I’ve had a few people inquire as to how we run our fundraisers so I thought this could be a beneficial post for people who are looking to help raise funds for worthy causes.
We've hosted 3 fundraisers a year for the last couple of years at Orlando Barbell:
In March or April we run the Andy Blackton Memorial Strength Challenge in memory of one of our Orlando Barbell friend and member who we lost in 2016. ½ of the funds raised go to the National Association for the Deaf and the other ½ go to the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.
In August we host the Lifting CECO Superheroes where women deadlift their bodyweight for reps and men deadlift 1.5xs their bodyweight for reps where the funds raised go to the Conductive Education Center of Orlando. CECO serves individuals who are diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Parkinson's and other neurological motor disabilities. They see all ages from babies to seniors.
In January we host the Deadlifting for Doggies which is a no holds barred non-sanctioned 1 rep max deadlift contest fundraiser. Last year we had the donations go to Journey’s End Animal Sanctuary. This year we decided to have the proceeds go to Sniffing Snouts Pit Bull Rescue.
Here’s how we run ours:
-Contact the charity that you’re interested in contributing to in order to tell them of your plans.
-I know that it’s possible to set up fundraisers on Facebook, but I’ve never done that and am honestly not sure how to, but imagine it wouldn’t be that difficult.
-You’ll need a Paypal account if you don’t already have one.
-You’ll need a webpage and/or FB page for people to learn about the event, sign up, and donate. I have a friend who is a designer who sets up the webpage for us (thanks Jason). Here’s our latest page for the Deadlifting for Doggies: : http://orlandobarbell.com/deadlifting-for-doggies/
-We charge a minimum $25 donation for people to compete, but people can donate as much as they like or donate without competing.
-We don’t charge a spectator fee.
-I have everyone sign a liability waiver. Although I would hope this would never be an issue, especially for a fundraiser, it’s better off being safe.
-Once the competition is over I transfer the donations to my business bank account then donate through the website of the charity for the event.
-My wife, Trinity, and I are used to hosting meets (we’ve hosted over 30 over the last 15 years so that part is second nature to us).
-This past event was run with three attempts just like a deadlift only meet with exception of allowing straps.
-The fundraisers aren’t sanctioned so that the competitors won’t have to pay additional fees and the judging for events can be a little more relaxed and fun.
I hope this helps some of you who may be considering running a fundraiser. Let me know if you have any questions that I can help you out with!