This past Sunday I watched a few of my kickball teammates run Tough Mudder in Somerset, Wisconsin. The previous link shows Kare 11's coverage of the event. At the end of Kare 11's video the anchorwoman says that Tough Mudder has donated over three million dollars that it has earned to the Wounded Warrior Project. This is a great example of how causes and organizations give back to the community.
I run a lot of 5Ks, 10Ks and other races, and sign up for them because I love running and know my money is going towards a charitable cause or organization. This got me thinking about Chapter 7, page 131 in Mainwaring where he talks about cause marketing and consumers wanting companies to give them an opportunity to buy products that support causes, that they want companies to tell them how to support causes, etc.. I don't know if you would consider races to be products, but you get what I'm saying.
This also got me thinking about donating and the different ways people can donate. Some people like to stay anonymous, but others like to get involved and be a part of something bigger than just writing out a check and sending it to an organization. In my case, I would be more likely to donate to a cause or an organization if it gave me the opportunity to do something fun, especially something fun that I love.
I spent some time on google and looked up some other fun ways that people have gotten together to donate, such as Bowling for a Cause and Golfing for a Good Cause. I've basically found that any sport or hobby can be used to raise money for a good cause.
I challenge you to think about something you love, and determine if you'd be able to make a charitable event out of it.
I agree that this is a great way to get people to contribute. I've participated in several horse shows that donate all the profits to a local charity. I have to admit, putting down a few hundred dollars for ten minutes in a riding arena is so much more justifiable if I know that those fees are going towards a good cause.
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