botto 

keep your day job, you suck as a comedian.

Phil85207

Some interesting stuff here. I did the 109 mile Tour De Tucson last year for MS. It was my first charity ride and I enjoyed it a lot, although I had a time raising the money. I didn't reach my goal but did raise 700 smackers for them.
I would like to do it again but the hassle of raising the dough kinda got to me.
Then there is the travel, motel and eating out bills too.
I got some good ideas here and may try it again this year.

Barese Rider

I do one MS charity ride per year where I "fund raise". I also do Cancer ride where I ride with my niece where I just pay the minimum myself and leave it at that. I do the first because my wife has MS and therefore have some connection to the cause. As such its very easy for me to raise money. I do the 100 because if you tell people my wife has MS and Im doing a 100 MIle Charity ride to raise money for MS victims and research more than half the people I ask give me $100. They equate riding 100 miles with a trans continental ride and cant believe anyone but a truly commited nut would do such a thing. I just smile and dont tell them any different.

So my advice would be do the at the least the 100 and tell people that.

tuxbailey

True, for most, riding a century is like going to the moon

deep_sky

Yep, I get people who think that 10 flat miles is a mult-hour expedition. Tell 'em I am doing a 100k (and they have to ask how many miles is that), and they look at me like I just proposed walking to Alaska from California.

thesmoothdome

I started riding last November, signed up for the Tour de Cure century in December and as uncomfortable as it was, hit friends and family up for donations after kicking in $100.00 of my own. Being the spouse of a Type 1 diabetic, it seemed like a great cause to get behind and many of my friends came through, donating more than $1700.00. At first glance, they thought I was nuts. 100 miles in a day seems like an insurmountable goal, but I think most of us on the forum know differently though.

Some tips I can share:

1) Get behind a charity that you believe in and share your knowledge of it with potential donors.
2) Challenge yourself. This is what keeps the interest up. This year it was actually surviving my first century. Next year, since everyone knows that surviving isn't that big of a deal anymore, it might be breaking 6 hours or riding a more challenging century. Regardless, it's up to the fundraiser to create the excitement about the ride.
3) Don't be a pest, but send training updates every 3-4 weeks to keep interest up. Many people plan on donating as the event gets closer, but being busy it's not at the front of their minds. I would detail my successes and failures during training. Success and failure don't matter during training. Sharing the proper amount of suffering does though. Donors love the fact that you're suffering and what you're doing is going to test you physically and mentally.
4) Have fun with it. People will ask about your training/fundraising. Always stay positive and let them know how much fun it really is.

Oh..1 more thing. Don't share how much money individuals have donated. People tend to give what everyone else is giving. If what they see is too high, it scares folks off. If it's low, that's what they'll give. Leave it to them to decide what it an appropriate donation.

Nachoman

Exactly!

Tsuru

huh?

Uh... okay? Not sure where that came from, but...

botto 

Tsuru

Look, botto.... I have no idea what you're getting at, why you are coming after me, or, more importantly, why you are trolling this thread. I'm literally heading out to a charity ride right now, so you can sit here and knock me or this thread all day long, I don't care, I've got a ride to go do.

Cheers,
Aaron

botto 

get over yourself.

patentcad

Your predilection for bickering with Fred buffoons is unfathomable.

chasmm

+1 to everything that thesmoothdome said. As you can see by my sig, I"m also doing a Tour de Cure ride. It was/is my return to cycling after a 15+ year absence. Just to add/expound on some of the points:

- If you have a personal attachment to the ride, let people know. I'm a Type2 diabetic, what's why I'm riding the Tour de Cure
- Use the tools provided, if any, by the ride organization. Tour de Cure, for example, provides a basic user updateable webpage, e-mail tools, sample fundraising/thank-you e-mails, Facebook app, etc. USE ALL OF THEM.
- Keep in touch with your donors and potential donors. Most people have good intentions and plan to donate. A lot of them forget. I started doing a weekly blog about my training and everything associated with it. Some weeks the blog is okay, some it's good, and some...well Faulkner it ain't. The point is that I have a reason to remind people about what I'm doing. Each week when the blog is posted, I send an update e-mail out to my donors/potential donors to let them know about it. I also post a Facebook status update. On most of the weeks, the "blog update e-mail" will generate another one or two donations. As I get closer to my event (June 12th) I'm also starting to get some repeat donors...mostly because they say they've been impressed with my dedication to the event....
- Thank your donors individually. Use the e-mail tools provided but don't forget to personalize everything. Make people feel that you really appreciate their support, and they'll be more likely to tell others and maybe support you next year.
- Publicize...as a Tour de Cure rider with diabetes, I'm considered a "Red Rider". If we meet our fundraising miniums (for me $150), then we're eligible to get a special jersey. Once I hit my minimum, I asked my local and national organization if they had any "extra" Red Rider jerseys from last year. They did, and I've used it on most of my club rides. That's resulted in additional donations as people ask about it. Ask the organization if they have any t-shirts from the previous years. If you can get one, wear it to cycling club meetings or wherever...
- And as written earlier, let people know about your successes and failures during training. Both will encourage them to donate. People (for the most part) want to support the EVERYMAN and you're giving them a chance to do it vicariously

Good luck...and I for one would appreciate any tips you might have as you work for your event.

Charles

Tulex

That's funny, coming from you.

botto 

Tulex

Looks like you finally got around to watching that video you posted.....

StephenH

I like the "charity rides" where you pay your $30 or $40 and go ride. You don't have to hound anyone for anything, it doesn't take a month of planning, just show up and go. I have fun, the organization makes some money, and all is good.

Aero Sapien

I actually will be riding the Tour de Tucson, and that is the charity ride I am attempting to raise money for. I have done charity rides before hand where I have just paid the fees out of pocket.

Tour de Tucson has a "Ride for a Child" charity where riders can raise money to support Tu Nudito, a local organization that helps children and young adults deal with grief of having a parent who has a terminal disease or has passed away. I feel like this is a great cause as I had a similar experience when I was a kid. Unfortunately, the minimum is $500 and I am a really poor undergrad about to head into grad school.

I've taken into consideration what many of you have said and I am sort of afraid to ask any of my friends or extended family because I don't want to seem like I am nagging on them, and honestly I don't want to feel indebted to them . I would ask my employer to match my donations, but my employer happens to be a university lab that I've done research for 3 years now, and I don't want to ask them to sacrifice grant money on me as grants are hard to come by (especially with federal dollars seeming to dry up to go towards other programs).

Well I guess I'll sit on this one for a while and try to think of something else. Worst comes to worst I'll just go with the minimum contribution for the event and ride for Tu Nudito another year

Sourpuss Magee

The fund raising requirements for the Pan Mass Challenge are criminal. They force you to raise $4k, but you only ride across about 40% of the state. I'd like to know how many people just pay it out of their pocket.

BostonBullit

they're going to have to adjust it....they got away with it during the boom times but this year they where sending out "tell your friends to register today, routes close at 5pm sat!!" e-mails all last week. with how my fundraising's been going I suspect I'll be writing a good sized check come August . at least my wifes employer matches up to like $1000 so that'll help, but it's interesting to run down the list you made at the beginning of the fundraising and see who you where sure would kick in a few bucks and who actually did; can be a bit suprising.