A Bike-A-Thon Fundraiser is a great way for a non-profit group to make money. Of procedure proper planning is essential. As with practically 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 divergence between just other 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 thriving 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 beneficial information, tips and taste learned from actual trial and error.
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If this article can save you from the mistakes we have made along the way, then you are that much supplementary 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 prominent 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 tiny bureaucracy along the way. You may be required to have "event insurance" which you can collect from a local insurance broker or if you are part of a larger Non-profit Group, that might be a place to start seeing 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 in any place from a nominal filing fee of -60 or somewhere between 0 to any 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 expected costs, which may be prohibitive or you may resolve 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 invite a waiver of fees or funds from the city to pay the fees.
This is one presume you need to agenda your Bike-a-Thon fundraiser a concentrate of months ahead of time from your actual first meeting planning date; rushing your fundraiser together can originate problems down the road for your participants or riders. For instance, what if your route crosses state owned highways or uses a part of them, well, then you may be required to get a state agency of communication permit too. Also comprehend that some roads are county maintained and you know how the government works, one more level of paperwork to forge straight through for you.
Next, you will need permission from the property owner or major tenant to meet in their shopping town or commercial area that is along your route for the beginning point. They may wish certificates of insurance or supplementary insured certificates to protect themselves from injury lawsuits if man falls off their bike or gets run over in the parking lot. Getting such permission might be easy, but could also take a week or two, depending on holidays and weekends.
Planning A Bike-a-Thon Fundraiser