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raising funding...

Old 08-01-11, 02:03 PM
  #1  
AaronAnderson
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raising funding...

I’m planning on a long distance multi-week tour (Louisville, KY to Colorado) I may end up staying in CO. I may spend 4 weeks trekking around seeing the mountains. That’s another story for another post I’m working on.

Money is obviously something that requires serious consideration; and the more the better. Has anyone ever put together a donation/sponsorship page to ask for help either a simple web page, or from a third party paypal or fundraising specific site? I’d like to be able to approach friends, family, etc with my vision, and ask for help. Help could be a small monetary donation, equipment, a place to stay along the way…

Has anyone done something like this? Is it generally perceived by “outsiders” that this is just some sort of a vacation and I’m asking for handouts? People I’m close to realize how much of a big deal this is, a life changer! And they’ll happily supply me with some cash, etc.
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Old 08-01-11, 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by AaronAnderson
Has anyone done something like this? Is it generally perceived by “outsiders” that this is just some sort of a vacation and I’m asking for handouts? People I’m close to realize how much of a big deal this is, a life changer! And they’ll happily supply me with some cash, etc.
It's even sometimes perceived by "insiders" as being just a vacation and you are asking for handouts!
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Old 08-01-11, 02:44 PM
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It's basically asking others to pay for your fun when you ask for money.... And yes, many in here have begged and asked for donations under all kinds of pretenses by setting up websites.

Nothing wrong though with asking for a place to stay during your trip though, Couchsurfing is a website that helps with that. Nothing wrong with getting food from a pantry along the way either. The money part though, you should be responsible for that yourself in my opinion.

And you can do a 4 week tour with just a couple of 100 of dollars.
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Old 08-01-11, 04:13 PM
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Originally Posted by AaronAnderson
I’m planning on a long distance multi-week tour (Louisville, KY to Colorado) I may end up staying in CO. I may spend 4 weeks trekking around seeing the mountains. That’s another story for another post I’m working on.

Money is obviously something that requires serious consideration; and the more the better. Has anyone ever put together a donation/sponsorship page to ask for help either a simple web page, or from a third party paypal or fundraising specific site? I’d like to be able to approach friends, family, etc with my vision, and ask for help. Help could be a small monetary donation, equipment, a place to stay along the way…

Has anyone done something like this? Is it generally perceived by “outsiders” that this is just some sort of a vacation and I’m asking for handouts? People I’m close to realize how much of a big deal this is, a life changer! And they’ll happily supply me with some cash, etc.
I don't see a word in there about all the funds you raise going directly to a particular charity. Some charities will allow you to put a link on your website so that when someone clicks the link they can donate directly to the charity ... the money would never go to you, you would not be responsible for the money. If that's what you have in mind ... go for it!!


If, however, you're thinking of raising money for yourself, yes indeed, that is perceived as trying to get someone else to pay for your vacation. Hey Rowan and I are going to Canada shortly for several weeks ... would you like to give us a couple thousand so we can have a really enjoyable vacation???

From what you've written, you're only going for 4 weeks. That's not very long and shouldn't require a huge amount of money. Do what many of my Canadian coworkers used to do (and presumably still do) ... get a part-time job, in addition to your full-time job, and save the money from the part-time job for your vacation. In the case of my coworkers, they saved money for a couple weeks in Hawaii, Mexico, Cuba, etc. in January or February. And it was a good system ... work a little bit harder for a few months, and then get away from the snow and cold and enjoy themselves for a couple weeks.

Now is a good time to start looking around for Christmas work. You probably won't get hired until mid-Sept or so, but it never hurts to get some applications into your local shopping centres soon. If you work till about mid-January, that's 4 months of part-time work and should pay for your 4 week holiday, and then some.

Last edited by Machka; 08-01-11 at 09:19 PM.
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Old 08-01-11, 04:18 PM
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Old 08-01-11, 04:51 PM
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I don't think it's really appropriate to ask friends and family to fund your personal holidays but if you've talked them into then so be it... I think it's tacky myself, since you asked. Unless you're gonna be feeding the needy or something along the way I don't think a bike tour is anything but a holiday.
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Old 08-01-11, 04:51 PM
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Originally Posted by AaronAnderson
I’d like to be able to approach friends, family, etc with my vision, and ask for help.
What is your vision? If all it is is travelling from KY to CO and then bumming around once you get there that does not seem compelling enough to attract any kind of sponsorship. Perhaps if you were riding through the Wyoming dessert with 100 lbs of gear . . . (nah, that is not that compelling either).

You don't say how old you are. I think there is a big difference asking friends and family for help if you are 20 versus 40. At 20 perhaps you can spin this as a learning experience of some sort and generate interest that way. On the other hand, if you're 40 most people would expect you to be able to finance this on your own, or not go.

Paul
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Old 08-01-11, 08:49 PM
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I think I would be put off if a friend or family member asked me to donate to their tour.

Now, if you were riding to fight hunger, raise awareness for homeless pets, or building a business of some sort along the way where their donation turns into an investment... well, that's different.
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Old 08-01-11, 09:02 PM
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I think you are getting something of the usual response here, and while I may have missed something, I think this idea is different in that he isn't actually talking about using a charity as a front (did mention a charity type software), and then funding a trip with some small part, a question that comes up regularly. To me this is more has anyone used social media to create something like a bridal registry for their trip. While I haven't heard about that, I don't see why it would be wrong in some settings: I got nothing when I got married, but some lower status friends of different backgrounds got house downpayment sized cumulative donations because that was their culture.

I do think a tour can be life changing to some extent, but selling that to friends requires you to hook up with some rather weak people, or people like moms who have a compelling reason to hope for some change. Why isn't it life changing to pay your own way as part of this. I am sure you could.

If you want to live and adventurous life, you have to have a way of paying for it. If you set it up so it only works as an exception to some rule, a life changing event as you put it, then you are probably going to have limited chances to get out there.

Last edited by MassiveD; 08-01-11 at 09:05 PM.
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Old 08-01-11, 09:57 PM
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Yet another member of the "you're asking people to donate to your vacation" camp.

If you were doing something a bit unusual and are actually capable of getting media attention, then requesting donations for a charity makes sense.

Otherwise, I really don't see what is so unique or special about bicycle touring that licenses people to ask for donations.
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Old 08-02-11, 01:42 AM
  #11  
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Do what the rest of us do. Work and save.
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Old 08-02-11, 02:23 AM
  #12  
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I don't see a problem with setting a website and put adverts or a donation link. Blogs and websites are media after all. One big problem is when people pretend to raise money for a cause and keep part or all the money for themselves. Another problem is promoting your website. If you drop links all over the place without contributing, it'll be seen as spam. Yet another problem for a 4 week trip is that your tour will be over before anyone even knows about your site and you won't make a dime. It's much more efficient to save money with a "normal" job.
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Old 08-02-11, 03:30 AM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by Rowan
Do what the rest of us do. Work and save.
I find if you are really hungry for a big trip/tour nothing will stop you on the amount of paid jobs one can take on in funding it yourself , and once you have the funds for your trip you will not be dictated buy anyone but you and the satisfaction of going at it alone.
MOST people that do the hard yards on charity also put a lot of ther own time and money into there quest due to them being a believer of the cause, so dont assume that those who have do it because there
tight fisted.
Once your on the road you will be surprised at how little money you will use.
But in saying that if you decide to do it for a charity, do it right and actually make them some money and actually donate it in person, it will be quicker to fund it yourself so get moving.
I think Rowan nailed it on the head in the above comment.

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Old 08-02-11, 05:32 AM
  #14  
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Originally Posted by AaronAnderson
...Is it generally perceived... that this is just some sort of a vacation and I’m asking for handouts?...
Yes.

Originally Posted by AaronAnderson
...People I’m close to realize how much of a big deal this is, a life changer!...
Circumstances which might change some peoples mind:

Is this perhaps a "make a wish" type of trip (ie end of life)?

Is this trip perhaps overcoming some type of physical or mental disability?
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Old 08-02-11, 08:38 AM
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+1 on just about every response, especially the work and save advice.

BTW...How do you know it will change your life? And if it doesn't, do those who give you money get a refund? Personally, it would be more fullfilling if I were to raise the money myself.

Finally, I have to wonder about this "the more the better." Do you have some money already and are simply looking for more to make the trip as posh as possible or looking for donations so you don't have to dip into your personal funds?
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Old 08-02-11, 08:43 AM
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Nevermind. Sorry to bother everyone.
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Old 08-02-11, 08:46 AM
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Originally Posted by MassiveD
I think you are getting something of the usual response here, and while I may have missed something, I think this idea is different in that he isn't actually talking about using a charity as a front (did mention a charity type software), and then funding a trip with some small part, a question that comes up regularly. To me this is more has anyone used social media to create something like a bridal registry for their trip. While I haven't heard about that, I don't see why it would be wrong in some settings: I got nothing when I got married, but some lower status friends of different backgrounds got house downpayment sized cumulative donations because that was their culture.

I do think a tour can be life changing to some extent, but selling that to friends requires you to hook up with some rather weak people, or people like moms who have a compelling reason to hope for some change. Why isn't it life changing to pay your own way as part of this. I am sure you could.

If you want to live and adventurous life, you have to have a way of paying for it. If you set it up so it only works as an exception to some rule, a life changing event as you put it, then you are probably going to have limited chances to get out there.
I'm not commenting on the ethics of doing this for a bike tour, but at least one online bank - Smartypig.com - allows you to set up accounts with dollar goals and lets you accept money from third parties.
 
Old 08-02-11, 08:48 AM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by AaronAnderson
I’m planning on a long distance multi-week tour (Louisville, KY to Colorado) I may end up staying in CO. I may spend 4 weeks trekking around seeing the mountains. That’s another story for another post I’m working on.

Money is obviously something that requires serious consideration; and the more the better. Has anyone ever put together a donation/sponsorship page to ask for help either a simple web page, or from a third party paypal or fundraising specific site? I’d like to be able to approach friends, family, etc with my vision, and ask for help. Help could be a small monetary donation, equipment, a place to stay along the way…

Has anyone done something like this? Is it generally perceived by “outsiders” that this is just some sort of a vacation and I’m asking for handouts? People I’m close to realize how much of a big deal this is, a life changer! And they’ll happily supply me with some cash, etc.
If you are approaching friends and family, no big deal. Going "public" to a wider audience looks like cyberbegging.
 
Old 08-02-11, 10:00 AM
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The one part of your post that I might do is "the places to stay" part. We did have family and friends put us up. We also had friends or family arrange for someone they knew or were related to put us up. Asking for money is a no no to my way of thinking unless it is going to a charity and even then I find it questionable.

Check out warmshowers.org and couchsurfing.org for hosts. Also we managed to camp for free much of the time in that part of the country, definitely better than half of the time. In towns big enough to have police I asked them first, but in small towns I often camped in the picnic areas of the town park. If that seemed iffy for some reason I asked around and sometimes wound up being offered a different place to camp like at a church or in someone's yard. When in doubt I tried to set up my tent in plain sight early enough that I would know early on if I was going to be kicked out (never have been though).

Other places to ask if they know where you can pitch a tent for the night are firehouses, the general store or minimart, the public library, the wait staff in the diner or just about anyone you meet. This seems to work best in very small and relatively remote rural towns, but I have had some luck camping in a larger city park as well where we asked the park manager in a large-ish city park and he let the police know we were OK to be there and arranged it so we could use the pool and showers.

If we pay to stay, we usually explain that were are on a tour from ____ to ____ (I think the longer the tour the better your chances) and ask if they have a cyclists discount. Often that resulted in some kind of price break. Barring that, if you qualify for a AAA or AARP discount most places offer some kind of price break.
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Old 08-02-11, 10:13 AM
  #20  
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Sta, great suggestions on how to reduce one of the biggest daily expenses. The list of places to lay your head for a night expands if you reduce your footprint. Iron Butt Motorcyclist sleep in parking lots next to their bikes in rest areas and restaurants. Rest area picnic tables make a great bed. Not that you want to do this every night, but it can work. Don't put up the tent, or set up camp. Just lay down and sleep.

Still, even if you cut down the camping expense there is no getting around the cost for food and water. Fuel costs are not a place to scimp. That alone could cost almost $1000 for a month on the road. Not a problem for most of us who are older and established. It's deal breaker for those without assets or a job.
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Old 08-02-11, 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by tom cotter
Still, even if you cut down the camping expense there is no getting around the cost for food and water. Fuel costs are not a place to scimp. That alone could cost almost $1000 for a month on the road. Not a problem for most of us who are older and established. It's deal breaker for those without assets or a job.
I guess it depends on the individual, the location, and the nature of the trip, but I don't think I have averaged quite that much for food and lodging combined even when I got a room once in a while and ate quite a few restaurant meals. I'd say that you would have to eat pretty high on the hog to spend $1000 a month on food while on tour in Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado.

I also figure that I have to eat whether on tour or not. I might eat a quite a bit more when on tour, but do not tend to spend as much more as you might think.

You included water as well... I have found that we needed to buy water pretty seldom in most of the US with only a few place we did not find the available tap water palatable.

Then there is the stuff I am not spending on while on tour... Gasoline is the big one that comes to mind. I think that in some cases I actually spend less on tour than when at home due in large part to the fact that I am not putting gas in my car.
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Old 08-02-11, 01:00 PM
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For reference; I really didn't plan on begging for money on the internet to complete strangers. That's silly. I have reasons other than "it'll be fun" - they just aren't public...
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Old 08-02-11, 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by AaronAnderson
For reference; I really didn't plan on begging for money on the internet to complete strangers. That's silly. I have reasons other than "it'll be fun" - they just aren't public...
We get lots of people coming here who do ask for advice on begging. (Look up "Biking for Obama" in the archives, for instance.) I'm sorry if I misread your intentions.
 
Old 08-02-11, 01:14 PM
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It's cool. No problems.
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Old 08-02-11, 02:34 PM
  #25  
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Now if you are well prepared for something spectacular ,
like trying to shorten the circum-global cycling time record,
and can come up with a resume ..
and such demonstrating the preparation and prior triumphs in endurance racing,

then you may be able to benefit some other organizations, thru pledges
to be sent directly, to the charity.
and garner equipment sponsorships from the manufacturers ..

Louisville, KY to Colorado, is just not that level of challenge..
though there is some altitude gain even before you get to the Rockies .
it is upstream ..

Last edited by fietsbob; 08-02-11 at 02:37 PM.
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