Planning A Bike-a-Thon Fundraiser
A Bike-A-Thon Fundraiser is a great way for a non-profit group to make money. Of course proper planning is essential. As with almost anything, the amount of preparation you do will be in direct proportion to the success of your Bike-a-Thon fundraiser.
Pre-planning preparation is the key difference between just another fundraiser bike event and an unforgettable experience, which will be remembered all year until next year's annual Bike-a-Thon Fundraiser. Let's face it raising money for your non-profit group is not easy and planning a successful fundraiser is a lot of work with no guarantees. Our mission of course, is to take as much of the guessing out of the equation as possible, giving you useful information, tips and experience learned from actual trial and error.
If this article can save you from the mistakes we have made along the way, then you are that much further ahead. Although a Bike-a-Thon is one of the easiest fundraisers, probably about as much work as putting together a car wash fundraiser or silent auction, it still has its idiosyncrasies and important details to consider.
One issue you will most likely have to deal with is getting a city permit to host your fundraiser event. Generally, these permits are not that difficult to get, but do not be surprised to find yourself battling a little bureaucracy along the way. You may be required to have "event insurance" which you can obtain from a local insurance broker or if you are part of a larger Non-profit Group, that might be a place to start looking for insurance resources. How much are event permits at the municipal level?
Well, your city may have waivers for non-profit groups, so be sure to ask, some cities do. Most do not, so you can expect your permit to be anywhere from a nominal filing fee of $30-60 or somewhere between $100 to several hundred dollars depending on which city departments have to sign off on it.
If your event will have over 100 riders or up into the thousands of riders, you may be required to close off roads, pay for off-duty traffic police, a cone-service and all sorts of other anticipated costs, which may be prohibitive or you may decide it's worth it, but this also adds to the size and complexity of your fundraiser planning. If things get too out of control, you may want to put yourself on the City Council Calendar to request a waiver of fees or funds from the city to pay the fees.
This is one reason you need to schedule your Bike-a-Thon fundraiser a couple of months ahead of time from your actual first meeting planning date; rushing your fundraiser together can create problems down the road for your participants or riders. For instance, what if your route crosses state owned highways or uses a portion of them, well, then you may be required to get a state Department of Transportation permit too. Also realize that some roads are county maintained and you know how the government works, one more level of paperwork to forge through for you.
Next, you will need permission from the property owner or major tenant to meet in their shopping center or industrial area that is along your route for the starting point. They may require certificates of insurance or additional insured certificates to protect themselves from injury lawsuits if someone falls off their bike or gets run over in the parking auto accident attorneys Indiana Getting such permission might be easy, but could also take a week or two, depending on holidays and weekends.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio
