Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Fundraising ideas?

I just signed up for the BikeMS 150 The Citrus Tour 2009 in Central Florida on May 16 & 17....I am looking for ideas to raise money, besides the normal send emails to everyone you know and hope they throw you a bone. What are some things you guys have tried and what things have worked....Also, anyone else going to ride in The Citrus Tour ride? Thanks for any help you can provide........

I just signed up for the BikeMS 150 The Citrus Tour 2009 in Central Florida on May 16 & 17....I am looking for ideas to raise money, besides the normal send emails to everyone you know and hope they throw you a bone. What are some things you guys have tried and what things have worked....Also, anyone else going to ride in The Citrus Tour ride? Thanks for any help you can provide........

Donate to yourself a dollar for every pound you lose.

Have a garage sale, or sell stuff on ebay and craigslist.

Hey, i'm riding in the BP MS150 from Houston to Austin. My friend held a poker tourney with some friends. Buy in was $20 or so and a condition was that half of the proceeds went to fundraising. Hey, and if you win then you can donate it all.

Personally, I sent out messages to my MBA alumni association and was very surprised at the support I got from total strangers.

Add a link in your signature line for your Bike Forums posts.

Collect cans and recycle them.
Do some work on the side.
Set up a box of candy bars at work for $1.00 each.

Some restaurants will donate a percentage of their sales to your cause if you bring enough people in to dine there. You just have to tell your friends and family members to mention that it's part of your charity collection, etc.

Have a bake sale at work, make some brownies, sell em for a dollar a piece. If people know it is for a good cause they dont' mind donating. Print out a receitp online and bring it to work with a thank you card.

Flip old bikes for profit. Search your local craigslist 3-5 times per day for used bikes. Also try going to garage sales and thrift shops. If you watch Craigslist enough you should get an idea of what the going rate is for used bikes in your market. Purchase older bikes that are undervalued, fix them up and sell them for profit. 70s and 80s steel road bikes tend to be the best bikes in my market. In the process of doing this you will learn more about maintaining your own bikes and you'll also find a few gems here and there that are worth keeping. You'll have to purchase some tools, but you can start slow and just use a portion of your profit to pick up the essentials. There are some tricks you can use to limit your upgrade costs. WalMart sells ultra-cheap brake cables. Hockey tape works nearly as well as bar tape at one-tenth the cost.

Get some informational literature, and old card table, and donation jar. Set up your bike and trainer outside a grocery store, w***art, etc (with manager's permission). Hop on & pedal. Minimal cost to you and you'll be drawing attention to yourself, the cause, and getting in a good workout.

Or how about this one: set up a table as Bone Head noted, ask people if they would consider donating their old worn out bicycles to the cause. You offer to fix it up and help them sell it on craigslist, with 100% of the proceeds going to the fundraiser. They get a tax deduction that in many cases will be worth more to people than an old clunker in the garage.

Oh, and if you really want to get their attention, do it on rollers rather than a trainer. Also, rather than Wal----, you might consider something slightly more upscale where the patrons tend to have more disposable income.

I know someone who used the method of his training and had people donate money per mile. He notified people each week of his progress and had the Garmin data as back up if some questioned it. 1 person donated 5 cents per mile, and he trained a lot, so they just gave him a check for $150 after a while and called it a day. He collected quite a bit of money.

If you work, talk to your employer. Some employers will allow you to do fund raising things through them.

A few examples are:
A chili cookoff
Wear jeans to work for a month. $5/week (or a week, $1/day)
bake sale
raffle-if you an get enough participation, this one can be great. Use part of the proceeds to buy giftcards to give as prizes. You can also talk to businesses...they will sometimes donate giftcards.

Talk to the local MS chapter (Mid-Florida: 407-478-8880), they might can give you some tips for what works in the area. They can also give you propaganda that helps to legitimatize you to businesses if you approach them.

Or how about this one: set up a table as Bone Head noted, ask people if they would consider donating their old worn out bicycles to the cause. You offer to fix it up and help them sell it on craigslist, with 100% of the proceeds going to the fundraiser. They get a tax deduction that in many cases will be worth more to people than an old clunker in the garage.

Oh, and if you really want to get their attention, do it on rollers rather than a trainer. Also, rather than Wal----, you might consider something slightly more upscale where the patrons tend to have more disposable income.

The most generous people I've met have tended to be those with less 'disposable' income. The better off often are loathe to dispose of their income on anything but themselves.

Roller rally:

My Tour de Cure team sets up outside the grocery store for a few hours and team members rotate turns on the rollers/trainer. We brought in over $300 for only 4 hours "work" last year.

I just donate the money myself and write it off... I always also do some low key fund raising, but the bulk of the contribution for amy ride I do is my own.

Roller rally:

My Tour de Cure team sets up outside the grocery store for a few hours and team members rotate turns on the rollers/trainer. We brought in over $300 for only 4 hours "work" last year.

Hey, I like this idea! I'll try it out once the weather warms up a bit and my butt heals.:D

these are all great ideas....Thanks for your help