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Do You Do Charity Rides and How To Encourage People

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Do You Do Charity Rides and How To Encourage People

Old 06-27-18, 05:17 PM
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Witterings
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Do You Do Charity Rides and How To Encourage People

I've seen a number of posts recently where people who are quite serious cyclists that say they're interested in and regularly do charity rides.

It's coincided with me chatting to one of the guys at my local LBS about more road orientated tyres for a charity ride I was interested in doing and he showed an interest and started to ask me what the ride was about as he does some charity rides as well.

Whilst it's not a charity that raises money for anything that's affected me in the past it's something I very strongly believe in as I've seen the benefits it's bought to people that really need it and how it can transform their lives and do weekend work for them on a voluntary basis.

Last year for the fund raising ride they were short of marshals ... sending out a begging e-mail for volunteers ... so went along to help.

This happened to coincided with me going from casual 12 mile round trip with the Mrs to the beach to being quite a serious hobby cyclist crunching av speed over 35 miles on a 29er (av 12.6 tonight over 20 miles on mixed terrain up from 12.3 as a personal best when they weren't holding me back ... gosh I'me becoming anal :-) )

I'd like to help them try and get local cycle clubs involved if possible .. or anybody else that's into cycling and is prepared to do it for a good cause ... why would make you take part and attract you to ride for one charity vs another assuming it's a cause you believe in and why would / might you want to get involved in the 1st place.

The rides they're doing are 29 miles for the less experienced and 52 for the more experienced with one "renowned" hill on the way and a couple of other smaller ones that aren't great .... are club riders more likely to get involved if it's more like 80/100 miles and a ***** of a course or if it's a charity event is it more about where the coffee and cake comes in .

I'd absolutely love to make this a bigger event because it has a feel good and fun factor but most importantly it doesn't happen without the riders ... what can I do to make them want to be involved and a part of it?

Any help / suggestions really would be so appreciated .. especially as it's new ground to me but I'd really like to help them so much it's not true

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Old 06-27-18, 05:21 PM
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I would gladly pay extra to ride in an organized ride with that extra money benefiting a worthwhile charity. However, I don't really have any interest in the sorts of rides that require me to get sponsors/fund raise, etc. It seems that most of the ones I have looked into recently are the latter type.
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Old 06-27-18, 06:03 PM
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I'm doing my first charity ride, a century, in August, and it's one where there's a fundraising requirement but my company is sponsoring riders so the requirements were waived.

While not having a fundraising minimum made it a lot easier to decide to jump in (I ended up easily raising over the minimum just by asking my close family), there are a few other things that helped nudge me to participate:
  • Passionate advocate within my company who publicized the event and made it seem achievable by sending informative emails and also including tips on how to engage others
  • Lots of local enthusiasm and visibility for the event -- I'd seen the set up last year and some riders during the event with their event jerseys and have lots of respect for all who did it previously
  • Clear information on the ride's web site explaining that anyone can do it (there are shorter routes and also a walk), emphasis on it not being a race, links to simple training guides, and further ways to get engaged, all helpful for someone new to charity rides
  • Easy access to start and finish line... I live close by and can get there by MUP, while there is free parking for others
  • There will be a party! With riders being allowed to bring a guest.
I'm really looking forward to my event and feel incredibly privileged to be in a sport that offers such an outlet for turning something I enjoy doing into something valuable to help others. I'm also excited from a persona achievement perspective to go for my first century. I think there's something appealing about not making things too easy for riders so they see a reason to do your ride vs. another and have that feeling of accomplishment.
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Old 06-27-18, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jfoobar
I would gladly pay extra to ride in an organized ride with that extra money benefiting a worthwhile charity. However, I don't really have any interest in the sorts of rides that require me to get sponsors/fund raise, etc. It seems that most of the ones I have looked into recently are the latter type.
REALLY interesting feedback from the 1st reply and exactly the type of response I was looking for!!

It's always been my point of embarrassment asking my friends / family / people I know to contribute time and time again ... so if you were interested in getting involved with a ride what sort of ride would it be and would you just pay a premium over and above what it'd cost if you organised it yourself if some else did all the donkey work???

Seriously appreciate your response though
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Old 06-27-18, 06:59 PM
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Originally Posted by jfoobar
I would gladly pay extra to ride in an organized ride with that extra money benefiting a worthwhile charity. However, I don't really have any interest in the sorts of rides that require me to get sponsors/fund raise, etc. It seems that most of the ones I have looked into recently are the latter type.
i feel the same way. I will pay good money to do a ride that is well planned and supported. I have done many rides that require minimum fund raising as well and they always seem less organized and more push on the funds. I think because these are not run by cyclists but rather people with a purpose. Nothing wrong with that I just won’t ride those anymore.

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Old 06-27-18, 07:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Witterings
REALLY interesting feedback from the 1st reply and exactly the type of response I was looking for!!

It's always been my point of embarrassment asking my friends / family / people I know to contribute time and time again ... so if you were interested in getting involved with a ride what sort of ride would it be and would you just pay a premium over and above what it'd cost if you organised it yourself if some else did all the donkey work???

Seriously appreciate your response though
It is a tough call for the organizers, admittedly. There are probably only so many riders they can accommodate with their relief stations, number of course volunteers, etc., and if they can fill that quota up with people who were able to fund raise $500, more power to them. I'll pay extra to skip that part, but I'm not going to pay $500 extra.
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Old 06-27-18, 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by jfoobar
I would gladly pay extra to ride in an organized ride with that extra money benefiting a worthwhile charity. However, I don't really have any interest in the sorts of rides that require me to get sponsors/fund raise, etc. It seems that most of the ones I have looked into recently are the latter type.
Yep...

The "bike-a-thon" thing might be fine for kids, but just not so appealing to many adult cyclists.

As far as costs... it is hard to say. $80 to $100 or so for a 100 mile ride might not be out of question. Any more and it is too much, and even that is pushing the costs a bit.

Perhaps say $80 registration, with 50 cents off per dollar of sponsors, so get $160+ in donations, and ride for free.

Half price for school kids < 18.
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Old 06-27-18, 07:41 PM
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I will not participate in any ride that requires fundraising. I value the relationships I have with my friends and family.

Im of the opinion if you want to donate to a charity, write a check, then go for a ride.

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Old 06-27-18, 07:47 PM
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Another "issue". We have a local-ish American Lung Association ride called "Reach the Beach".

In the 1990's, they had 4 start points. Portland, Amity (on the route), Salem, and Monroe to the south.

The Monroe start was 20 to 30 miles from my house. It made for a long ride, but I did it car-free. The ride also ended 150 miles from the start... also making it a challenge to do car-free (I carried camping gear and rode back the second day, and took some shortcuts on the way back).

Anyway, since then, the ride has contracted to drop the Monroe and Salem starts, and just does the Portland/Amity ride.

I suppose in part because I know they used to do a longer more local ride, in part because it is much harder to do the 150+ mile commute to the start point, And, of course, the sponsor thing... but I have very little interest in doing the ride.

Anyway, snubbing participants is never a good plan.

Doing multiple start points for a one-way ride can attract cyclists from different parts of the state. But, also consider return transport for one-way rides.
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Old 06-27-18, 10:36 PM
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I have worked with several rides in the Houston area, both "fundraisers" and the "pay your registration and ride". I don't really see a whole lot of difference.

The three fundraising rides all have a minimum amount required to participate. Depending on the ride (they are two day rides), this is anywhere from $150 to $400. Just look at this as the registration fee, pay it, and don't bother with fundraising. Now, of course, if you want to give the ride more than the minimum, they will be happy to take your donation. Guess what, the day rides that have the $40-$50 registration fee will also be happy to take additional donations.

Jeff
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Old 06-27-18, 11:38 PM
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Originally Posted by brianmcg123
I will not participate in any ride that requires fundraising. I value the relationships I have with my friends and family.


Im of the opinion if you want to donate to a charity, write a check, then go for a ride.


My sentiment also. Another thing I don't like about charity rides or walks, is that they seem to imply that cycling and walking are difficult, and that the participants are making some sort of sacrificeby riding a hundred or so miles or walking twenty.. For me cycling and walkingare practical ways to get from point A to point B; to touror hike; or to just ride or walk for the pleasure of it.
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Old 06-28-18, 02:55 AM
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one of the better charity rides I've done.
the recipients of the funds, do the volunteer work. water/food stations etc...

I however no longer participate in them. I rode a couple years, I did the fund raising. I stayed quiet on the difficulties of living with late stage Lyme. (Irrelevant)

something came up in conversation once, that made me cringe.....(whether they knew or didn't know my history with lyme didn't matter to me) and I was done with charity events, cancer, MS, organizations, etc.....

I know 100s of people/family that struggle with lyme. there are other local families that struggle with (whatever) also, I'd rather send one of them the $ that would have paid an entry fee to a ride, and just go ride.

the other side of this, Large group rides are counter productive to building the cyclist/ car relationships.

people need help, not organizations. do organizations help people ? sure but they also give themselves a fat paycheck out of it also.
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Old 06-28-18, 03:05 AM
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Brilliant and thank you to everyone ... that's really useful feedback and I must admit fits in with how I feel

The Mrs asked if I fancied doing the ride and my instant response was I really don't fancy the fundraising bit and asking friends for money and everything that's been said in here pretty much re-iterates the same.

If you were to enter one that was a reasonable cost, what would you want from it in terms of the ride / distance, I'm guessing a "scenic" route might help but probably not the deciding factor ... what else would you like that'd make you say I fancy doing that??
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Old 06-28-18, 04:19 AM
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I probably won't say anything that hasn't already been said in previous posts but here's my personal take:
  • I generally ride alone but I may join up to a dozen or so charity rides over the course of a year.
  • I don't join rides that have a very high fundraising minimum, that is, more than I'm willing to pay on my own.
  • I'm not comfortable asking anyone to support me in a ride by contributing to the fundraising minimum ... feels like I'd be asking others to support what, for me, is a fun day out on my bike. I suppose that could change if a particular cause or organization became especially meaningful to me but, still, asking others to contribute for my bike ride isn't something I've yet felt comfortable doing.
  • Most of the fundraising rides I do have fairly low, or even optional, fundraising requirements over and above a modest registration fee. They're often local organizations where even a few thousand dollars total raised can be a help. A couple examples are: 1) a ride that was sponsored by a bike club that contributed any profits from the ride to the local high school cross country team - so, even a few thousand dollars was a nice boost for them 2) Another ride that provided lunches to needy kids, I think primarily in their summer programs. Small town/rural area where even a few thousand dollars I expect was a big help 3) Then, and this was a bigger ride with a higher/although still modest fundraising minimum was a ride that supported the Land Trust for that area of the state ... the ride goes through a lot of the Land Trust/Open Space areas so you had a sense of the good use the money was put to.
  • Having said the above, agree with the points that, my primary goal is to contribute to an organization, I'll just write them a check.
  • When I look at options for fundraising rides, I'm thinking 1) It's an opportunity to find some new roads that I may not have stumbled on myself - I often go back and then explore other variations and loops 2) I'm motivated to do a longer ride than I might do when I'm riding by myself - all my century rides have been on charity rides 3) While I enjoy the solitude of riding by myself, I also enjoy the random encounters/social aspect from a charity ride so it's a nice change-up for me and 4) It's a good opportunity to support a good cause although, as noted, if my primary goal is to support a cause, I'll write a check directly
  • The things that make a great ride for me are 1) A great, scenic route 2) Well organized with good rest stops and 3) The 'after-ride' ... one of my favorites in this areas has great food trucks, blue-grass band and a beautiful setting.
  • Since I'm not a competitive cyclist (i.e.no racing) rider, the charity ride atmosphere works for me and I enjoy doing them
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Old 06-28-18, 04:35 AM
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I probably won't say anything that hasn't already been said in previous posts but here's my personal take:
  • I generally ride alone but I may join up to a dozen or so charity rides over the course of a year.
  • I don't join rides that have a very high fundraising minimum, that is, more than I'm willing to pay on my own.
  • I'm not comfortable asking anyone to support me in a ride by contributing to the fundraising minimum ... feels like I'd be asking others to support what, for me, is a fun day out on my bike. I suppose that could change if a particular cause or organization became especially meaningful to me but, still, asking others to contribute for my bike ride isn't something I've yet felt comfortable doing.
  • Most of the fundraising rides I do have fairly low, or even optional, fundraising requirements over and above a modest registration fee. They're often local organizations where even a few thousand dollars total raised can be a help. A couple examples are: 1) a ride that was sponsored by a bike club that contributed any profits from the ride to the local high school cross country team - so, even a few thousand dollars was a nice boost for them 2) Another ride that provided lunches to needy kids, I think primarily in their summer programs. Small town/rural area where even a few thousand dollars I expect was a big help 3) Then, and this was a bigger ride with a higher/although still modest fundraising minimum was a ride that supported the Land Trust for that area of the state ... the ride goes through a lot of the Land Trust/Open Space areas so you had a sense of the good use the money was put to.
  • Having said the above, agree with the points that, my primary goal is to contribute to an organization, I'll just write them a check.
  • When I look at options for fundraising rides, I'm thinking 1) It's an opportunity to find some new roads that I may not have stumbled on myself - I often go back and then explore other variations and loops 2) I'm motivated to do a longer ride than I might do when I'm riding by myself - all my century rides have been on charity rides 3) While I enjoy the solitude of riding by myself, I also enjoy the random encounters/social aspect from a charity ride so it's a nice change-up for me and 4) It's a good opportunity to support a good cause although, as noted, if my primary goal is to support a cause, I'll write a check directly
  • The things that make a great ride for me are 1) A great, scenic route 2) Well organized with good rest stops and 3) The 'after-ride' ... one of my favorites in this areas has great food trucks, blue-grass band and a beautiful setting.
  • Since I'm not a competitive cyclist (i.e.no racing) rider, the charity ride atmosphere works for me and I enjoy doing them
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Old 06-28-18, 06:11 AM
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I've done various charity rides, from multiday events which carried a significant ($1500) fund-raising minimum, to one-days with a $30 registration. While the long rides were unforgettable experiences, the fundraising was onerous, and not something I want to repeat. Nowadays, I just pay the registration and a bit extra if it's something I believe in, and if it's for a cause in which my work colleagues might be interested, I put up a flier in the break room, inviting them to sponsor me, but there's no hard sell or obligation, in fact no direct requests of any kind - just making them aware of the event and what it's benefiting.
My other problem with these fundraiser events is that I can't reconcile people handing over money for me to do something that I like doing anyway. I know the money's going to the charity etc, but I feel that if they're "sacrificing" in the form of payment, I should be "sacrificing" in kind. The last ride I did was a metric century+ around roads that I and my group cycle on any given weekend. To make it a bit more challenging I did it on the fixie, which was the longest I'd ever done fixed. I put up the flier, explaining what the fixed gear was etc - some of my people gave me checks, some donated online, some just stopped by my office and asked me more about cycling. Win-win all round.

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Old 06-28-18, 06:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Witterings
Brilliant and thank you to everyone ... that's really useful feedback and I must admit fits in with how I feel

The Mrs asked if I fancied doing the ride and my instant response was I really don't fancy the fundraising bit and asking friends for money and everything that's been said in here pretty much re-iterates the same.

If you were to enter one that was a reasonable cost, what would you want from it in terms of the ride / distance, I'm guessing a "scenic" route might help but probably not the deciding factor ... what else would you like that'd make you say I fancy doing that??
I like rides that have good rest stops along the way and a great dinner afterwards.
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Old 06-28-18, 06:42 AM
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I've done one charity ride ... probably won't do another. While the ride was all right, I didn't particularly like the "begging" aspect.
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Old 06-28-18, 07:12 AM
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I have done many charity rides in the past. 2009 I did the most ever but it was breaking my budget.
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Old 06-28-18, 01:17 PM
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Fundraising is NEVER required. Just pay the minimum donation requested and do the ride.
And if you can't afford it or just don't want to pay the requested minimum donation, find another charity ride.
It's not more complicated than that.
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Old 06-28-18, 01:49 PM
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Mass paid-for-rides? Sure, we do a couple of those a year.

Fundraising required rides? If it is a low enough amount I can write the check myself and not care, I'll do it.

Things that require fundraising in the couple hundred dollar range, and realistically begging others for money? No thanks.
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Old 06-28-18, 07:40 PM
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I refuse to ask others to fund my bike rides. So if the organizers can't put the ride on at a commercially-reasonable price and accept a commercially-reasonable 'profit,' then I'm not interested.
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Old 06-28-18, 07:44 PM
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The marketing for the fund-raising rides definitely promotes the "get friends to contribute" idea, I assume to build a bigger donor base for the future.

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Old 06-28-18, 08:22 PM
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prices need to be kept reasonable, but i have no issue with a"donations appreciated" line.
courses that are scenic and travel by nice natural areas and historic places are nice.
the most successful charity rides in my area tend to have 4 course options. A 10 mile or so family friendly loop. A 25 to 30 mile fairly easy loop. A moderately difficult 100k. And a full century.
I'd add that it is generally accepted to charge different rates for the different lengths because of the sag expenses.
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Old 06-28-18, 08:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Nachoman
Fundraising is NEVER required. Just pay the minimum donation requested and do the ride.
And if you can't afford it or just don't want to pay the requested minimum donation, find another charity ride.
It's not more complicated than that.

this is what I do when I do the MS rides. Just write a check. If I couldn’t afford it I shouldn’t be riding or spending money on my bike either for that matter for shiny objects that do nothing.

But as a rule I avoid these types. I have a bigger passion for the MS fight though.
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