FUNds4Paws reached out to let us know that for 2020 their event will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2020! You can get more details here.
This is one fantastic fundraiser that can be great for any organization, but in this case study the fundraiser was held for an animal rescue.
And for those that are not athletic – no worries, no athletes are needed for this fun take on a traditional triathlon event!
When it is cold and rainy or snowy – this is a fundraiser that will bring people out for a day of networking and give them something super fun to do on an otherwise boring day.
This year the Funspot Indoor Triathlon celebrated its 15th year of raising money for various animal rescues and shelters in their local community. This year it was organized by a new group called FUNds 4 Paws which works to help animals in need throughout New Hampshire.
How The Triathlon Works
The event works on a team basis and one person will register their 4 person team and can create a fundraising page where they can send supporters to donate. They had a team entry fee of $200.
All team members that are registered received a t-shirt and free pizza lunch.
The teams then compete in a variety of activities such as:
- Mini-golf
- Candlepin bowling
- Skee-ball
- Pinball
- ….and more!
Each team will earn points for the various activities they participate in as well as points for the amount of funds they raise.
The points were used to give away trophies and prizes at the end of the competition. One of the prizes even included a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas or Caribbean!
Who Gets The Money That Is Raised
For the first 14 years of this event the funds raised all went to the New Hampshire Humane Society, but this year they changed it up a bit and decided to donate it to a variety of organizations including:
- Live and Let Live Farm
- Friends of the Feral Cats
- Franklin Animal Hospital
- Rozzie Mae Animal Alliance
How Much Was Raised?
The 2019 event raised $57,000!
This was $7,000 more than the previous record that was raised in 2017. Having multiple rescues involved may have been part of that increase since there was more awareness for the event overall than just one rescue or shelter could achieve.
How Can Your Rescue Do This?
It may sound like a lot of work, but you can see the reward is well worth it. The work you put in is not all that much anyway – and should be a fun experience!
If you are a rescue that wants to go it alone – or find people to join in (which we recommend) – here are some tips to help you get going.
- Reach out to local fun places that are near you that have a variety of games. We have something called iPlay local to us that would be perfect for this! Understand you may need to be flexible with dates and times with these types of organizations since they do not want to lose revenue by holding your event at peak time. See if you can get them to donate 3 hours for your event – or at least give you a reduced rate to have a private event.
- Set the date and time!
- Reach out to local businesses that would be interested in sponsoring the event. Maybe they can host a free lunch for the event – or offer to sponsor some prizes. In the above event they had a 5 day cruise as a grand prize – do you know a local travel agent that can use some extra marketing or exposure?
- See if you can get a local radio station to join in to do some on-air coverage.
- Send press releases to local newspapers.
- Create online registration for teams and set a registration fee for the teams. Make sure they can promote their pages and earn additional donations by sharing with friends and family.
- Do a 50/50 raffle at the event.
Final Thoughts
We are big fans of these types of fundraisers because not only do they raise a good amount of donations, but they build a community! Everyone getting together to help your rescue and the animals in your care solidifies relationships which is EVERYTHING in animal rescue!
Have you done a similar event? Tell us about it so we can share your results with our readers to help inspire them!
