each year (1.2 million due to second-hand smoke), 700,000 in Europe and an estimated 93,000 in Italy alone, nearly half of them from cancer.
Across Europe, almost one third of cancer cases are attributed to tobacco use.
These are men and women who become ill and die prematurely from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and diabetes—serious, debilitating conditions that could be prevented by removing their leading avoidable cause: smoking.
Fondazione Umberto Veronesi has long worked in this area through its Io Vivo Sano – Contro il fumo project. Since 2008, we have run national communication campaigns and educational activities in schools to inform people about and raise awareness of the harms of smoking.