Anyone with experience organizing charity rides?

rawr

rawr

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I want to organize a charity ride to benefit families of people dealing with Mesothelioma (lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure). I just need a few pointers on how to go about doing so properly.

Any procedures that need to be followed? number of volunteers needed, etc.

I've never participated in a charity ride, so I'm not entirely sure how they are run.

Feel free to chime in or throw me a PM if you have any ideas.
 
rawr said:
I want to organize a charity ride to benefit families of people dealing with Mesothelioma (lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure). I just need a few pointers on how to go about doing so properly.

Any procedures that need to be followed? number of volunteers needed, etc.

I've never participated in a charity ride, so I'm not entirely sure how they are run.

Feel free to chime in or throw me a PM if you have any ideas.
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You should participate in a charity ride first and see how its organised. You then could chat to the organisers for ideas, pointers etc.
You may have to consider the following:

* what route you will ride
* the number of riders
* do you need Law Enforcement escourt
* How to sponsor someone
* How you will collect money
* will you ride rain or shine?
* media contacts for promotion and awareness..
 
might want to talk to cutekill here, she does a lot for Ride for Sight, might be able to give you a couple pointers.
 
I agree with Kiwi and would like to add a few points.
*To issue tax receipts you have to be an officially registered charity. Issuing tax receipts for peoples donations make it easier to collect donations.
*It is important to have a beneficiary in place for what you are raising the money for.
 
rawr said:
I've never participated in a charity ride, so I'm not entirely sure how they are run.
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Great idea but a big red flag here. Participate in a few and see what works and doesn't work before starting your planning. It's also a great place to meet organizers and volunteers that could help you with your ride.

I took part in the Ottawa GranFondo and although the organizer had taken part in quite a few before, he still failed huge on organization (think 3 hour registration lineups). I don't know if it can run again, or whether the horrendous organization has killed the ride.

If you really want to get started on organizing this, keep the numbers really low (ie. ~20 bikes). That eliminates most of the headaches of closing intersections, police escorts, registration etc. Obviously you won't raise as much money, but it is always better to grow the event than shoot for the moon and have it fail.
 
Thanks for the pointers. I've had a little bit of experience working with charities in the past, just not with the actual ride events. I'm aiming to do this for the spring. Still working on registering the charity.
 
GreyGhost said:
Great idea but a big red flag here. Participate in a few and see what works and doesn't work before starting your planning. It's also a great place to meet organizers and volunteers that could help you with your ride.

I took part in the Ottawa GranFondo and although the organizer had taken part in quite a few before, he still failed huge on organization (think 3 hour registration lineups). I don't know if it can run again, or whether the horrendous organization has killed the ride.

If you really want to get started on organizing this, keep the numbers really low (ie. ~20 bikes). That eliminates most of the headaches of closing intersections, police escorts, registration etc. Obviously you won't raise as much money, but it is always better to grow the event than shoot for the moon and have it fail.
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Excellent advice, thanks. Now I just need to find an event that's running between now and the end of the season...
 
Hi,

I just finished my 2nd year on a planning committee for a Mississauga based charity ride (www.ridersagainsthunger.org).

Like has been said, start small, we had 36 bikes the first year and 70 the 2nd. This was a very manageable way to learn the process. The route needs to be set with safety in mind. Because you do not know who is going to attend your ride, you have to create a route that new riders would not find difficult or unsafe.
Have a well marked route and all riders should be given a map and directions of the route. If possible have road captains lead groups out, it is much safer. Contact a local riding club (Southern Cruisers, CMC), they are usually very experienced at riding with groups, they may offer to help you out.
Statr planning the route months in advance and ride the route the weekend before your ride to confirm no last minute changes due to construction.
Set up your website so that riders can pre-register.
Make sure you get local business's to sponsor the event. Set up sponsorship levels so everyone that provides the same dollar sponsorship gets the same exposure.
Have a strong organizing committee that is prepared to meet monthly starting in Jan/Feb to plan everything and keep everything on track.
Don't plan your ride on the day of any other large or local rides (Dad Ride, Bad Ride, etc)
The list goes on.

If you want some more info or need help shoot me an email and I will help out where I can.

Good luck, rides are a lot of work, but lots of fun.
 
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