I know someone who did this and didn't raise the money. No he wasn't on the hook for the money, but I don't think they let him race, either. You should not do this option if you think you cannot raise the money. That actually makes no sense at all.

I haven't pulled the trigger and provided my credit card info just yet. I've never tried fundraising of this fashion, so I wanted to hear other's experiences before committing. I certainly don't want to overestimate my friends, family, co-workers, and local businesses generosity lol.

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"I drank what?!?!" - Socrates
Poor Swimmer. Weak Cyclist. Slow Runner.
TriDot Ambassador / Sacramento Triathlon Club

First, I applaud you for looking to fundraise with a group as part of your endurance event! There are few things more rewarding that seeing the impact that can and has been made by endurance athletes over the past couple of decades.


If you have never tried fundraising then this may be a big ask for you if you plan on doing this on your own as IMF is pretty self-directed and not specific to a cause. Groups like Team In Training (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society), Smile Train, CAF, Team Challenge (Chron's and Colitis), St. Judes, etc. may be a better option if you want to get some support from a professional fundraising organization with staff and volunteers that have supported participants for many years and many events. IMF does do great outreach in communities, think supports efforts like Women In Tri, etc. so the number one most important thing you need to consider is the "why." If you can't tell the why story in a personal manner and the impact that the donations will have that mean something to you and the people you are helping, then fundraising is very difficult.

Good luck!

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I miss you "Sports Night"

Not directly IMF related, but my wife has done several races with Lazarex Cancer Foundation. The first was to gain entry into a sold out event. We didn't hit the target, and we owed the difference.

However, during that race and the events around the race (team dinners, meet ups, etc.) we really got engaged with the charity. The next year, my wife wanted to run Marine Corps Marathon. We got a bib, but she still wanted to fundraise with Lazarex. But this time, we did have the passion for the cause and it showed, the target # was 3x the first race we did, and we smashed it. Key was to get creative, not just hand out ask for money. We did a few charity auction type events, and held a cornhole tournament at a local bar with door prizes that we procured from our network (signed Hurricanes hockey stick, local university sports memorabilia, free bar tabs, massages). That did it, we got $50/ team entry fee and only paid out 1/2 of the pot to the winner, plus entry into the door prize drawings.

Ended up, Lazarex didn't get the memo we already had a bib and we ended up with 2 for my wife. Deferred one and I used it the next year.

My wife and I have a fair bit of experience with both IMF's Your Journey, Your Cause program and Team IMF.

What you'll generally find is that the first $2,000 is easy enough to do through asking/begging/pleading within your network. The next $1,500 is going to require some creativity, whether through some events (we did a fundraising event at a local brewery) or another method.

Also be sure to take advantage of employer match programs, although you may need to follow-up in order to be sure that you are credited with the donation.

Good luck!

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Thank you, and others who have replied so far. I plan to do Ironman Santa Rosa, so I would Team IMF fund raise for Northern California wildfire victims. I have family and friends who were affected by these fires, and one of my kids goes to Sonoma State University, so my "why" is my strong connection to the communities affected.

I love (and appreciate) the fundraising ideas regarding the cornhole tourney, door prizes, and silent auction. Any additional ideas would be awesome!

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"I drank what?!?!" - Socrates
Poor Swimmer. Weak Cyclist. Slow Runner.
TriDot Ambassador / Sacramento Triathlon Club