Ironman for a Cause
I have reviewed the wiki re: training for a charity. However, I also know there are a number of EN members who have started their own foundation or group to raise money while training. I'm looking to pick your brains...
My best friend's father just passed away within 11 mos of finding out he had metastatic melanoma. I had it in my head to do an Ironman (first ever) when I first heard about his diagnosis, as sort of a push over the edge. He waxed and waned over almost the past year and I ended up signing up for IMLP partly because it's on my bucket list and partly because I wanted to do something to raise money and donate it in his memory. I will be attending the memorial service this weekend and, if I have my thoughts organized, would like to float some ideas to my friend.
Has anyone done something like this before? All the online "free" sites I've found require a 4% cut of all the money you earn and I'm not really looking to do that. I am also don't think I want to make this so big it would require all the legal formality of a 503c.
Any thoughts/input would be appreciated. I've been thinknig about this for a while, but have really just begun in the organizing stages. Thanks!
Comments
I used the website "YourCause.com" ( go here to see my page: http://www.yourcause.com/MyFundraising.aspx?MemberID=112609 ) .
Yes, they took a nominal percentage (I think 3%, but I could be off). However, for that 3% they did a few things that I found important:
1 - they had the backend website set up to allow credit cards for donations
2 - they allowed me to keep the funds 'at arm's length' thereby alleviating any doubt on the Giver's behalf that the charity would actually get the money
3 - they are established, and with their association with the NetworkForGood, they provide a gravitas that I would be unable to establish on my own.
I looked and looked and looked for a solution. I wanted to use the Janus platform, but they had dropped their association with Ironman by the time I was needing them. I don't know anything about the new Ironman-branded fundraising platform....hopefully someone else will chime in about it.
Hope this helps,
Joe
I did something like this in honor of my mom. Used a free website creator called weebly.com. Basically, weebly.com went on the end of my web address. If I wanted to drop that (it's basically their way of advertising), it cost about 40 something bucks. I just kept it cuz I wanted every dime to go to the charity.
Using that, twitter, and Facebook, I raised a decent chunk of change for The V Foundation. Chose The V Foundation because 100% of monies raised go to research. And, it was online donations, so money went straight to V Foundation and the donator could get their tax slip there. Took me out of the hassle.
Racing for a cause bigger than self is top notch.
Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
@Joe- I like the idea of folks who don't know me personally being able to donate and know the money will go to the foundation. I'm still not sold on the 3% cut. Thanks for the input!
@Chris- I like of the Jimmy V foundation. I will look into them a bit further, but if they stand up to their word, I can't think of a better place for a sports' fan memory. I am sure I will have questions along the way, so thanks in advance!
Also, as I've looked into this more, it's great to have folks donate right through your site, but how do you collect the money if you would like to donate a lump sum after the race in someone's name? Even though he just passed away, the race isn't until the end of July! How do I grab attention now, but capitalize/maintain it until then.
Did either of you blog periodically? I'm not a huge fan of that, but it may be helpful to keep things engaging.
Thanks in advance!
I ask because the person I'm donating in honor of is from the Bay Area, with all ties there and I live in Maine, so very little over lap.
I was free to fill out as much or as little as I wanted. I got support from family, friends, EN Teammates, and a couple of complete strangers. I canvassed for donations through email, Facebook, and conversations.
I hated blogging. I hated asking for money. I did it because of the cause.
This was my first attempt at this. I do think that I'll do it again someday soon. But not for another year or two, it's just that it took so much out of me, and I felt so guilty for taking so much time and effort from others.
Here's my blog. Been dormant since the event. I link the donation page several times, it'll make sense once you sniff around.
It can be done alot better, but it was OK for what I was willing to put into it. I had a hard balancing training and fundraising and blogging and......
but it's more than worth it to do something this big for a higher cause!
http://bricks4hope.weebly.com/
most people donated online. But I put signs all over my truck and kept a bucket hidden in the truck for the random $20. Then, at the end, I just added a check for all of those who donated but didn't declare.