Running for a Cause: The Art of Fundraising and Volunteering in Sports

Ever wonder why so many people involved in running also take the time to volunteer? We're diving into the world of running community volunteering and fundraising to answer that question and more! 

From discovering the avenues to get involved, to unpacking the ripple effects of volunteering on mental health and the broader running community, we're here to showcase the altruistic spirit that fuels this sporting community.

Experience an endorphin rush like no other as we highlight the psychological benefits of volunteering. We discuss how cheering on fellow runners, fostering connections, and contributing to race days can lead to reduced stress, elevated happiness, and improved communication skills. 

Not to mention, we discuss how getting involved can offer you a foot in the door to the running industry, all while keeping safety a top priority. We also underline the importance of inclusivity in the running community, and how volunteering can shed light on areas that need improvement.

Ever heard of Girls on the Run, Achilles International, or Back on My Feet? These are just a few of the numerous organizations in need of volunteers. We delve into the many ways you can contribute, and emphasize the value of finding a cause that truly resonates with you. 

Plus, we offer strategies and creative ideas for fundraising for running charities. From hosting restaurant events to creating sponsorship packages and corporate matching programs, we've got plenty of inspiration for your next charity run. 

So, come join us as we discuss ways to inspire inclusivity in sports, give back to the running community, and craft memorable fundraising ventures. 

As the saying goes, “Those who can, do; those who can do more, volunteer.”

Chapters

• 0:02 Running Community Volunteering and Fundraising
• 11:12 Volunteering's Impact on Mental Health
• 16:47 Value of Volunteering in Running Community
• 26:14 Volunteer Opportunities and Organizations
• 37:11 Running Community Volunteering and Nonprofits
• 43:29 Volunteering and Running Organization Skills
• 54:38 Fundraising Strategies for Charity Runners
• 1:07:11 Creative Fundraising Ideas for Charity Running
• 1:18:51 Creative Fundraising Ideas
• 1:22:25 Importance of Community in Running

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hey friends, coach Shelby and Coach Christine, welcoming you in and letting you know it's time for brunch. We're here at brunch. There's always an open table, a hot cup of coffee, an endless running fun to keep you moving and grooving. So, whether you are out and about running errands, maybe on your way to work, or out for your daily run or walk, place up those shoes, no matter what you're doing, put a smile on your face and let's log some miles. And today, in honor of the month that generally has so much to do with giving to others, we want to focus on how to give back to running, as it gives a lot to us. So today we're going to talk to you about how you can give back to the running community as a volunteer, or maybe trying your hat as a fundraiser, which, coach Christine, you've talked before. You are one heck of a fundraiser.

Speaker 2: 0:52

You know, I thought I was a good fundraiser and I met some of our community members and then I was like no, I can learn a lot from them. So hopefully, all of the wisdom that they have shared with me I have been able to add here because there are some super creative fundraisers it does speak to my heart. I think it helps for a lot of different reasons, both with volunteering and with fundraising for charity, in terms of really adding a lot of meaning to this sport that at times can feel a bit solitary, because a lot of us do tackle some of our miles, or most of our miles, on our own. So it helps us to connect to the community. So I'm really excited about this.

Speaker 2: 1:29

Now I will caveat this to say I know this isn't necessarily the time of year where we have a lot of extra time, so volunteering during this time of year may not happen as easily. So this may be an episode you're going to want to keep in your back pocket. Maybe highlight some of these or bookmark some of these organizations that we're going to be talking about, or different ways you can get involved, so that you can add the new year when you add to all of your solutions or to do's that you want to tackle for 2024,. You may be able to come back and do this because I think it's super, super special. So, before we get into everything, I guess I've kind of told you a little bit about my why. We're big about why's, but why should folks get into volunteering for local race directors or for nonprofits that have to do with running? What do you think, coach?

Speaker 1: 2:17

I think, right out of the gate. The fact is, why should we volunteer? Is somebody has to. We've talked now to many runners, many race directors, even the town of celebration half marathon that we had on. They rely on volunteers to make these events happen, to make sure they are safe, they are ran smoothly, and, whether it's part of your community or a community that you are visiting, these races can't happen without people volunteering their time and their resources and their abilities. So if you're going to give your time to something, why not make it something you are passionate about? And maybe it's also a great way to check out a race that you've been eyeing. On a little bit of a selfish note, I agree.

Speaker 2: 3:05

I think it gives you a whole different perspective, as well as to all of the moving pieces that go into those incredible race day experiences, so that maybe we're a little bit more forgiving if things don't go according to exact plans when we're being able to run the race.

Speaker 2: 3:20

But it does also kind of give you an idea of oh, is this a race that I'd like to tackle, and a lot of race directors will thank you with potentially giving you discounts or vouchers for future races that they may be putting on, because, again, they really do depend heavily on volunteers to be able to make them happen, and so do a lot of the nonprofits that we're going to be highlighting here. While, yes, charity running is definitely vital for a lot of the nonprofits to draw awareness and raise those much needed funds, volunteering for them is also a beautiful way of helping to give back to those organizations that need a little bit more manpower, if you will, and a lot goes into a race that we wouldn't necessarily think of in terms of volunteering. So, anywhere from race setup to in-person registration, those water stations that we all love, and need so very often.

Speaker 1: 4:08

You don't know true love until you see somebody with a cup of water when you're dying of thirst. And that, my friends, is true love.

Speaker 2: 4:15

Like you, would drop down to one knee if you could get back up and continue running, and I think I have professed lots of love to folks that are actually manning these aid stations and let's caveat it right here Coach Shelby is definitely going to keep all of her love for those official manned water stations. But there's course marshaling, there's timing, and even if they have a specific time event management group, they're still going to need more help with getting those mats out. Picking up those mats or having somebody watching the timing mats. Post-race activities clean up, set up, hydrate I mean like everything that you could possibly think of goes really into making these really big days happen. So what I love about volunteering is that and I've mentioned it and I'm going to keep mentioning it and you guys are going to get annoyed with it, but-.

Speaker 1: 5:01

From this into a jerking game.

Speaker 2: 5:03

Yeah, exactly, we keep talking about how we're starting to feel disconnected from others. We want to build more community, we want to build more connection. Well, this is the easiest way of getting involved with it If you're feeling like you want to expand your circle, you want to really feel connected to your community, volunteering for either nonprofits or for race day activities or race week buildup. It's such a great way. You have an immediate connection, something to talk with people about, which can be such a big barrier, while a lot of us are really hesitant to get together with new people.

Speaker 2: 5:37

It's like what am I going to talk about? Will it be weird? Will it be awkward? Will it be awkward? You have an opportunity to have a preset activity that will have the conversation going, those ice breakers, but also we'll take off that pressure where I think a lot of us want to go out with run groups but we're afraid about our pace or being able to keep up. In this sense, you can still create that community with the running community that you love and want to be a part of, without having to worry about that pressure of will I be able to be fast enough, can I keep up with folks, all those little doubts that come into our mind. That may be a hesitation.

Speaker 1: 6:11

Absolutely. It's like that ice breaker to where you're going, maybe next week to a run group. This is a not so awkward blind date because you guys have your own set of okay, I'm going to be manning the water station, I'm going to be manning this, I'm going to be manning that, and it does kind of. There's not a whole lot of room for coyness in these situations, because a lot of times you are dealing with safety, you are dealing with the necessities of the people participating, so you don't really have a time to be as shy. It really just throws you into the fire in the best way possible.

Speaker 2: 6:44

Yeah, I love that coach. That's such a great example of how it kind of breaks you out of that shell. I feel like you're such a natural extrovert that I can't imagine you having that issue, but I think that I can say that something in the past that I would have struggled with was that exactly like what are we going to talk about and maybe overthinking it, going into it. So volunteering and getting involved with the community has definitely helped me in terms of breaking down those barriers. Again, though, one of the things that's really important is we want to make sure that we have a vibrant community, right Like we want our communities to really thrive, because so many different things happen when you have a thriving economic impact on your community.

Speaker 2: 7:22

Well, guess what the running community does have a direct impact into your local economy? It may be not on the scale of like those large city races like New York City Marathon. Going back to whether you like those hometown races like Celebration, or more of those mid-size or those really big races. They all directly bring in much needed funds for the local economy, either because the runners are maybe staying at local accommodations, or they're doing a little bit more shopping before and after race day pickup, or because they obviously need to funnel money into all of the local restaurants because we love ourselves some food before and after races. So there's such a great way to actually impact your local economy in a way that allows you to really see it being put back into those small businesses and the organizations that help it thrive. So that's such a great reason why volunteers are needed to be able to make these events happen to help our local economies.

Speaker 1: 8:20

And we talk a lot about the nonprofits that do the races. Some of these races are not necessarily tied to a nonprofit and most of them are smaller in the grand scheme of things. Businesses, these race companies that put on the local races I know they don't have necessarily these millions of millions of dollars, like the Roadrunners, the New York Roadrunners.

Speaker 1: 8:46

And while they're a great organization, they are very well funded.

Speaker 1: 8:50

Yes, where a lot of the race places that you might go to in your local area aren't, they are people who are entrepreneurs, are self-employed, working to do this and in turn, like you said, a lot of local restaurants donate their time, donate their resources, gets the word out and these races, while might not be a singular moneymaker, it all funnels into hey, that restaurant was really cool at this running race.

Speaker 1: 9:17

I'm going to go there for lunch for the next couple of weeks or I didn't know that this place had this type of stuff. I'm going to go shop there and it gives a really awesome way to support those businesses and even the bigger businesses, if they see that it's fruitful for them to participate in these type of events at these particular venues. They in turn want to have shops in your community. They want to put money into maybe restoring that local park that that trail run was at. So it all has this trickle effect. But because the companies don't have the accessible funds to employ people on the race course, your volunteering gives them what they need to put on these big events and, bonus, you won't have to travel if they're in your own backyard.

Speaker 2: 10:03

I feel like you're speaking to so many of my love languages, because I think that we I know what you like, Especially not girl.

Speaker 2: 10:09

yes, you do? Yes, you do, because I really do feel like in this day and age and I know that I am definitely one of those individuals where convenience is paramount. So I tend to do a lot of things online because it is so convenient and I can see where so much money has been funneled out of the local economy that way. So I'm not not hating on the big box stores that make things incredibly convenient, but this is really a wonderful way to keep running thriving, keep our communities thriving and really helping it to grow.

Speaker 2: 10:41

Thank you so much for highlighting the fact that, yes, while the New York Roadrunners definitely is a bigger organization, that most of our race directors are definitely not in it because they're going to want to become millionaires or billionaires. It's definitely one of those things where they just love it, just like the nonprofits. So, again, an impact on a local economy. It's kind of one of those situations where, if you really want to make a difference in your economy and your local community, you got to put your money where your mouth is by showing up and volunteering your time is a beautiful way of doing it. I think, coach, we can't talk about volunteering without touching on something that's near and dear to both of our hearts, and it's that mental health benefit that you get from giving of your time to show up in these organizations that really do appreciate everything that you do for them.

Speaker 1: 11:30

It's an endorphins rush. I've talked about when I've volunteered and being the one to give somebody that hey, you're doing great, that cheering, that extra little pep to give them that eye roll at your cheesiness. It really does fill up their cup and fill up your cup. Especially as runners. We've been on the other end of that, where your body is just done, you're mentally done and being able to be the one cheering for somebody that's in that place and truly know what you would want to hear and what is best being said, not that you're almost there when you still have like five miles to go. It goes a long way. There's a reason that we are programmed to help people. It's because it keeps us going, just as much as next person and I will say, if you are somebody who deals with imposter syndrome, this will boost you more than I can even put into words, because you get a full, unfiltered picture of everybody participating. You don't just see the people flying by, you don't just see the back of the pack, you see all of it.

Speaker 2: 12:44

Yeah, and you're always, never, will you not be amazed? You will always walk away from volunteering at a race specifically, absolutely inspired, amazed. I mean, catherine Switzer has the most incredible quote. We can never, ever forget it. But if you're losing hope in humankind or human nature, you need to go spectate a race. So instead of just spectating, get yourself into trenches and volunteer, because you're going to be able to also spectate, but you're also going to continue to make a difference.

Speaker 2: 13:14

But there's, I mean, so many other aspects from, like you said, with endorphins it helps.

Speaker 2: 13:19

With dopamine, it helps with that connection that we all really love to have with others in terms of feeling more of just that sense of purpose.

Speaker 2: 13:29

It helps to reduce your stress and increases your happiness, which all of these things can impact lowering your blood pressure, being a heart healthier, having all of those communication aspects of with talking to new people and again, kind of turning on new little parts of our brains. All of this happens from volunteering, getting out of your, your shelter or your usual life. I will also say that if you decide to get into volunteering with coaching, maybe a local girls on the run or a local youth activity team, you can also benefit from higher levels of physical activity because you may end up needing to put in a little bit of extra miles. Or if you're a guide runner, you definitely take your training much more I won't say necessarily seriously, but I guess you're much more dedicated in knowing that you're able to meet those requirements of whoever it is that you're guiding or that you're potentially helping on race day. So so many benefits of us. It's almost like I feel like volunteering gives us more than it gives to others.

Speaker 1: 14:29

I would absolutely say it. And while again we do this for the goodness of our heart. This also is a great time to maybe broaden your horizons. I get the question a lot Like I want to do running as my career. I want to get more into and do running in some way, shape or form professionally. Volunteering is a great stepping stone into that, because how many times do you want to do something?

Speaker 1: 14:53

When you get in the nitty gritty You're like, okay, it's not what I thought, it's not all peaches and sunshine and chocolate flavored goo which we'll leave that for another discussion but you see a lot more of the back end and the business side of it. I know for a fact like safety wise, in my experience of volunteering I was in charge of making sure no cars came through this barrier. That was a learning career for me. I never realized how belligerent people got when they could not go through the road that it's been advertised. It was going to be closed for three weeks. I mean, talk about a whole other level of trying to find my gumtia and my voice.

Speaker 2: 15:35

It's phenomenal, at it.

Speaker 1: 15:37

I mean I almost cried a couple of times.

Speaker 2: 15:39

I'm not gonna lie, I feel like you would be so good at helping to break the ice for these super angry folks. Plus, I feel like you take it so seriously of the safety of the runners that I could see you getting a little mama bearish. I think that I wouldn't necessarily go toe to toe with you in that situation. I mean, look, I waited for my mom.

Speaker 1: 15:57

I waited for my tears until after, but it was also hard to like keep my bull marometer under check because there was a couple of them that gave these really half brain excuses and I'm like I know you're lying Like I'm trying to not escalate the situation, I'm like, but there's a few choice words. But yeah, I took it very seriously because there's literally people against a car, like the car is going to win.

Speaker 2: 16:21

Who would pay money to hear Coachella. But like I know you're lying, you know you're lying, so it's time for you to head back home, friend, because I'm not letting you through here, because I feel like that conversation may have happened, but I had to get, I had to escalate.

Speaker 1: 16:34

I got a little feisty up in there.

Speaker 2: 16:36

I have zero doubted that. Again, I know your mom, a bear tendencies, take these kind of things very seriously, so I have zero doubt those people are brave, they're lucky, they made it. But you're absolutely right, coach. So this is actually kind of how I got started, and running, and run coaching specifically, was I volunteered. I volunteered in a myriad of ways.

Speaker 2: 16:54

I volunteered at races.

Speaker 2: 16:55

I volunteered more with the organization of race days or actual races and seeing all the different details that go into it, from working with the city, working with, of course, safety officers to make sure the course is safe, finding folks that can help with, like the lead cyclists that can help with the runners, and a flat like a lagging cyclist as well.

Speaker 2: 17:16

So all of those different components came from volunteering and there's stuff that I was able to develop, skills and experience that helped me to get more involved than the running community and helped hide in my desire to follow and pursue the passion of being here. So, absolutely, even if you decide not to go into running specifically, volunteering does help develop your resume or your skill set that you can employ in a whole myriad of sides. Just like Coach said, she learned how to, maybe, or she had to practice because she already knew how to do it, how to be a bit bold with how she people turn around, but also very, very friendly when she did it, because I'm sure she didn't necessarily say a couple of choice not suitable for work, type words that she wanted to say Not to their face, like that is after when they couldn't hear me Because you know, I'm nice and all, but don't get it twisted, I got.

Speaker 1: 18:12

I got a mouth and I know how to use it.

Speaker 2: 18:15

So a little problem solving. That was still kind of like you know a little bit Hakuna Matata at the end of the day.

Speaker 2: 18:21

So I think it's really valuable. I think this is also a great way if you've got some youngins at home, getting them involved with you as you start maybe a little bit older than probably you. Having your household coach Shelby, though I feel like you could probably get her involved with some like maybe even like race packet kind of stuff too If she, if she, was so inclined. So I think I mean I have.

Speaker 1: 18:40

I have used her to get some some of our stuff together, yeah.

Speaker 2: 18:45

And unofficial time for brunch, kind of. I don't know if we want to say that officially and have child labor laws come our way.

Speaker 1: 18:51

I will say, though I want to add in a bit of a caveat. We are talking a lot about formal volunteering, volunteering your time. If you are a little bit more worried about putting yourself out there, you can also unofficially volunteer by just being an active spectator on the course as well. It's a great way, again, to kind of get your feet wet If you're not ready to take the full plunge of signing on as a formal volunteer. Just showing up on the sidelines to cheer everyone can make you feel that inclusion without dedicating your entire day to it and again maybe kind of be that stepping stone into doing it full.

Speaker 2: 19:35

I think that's actually how I got started. I think I would not surprise me. Yeah, I would have been so overwhelmed to be. I wouldn't even know how to contact a race director when I first got started with it. I just knew that I had run a couple of races and I loved people cheering me on and I wondered how can I do that. So I think I literally just got post-reboard and went out there and found a place in the course and that's kind of what snowballed.

Speaker 2: 19:59

So I wholeheartedly agree, coach. I also love when I'm talking about the whys. I mean, I feel like we've already given you guys all the reasons why, but just in case you need a few more encouraging inclusivity. So again, this is something where we've talked about it anywhere from our running through the decade series or running while black, when we were able to interview the author there.

Speaker 2: 20:23

We know that the running sport has definitely changed. There is no doubt about it. But if you really want to make a difference in knowing that other generations continue to see that they too can participate, that this is not a sport that is close to them, then don't let any of those hesitations that tend to happen in our brain. I am not the right shape, I'm not the fastest runner, I'm not this or that. Hold you back, because it does need to be something that folks are able to recognize that the sport is not off limits and it's not closed. Just because you don't necessarily look like an elite runner Doesn't mean that you're not able to get into this and still find a passion within it. So I love especially if you're thinking of coaching a local youth group or maybe even helping out with your local run club. Having those different ages, paces, body shapes, abilities all of that cultural differences, all of that helps to really continue to make the sport more inclusive.

Speaker 1: 21:28

And again, I think it opens up our eyes more to the not so fulfilled parts of the running world, of the racing world, of these events, and can lead to a lot of change that we didn't even know needed to be addressed, within our own communities especially. So, again, while it's a wonderful experience, it's a big learning adjustment as well, when you find that there are things that need to be improved on. But, again, if you don't get involved, you have really no way of knowing.

Speaker 2: 21:59

Absolutely, coach. Now I feel again. I feel like you're getting a few different crowns. You're going to have to change them out. We know for a fact that we could have up to seven crowns, because you can wear one every single day. So you're safety queen, absolutely. There's no doubt about it. But I think you're getting a little bit also we're especially crowning you more of our eco-friendly, environmentally conscious steward, if you will. So tell us a little bit more about that, with how we can include that. So why is that such a great reason for folks to continue volunteering as well? Yeah, so this is a big one.

Speaker 1: 22:39

I don't know if I would say I have the crown quite yet, but I'm definitely making an effort to be more mindful of waste, and races in general are a huge point of waste.

Speaker 1: 22:53

Sometimes the races don't adopt reusable cups for a myriad of different reasons, but there's also opportunities to bring your own bottles, so they aren't using the plastic cups. If we are going to be using the plastic cups, maybe you're volunteering to set up additional trash areas or recycling areas. Maybe you're the one who volunteers to go on the side of the roadways and the sidewalks to pick up all of the trash and bring them back to the city, All of the trash that inevitably gets thrown away Because we get it. We also are runners and we know sometimes you do your best aim and does not make it in a trash can. But it's oftentimes those things that are overlooked because we're so focused on putting on a great race and having a great experience for the athletes that we forget about the cleanup aspect.

Speaker 1: 23:42

And especially in our area, we're very close to the ocean. If our organizations don't do proper cleanup, that's going directly into the ocean and it's affecting the wildlife, it's affecting food sources. It has again that trickling effect that we're all talking about. So again, even if maybe you're not a runner but being eco-friendly is closer to your heart. This might be a great opportunity to bring your set of expertise to an event near you and make a really big impact.

Speaker 2: 24:14

I will say, for the couple of times that I have done race directing I'm using an air quotations because I highly consider myself a race director but the cleanup crew was probably the most important part that I would have overlooked before I went into it, because, of course, like your mind as a runner tends to go with, I want to make sure this is the best race possible. Well, it's also incredibly important if you want to really really make this event spectacular for your community is that you leave no trace behind. At the end of this, when you're all said and done, it should look like nothing had happened there, essentially. So you want to make sure to clean everything up and make that park or that community area look just as good, or if not better, than when you got there. So I think that I wanted to give a big shout out to the folks that volunteered for this, because this is one of almost like the thinkless jobs where you're maybe not on the course People aren't thanking you directly because you're not handing them that cup but absolutely pivotal, and I know that for the folks that did volunteer for this section of work, I was really really really grateful for them as well.

Speaker 2: 25:16

But I also think that let's say this isn't your jam. You're like look, I know me, I want to be racing these races. I don't want to be necessarily going out there and volunteering for the races or it's just not going to happen because it's early morning requirements and I've got other things. You don't have to do any of these, as coach said formally. You could always organize a cleanup with you and your friends or your neighbors, or even make it something that you have in your everyday practice of running, a little bit of plugging action, which I think is super important to do as well.

Speaker 1: 25:45

Oh, it's like a good plug, like a log you can just or a Yogg, I should say, except that it's got squats.

Speaker 2: 25:52

I feel like plugging is like your official jam because you can do a little bit of squats and lunges and picking up trash and making your area nicer. I love it so, friends like I said.

Speaker 1: 26:02

well, I was going to say, like you said too, maybe an event isn't your jam, maybe you want to make an impact on more of a day to day, and there's other ways to volunteer.

Speaker 2: 26:13

Absolutely. Now we've talked about why you should volunteer. We know that all of you guys are definitely thinking absolutely I'm going to volunteer now. I mean, why not? But now we're going to ask about what organizations are actually looking for volunteers. That's practically everyone. But we're going to give you a few of our favorites and some that maybe you haven't heard of. But right out of the gate, coach, we can't lie. I know we can't. So we're going to talk about our favorite here at Time for Brunch, or one of our all-time favorites, girls on the Run. I don't think you guys have ever not heard us mention them.

Speaker 2: 26:47

We are a big fan both of international and our local chapters, and most of us do have local chapters. If not, maybe that's your way to volunteer is to bring a chapter to you but Empowers Young Girls through running. Their curriculum is out of this world, spectacular, and they need volunteers from those end of season races that they put on to volunteers that can help with happy hair which is as if you guys don't remember when we had girls on the run actually on the podcast is a little bit of tinsel and sparkle in their hair as they get out there for their races. They need running buddies. They need event organizers or boards. Usually you're always looking for committee members. They actually need the run coaches that are able to dedicate themselves to being there two to three times per week for an entire season, which is usually about nine to 12 weeks long, depending on where you're at. So incredible organization, and if you're thinking I might want to take my hand at coaching, this may be one of the best ways of getting involved.

Speaker 1: 27:44

And it is important to point out that they provide the training for their coaches for the go to curriculum. So even if you are not currently a coach and you're still interested in it, reach out to them and they will get you all set up with what they require for you to do and they will require for you to hold that label of coach within the go to universe. Yeah, it really is a universe.

Speaker 2: 28:07

I think I do think that's actually kind of like the actual curriculum. It's called go to university. So, yeah, no doubt about it. A lot of, a lot of fun. And again, talk about feeling, walking away, feeling good, learning so much by just the teamwork. And it's the only time that I learned some of the cool words that I'm supposed to be using and how I turned, how I was told to watch Turning Red. Turning Red came directly from one of the teams that I was coaching, so it became one of my favorite Pixar movies. So, coach, who else do we have out here of organizations that are looking for volunteers?

Speaker 1: 28:42

I'm going to highlight Achilles International, which they aid disabled runners and participating in mainstream running events, which, again, talking about inclusion, to make sure that they have the accessibility to every race that they can and you're volunteering and guide visually impaired runners, assist with mobility challenges. There is a wide range of ways that you can get involved in helping. So, again, this is one that helps others as well as yourself, and is a great way to give back and again restore your faith in that we have the power to make this sport inclusive and equitable for all. But without working towards that goal, it's not going to happen. So, again, I love the fact that they help participate specifically in mainstream running events and make it to where anybody truly can be part of these races.

Speaker 2: 29:39

I think that's incredible. Again, talk about if you're lagging in motivation to getting your runs, knowing that your training is going to directly impact the individual that you're helping to guide, potentially because that's one of the volunteering opportunities. Of course, I can't imagine anything that would light a fire on your my tail more than that, knowing that I have a responsibility to someone outside of myself to make sure that that run and that race feels as strong for them. So absolutely incredible. I know, see, this is where I want to say that we're doing it purely out of selflessness, but there's no way that you can't get back as much as you give, if not more. So that's without a doubt. Again, talking about community, you already talked about my love language and I really do believe that charity begins at home. By home, I mean our local communities. While we all want to make really big ripples or potentially make really big differences in the world around us, it does usually start in your local community.

Speaker 2: 30:36

For me, back on my Feet is one of those organizations that helps make that happen. We're starting to see record high numbers of homelessness. It's becoming actually quite concerning, especially here in Central Florida. We have a housing impact. We have a lot of folks that you would never necessarily think of being homeless, that are, or I should say, unhoused. So there is a lot of this potentially continuing to be a larger scale problem. Back on my Feet helps to combat it directly through running. If you're thinking, how in the world do the two things happen? How do you combat the housing crisis with running, then you clearly haven't been out for your run lately because, friends, there is no doubt that building that confidence, that tenacity, all of these beautiful aspects of just continuing to persevere, happens a lot through running. So I believe in this program wholeheartedly and would love to see more people involved with it as well.

Speaker 1: 31:37

And before we go any further and name some other organizations, I think you'll hear throughout this entire conversation, the common theme is not finding the perfect organization on paper, it's finding one that resonates with you.

Speaker 1: 31:53

All of these causes, all of these nonprofits, all of these charities are all worthy, but to be truly effective, you need to find one that speaks to you.

Speaker 1: 32:05

And while all of them sound great, if you don't have that personal connection or that type of drive, it's harder by ten times to stick with it and feel connected. And I know for me, like girls on the run, I always go towards volunteering opportunities and nonprofits that benefit kids, because I truly connect with the kids. I connect with making sure that our next generation comes up feeling empowered, feeling strong, and so I know for me, when I look for volunteer opportunities, that's where I'm going to go first, and one of them that I did have on the list was Marathon Kids, and it's a great organization helping young runners one mile at a time and again, getting them active, getting them up, getting them running, and you can serve as a coach, as a mentor, or help in events, again for school-based running programs. There's so many different ways to get involved and be somebody for these kids to look up to and have a positive influence that can carry them for years to come as they go into active adulthood.

Speaker 2: 33:24

Absolutely, coach, and I think that we would get in a lot of trouble with both of our RRCA coach and instructor who got us started in our own certification process, if we didn't mention Kids Run the Nation, because it is by the RRCA and I know that Randy is a big fan of this program. He had a hand in helping to make it happen. But the reason why he's so passionate about this which again goes to speak exactly what you said you have to be passionate about it. But the reason why he's so passionate about Kids Run the Nation is because it is gender-inclusive and he feels that a lot of different times we do put a lot of focus on there's a lot of organizations now that are helping girls become more involved. Well, as far as he's concerned, let's make it as inclusive as possible. It's gender and ability-inclusive and if you do not have one nearby, you can decide hey, 2024, this is when I'm going to make this happen, and you can order those program materials and bring it to your neighborhood to get it started.

Speaker 1: 34:30

And I'm really happy that you brought that up too, because we are seeing more youth specifically identifying as non-binary or transgender and not wanting to be pigeonholed into one or the other or maybe aren't ready to live their authentic selves for various reasons. So I do love the fact that again, highlighting a gender-inclusive group is really important, so again, we can continue to open up the running community and not make it so A, b or C.

Speaker 2: 35:07

Absolutely. With that said, I think that also, one of the organizations that I am a huge fan of is Run to End Poverty, which aims to alleviate poverty through running-based fundraising initiatives. And again, this is where we're going to start talking. We're going to get into it. Friends, hold your horses. If you're potentially a charity runner and you're like when you guys get into all of the different ideas, we're going to get into that too, because we know fundraising is definitely difficult, but Run to End Poverty and they are an organization that you may have heard of if you're trying to score a bib for maybe one of the World Marathon majors or you're deciding that it's something that speaks near and dear to your heart. So, again, they are always looking for folks to help with their nonprofit, getting the word out, need a little bit of extra help with administrative tasks or how to help organize local running events, so that's a great one as well.

Speaker 1: 36:00

And again, we'll touch upon it a little bit later. But with the charity bibs, while it can be very tempting to look at a charity list and again go for the one with the lowest minimums or the easiest timeline or what have you we've seen it time and time again to where people will fundraise to meet those goals, but they do have a harder time going out for donations because they don't feel tied to that organization or to that cause. So again, keeping an open mind when you are looking at charity bibs, and not negating the fact that, like anything else, if your heart is not with it is that much harder to reach your objective.

Speaker 2: 36:47

So, friends, you're going to want to pause and then go back, like I think your most podcast players allow you to go back 10 seconds. Maybe. Do 10 seconds, tap on that three or four times and listen to what coach Shelby just said. If you are thinking of running for charity, if you are not passionate and connected to it, it will be 100 times harder. So thank you for pointing that out. I love that you've mentioned that.

Speaker 2: 37:11

When it comes to volunteering our time and, of course, volunteering to help raise awareness and funds, it has to speak to you. It just has to. You can try I've tried it where I've fundraised for charities that maybe didn't speak to me quite as much. I loved what they were doing, but they just weren't something that I was super passionate about and it fell flat on my face. It was just the hardest time. It was so difficult for me to fundraise for it, because you just have to be passionate. People give to people versus organizations, because they don't really know what this organization is versus anything else. They know what you tell them and how you make them feel about that organization.

Speaker 1: 37:47

It's like eating a vegetable. If you don't like broccoli, it doesn't matter how good it is for you. If you don't like the taste of it, it's going to be like eating sandpaper. So instead of eating the broccoli, go for the butternut squash that you find really, really delicious and it's easy to seamlessly incorporate into your meals, versus again round peg square hole. I had a thrown analogy in there, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 38:12

I know it's been a little bit, so I'm glad you threw that in. I think, vegetable related is perfect. I think one organization that a lot of us have heard a lot about that we're all pretty passionate about. We've seen it and it's inspired many a runner. It's team Hoyt, famous for the father to son duo that inspires inclusivity in sports and volunteers can again become guide runners helping disabled athletes participate in the races. So again, you're kind of hands on and making a race to experience happen for an athlete. So that's incredible.

Speaker 1: 38:44

Yeah, I mean, who hasn't heard about team Hoyt in some way, shape or form? It's awesome and I think again, it's that beacon of hope and a lot of organizations have come forward to do their own work in it and it's definitely a huge, huge, amazing portion of the running community. I'm going to highlight one that I don't get a lot of air time. That's wings of America and they focus on enhancing the health of Native American communities through running, specifically the indigenous tribes. They get discounted a lot. There have been quite a few stances by pro athletes speaking out about how it's been hard for them to become a part of the running world, running community and fighting for the basic rights and basic inclusion of Native Americans and indigenous people. So they do a lot to go through and inspire by their culture or by their spirituality and get more of those individuals involved, and especially the youth.

Speaker 2: 40:01

I love it again because, again for us, I feel like, yes, you are definitely listening to all of the running nonprofits versus. I mean, again, it doesn't have to be running. Any movement based is always going to be transformational, but for us it's going to be our love language and I'd love to see there's so many different programs that are really really directing their focus at such, again, a wide population. So that makes me so excited to hear, which again brings us to the next one on our list, which is the National Black Marathoners Association, promoting a healthy lifestyle among the African American community. Volunteer opportunities include mentoring, race events or community outreach. Again from this specific one, it kind of starts to trickle down to you. Maybe you're not, you don't have a chapter of National Black Marathoners Association, or maybe marathoning isn't in your future. It doesn't speak to you. You could always get more involved with Black Girls Run or Black Men Run or Latinos Run, finding what speaks to you. I guarantee your local run club needs you, my friend.

Speaker 1: 41:03

And we you mentioned earlier, but Alison Mariela D'Sir, the author of Running While Black. She very eloquently and very bluntly at the same time shows that continuously, black individuals, African Americans and people of different colors and race are often not shown in the running circle in outdoor. Nicole Snell touched upon it that it was not something that she grew up in, and putting it out there and giving support to these programs to make it accessible, make it part of those communities, is again we're going to say it probably 15 more times If we don't work on inclusion and providing resources to underserved and underutilized communities, the running world is going to stay washed as we know it and it's important that again, if we want to see everybody represented, we need to have programs that support everybody.

Speaker 2: 42:08

I think the list goes on and on and on. Coach, although I feel like we have given quite a few nonprofit organizations and highlighted them here, we still have so many more that we are going to include them in the companion blog because, again, there is something that speaks to everyone, a little Baz Luhrmann, something for everybody there. Because I also think that it's time that we mentioned that. If you guys are looking to, we're looking to increase the presence of in real life running opportunities and meetups. So if you are interested as a member of our community, maybe you want to lead a run club or a meetup or whatever the case may be in your part of the world we'd love to hear from you. Email us at info at time for brunch and, if that isn't quite your jam, again going back to race directors and all the different ways that you could use your skills, looking for social media moderators to help create a supportive, engaging and welcoming community for our Time for Brunch crew online. So again, info at timeforbrunchcom if you're interested in being more involved, because we have actually been inspired by some of our folks in our TFB training who have really led the charge of creating some a lot of fun for the folks within our training community. So we're deciding that we're going to open that up to our general Time for Brunch crew as well and seeing how you guys would like to be more involved. So please do emails if that's something that speaks to you.

Speaker 2: 43:29

With that said, I think, coach, let's talk a little bit of seeing how people may or may not have been paying attention, with a little bit of run and raise the true or false sprint game. So I'm going to ask you a question, you guess, and then we'll let people know the actual answer and then maybe you could maybe ask me a question or not. But volunteers are people paying attention. Volunteers are only needed on race day for events like marathons and 5ks. I mean, I know you were paying attention, so what do you?

Speaker 1: 43:58

think I mean, yeah, I'm going to say that's a big old false, because while race day is the shiny beacon, there's so much more that goes into the back end. I mean again going back just to our interview from the town of celebration, half a full marathon. More of the work is all behind the scenes. It's like a quill. It looks all pretty on the surface. You turn it around and those strings are all convoluted.

Speaker 2: 44:26

Yeah. So I think again from race packet assembly to maybe your jam is social media, so reaching out to your local race directors to see what they need help with. Maybe you even ran a race that you thought, oh they need, they need my help. We'll reach out to them and see what they could potentially put you to put all of that great knowledge that you have to use with Coach. What do you have on your true or false to see if people are paying attention?

Speaker 1: 44:50

All right, you need to be an experienced runner before you can start volunteering as a coach for local run clubs.

Speaker 2: 44:56

Oh well, goodness gracious, we absolutely know that is not at all the case. I wouldn't even say that you would have to consider yourself a runner, because I think that we, as individuals, tend to hold off on allowing ourselves that label for a lot of reasons. We may not feel like a runner, we may not feel like an athlete, and it's really hard for us to say that. But you can absolutely volunteer as a coach for your local run club or as a coach for one of these incredible nonprofits that we mentioned as well.

Speaker 1: 45:28

And while we both respect the title of coach especially in a volunteering aspect with different organizations or your run club coach can mean very many different things and applied very differently. So don't feel like if you are going into coach you have to know everything under the sun or have 15 million certifications. You can get your feet wet and coach on a more of a base level and then again maybe peak your interest to learning more. So again, don't let titles necessarily hold you back from seeing where you can be a part of it.

Speaker 2: 46:06

So this one we actually did, we kind of skimmed a little bit. This one may, I think, surprise folks, but running based nonprofits predominantly need volunteers for administrative tasks.

Speaker 1: 46:17

I'm going to go with false.

Speaker 2: 46:19

Coach, I feel like you have the answers ahead of you, you're absolutely right Because while administrative help is super important, organizations also need those volunteers for event organization, community outreach and program facilitation. So boots on the ground for nonprofits is almost vital, because usually they can budget well it depends on the size of the nonprofit but they have in their budget line items for more of the administrative tasks. They actually need boots on the ground. So if that's more of your jam and you want to break out of the office again, these running based nonprofits will absolutely be the way to do so.

Speaker 1: 46:58

All right. So I have one for you, which I already know you're going to ace because you are a very good student, but volunteering at running events can provide networking opportunities and additional community connections.

Speaker 2: 47:11

Quite, literally, how I got my first job out of like after college was through volunteering Literally. Yeah, absolutely. I had volunteered for a local 5K and I connected two organizations together that I loved and I was actually a really big fan of. And in that connection process, the individual who ran the organization of one of the organizations said hey, I love what you're doing, I love how you like help this community Things happen. I'd love you to come work for me. So, absolutely, it's true, volunteering leads to meeting new people. That's how I have a lot of my friends. It opens new doors. It's a great way to expand on your professional skill set. So don't feel like you have to have all of the knowledge or all the capabilities before you go off into volunteering.

Speaker 1: 48:01

And I will say when I volunteered, I would honestly say probably 75% of the conversations I had had actually nothing to do with running. Yeah, I would think about other things, like what we did in the area, who we knew, places that we would hang out, and I realized there are a lot of people that I know in this community that know a lot of other people, and it's not a bad thing. But it definitely is interesting when you start talking with community members that you don't normally have interaction with.

Speaker 2: 48:31

Yeah, no, absolutely so. Again, thinking about time of celebration, when I volunteered at Race Packet Pickup, I don't think I talked about running at all that entire day and still completely walked away with having great time. Lots of good goals were shared, and I think, though, I did probably talk about safety pins more than I ever thought I would talk about safety pins in my entire life.

Speaker 1: 48:55

See that safety coming around again, even if it's in pin form. Yeah, no doubt about it. All right, hit me with another one. I'm on a roll.

Speaker 2: 49:05

I feel like we kind of already touched on it. I know our friends are going to ace this test as well, but assisting with a running nonprofit can require skills unrelated to running, like marketing or IT or public relations.

Speaker 1: 49:17

Absolutely, because unless you're like Desland and our Alaphine, tilly and Muck, no one really needs you to volunteer at a running event to run, to run. It's actually like I would confidently say that's probably the last thing you will be asked to do is actually run, unless, like it's a relay and somebody needs a fill in, which I mean could happen, but nine out of no I'm going to say 10 out of 10 times it is something totally not physically running related. Sometimes it's not even physical, it's all like mental or logistics A lot of it's not.

Speaker 2: 49:55

So again, I think it goes back to like if you feel like you're being called on to do more and you want to give more, you know that there's something more for you. You're not sure how to make it happen. All you know is that you love this thing called running and you're like, well, that's nothing. I'm not a professional runner. All I do is, whatever it is, I am a program manager or I am a marketing specialist or I could, you know, do IT till the day till with my eyes closed. These are things that a lot of local run clubs, a lot of nonprofits, may need and they can't afford, they don't have it budgeted. So, putting your hat into the ring, letting them know, even if they're not even actively saying, hey, we need this help, just throwing it out there like, hey, if you guys ever need this kind of assistance, I'm here for you, maybe that game changer to truly turn that local organization that you love into what you hope that it can be. So that's a big one.

Speaker 1: 50:45

Coach, when talking about social media, if you have a probably a high schooler who's looking for community service hours to meet and they do have an interest there are organizations will never turn down social media help because most of the organizations are not run by people that live and breathe social media, they will take the help, yeah they don't want to be doing the TikTok dances. They don't want to be dealing with algorithms, them young kids and their fancy technology. They are way better at it.

Speaker 2: 51:16

Which actually we do know of running organizations that have social media teams that are comprised of college interns or high school interns. So if your kid is thinking I do want to make this a living and you're thinking how in the world can they make digital marketing a living, they can and it's a very lucrative one, and it may easily start with them becoming volunteers for a local running nonprofit or a local nonprofit or a race. So absolutely Also. You can holler at info at timeforbrunchcom because, we definitely are all about those social media interns.

Speaker 1: 51:50

We're trying to learn the Tikki Takis, but we are not on Flick.

Speaker 2: 51:56

I think the fact that we're calling it Tikki Takis is pretty, pretty clear that your teenager knows way more than we do about it.

Speaker 1: 52:06

I like how I'm all crotchy, like those kids in their rap music Absolutely. I'll throw my cane in the air and really make the whole visual work, so now coach this one.

Speaker 2: 52:16

I think may throw people a little bit for a loop, so I'm going to throw it out there though, but guiding visually impaired runners is a specialized role that requires professional training. We've talked a lot about how people could do things with their own skillset.

Speaker 1: 52:30

And this is one that is absolutely going to be true. So nine out of ten times, organizations will have some type of training themselves, but especially when you are guiding a runner, there is a completely different way, a different pacing, a different skillset that you may not be aware of, and they are going to be sure that not only can you physically run the miles and perform the task, but that you are aware of how to properly run with somebody, because a lot of these times too, you're tethered to the other runner, you're not just morally supporting them, you are being that physical marker, that physical guide, and it's different than just running with your local run group. So something like that, yes, is going to take a little bit more time and a little bit more training than some of the other nonprofits or organizations that we've highlighted, because obviously you're responsible for somebody else.

Speaker 2: 53:30

I'm a big believer in little steps to get to what we want. So if this is something that's touched on your heart and you know this, this means a lot to you and you want to actually help people in this capacity, then what I would likely suggest that you do first is maybe look at volunteering as like a pace group leader, and that will start to give you start to give you an idea of what it means to be responsible for other folks and how you have to meet specific pacing and how you have to be mindful of the group that is with you. That in itself still is a lot, so don't get me wrong, showing a lot of love to our pace group leaders for sure, but that will start to kind of give you the idea of what it looks like to actually have somebody physically tethered to you that you need to be very, very, very mindful and helping them to be, helping yourself to be aware, so that you're keeping you and them safe as well. So we talked about the nonprofit a lot and volunteering, which again, I feel like it gives more than it could that you could ever give to it. It gives more back to you.

Speaker 2: 54:33

But we're also going to talk about fundraising next. So a couple little true or false before we get into fundraising. Coach is you've already talked about how charity running charity runners typically raise more funds when they share personal stories and motivation, so staying connected. But are fundraising events for running charities limited to running related activities?

Speaker 1: 54:54

Nope, they are not Again. It's, it's a falsehood. But I don't know. You're like oh, I'm getting it Running world. Very little of your time is actually going to be physically running yourself Again, unless you are like a full-time pacer or something of that regard. As much as we hate it, the world, the running community, everything runs on money, and usually the running event itself is not the moneymaker, it is all the peripherals. It's kind of like we love our long runs, but our long runs aren't what make our race day successful on our own. It's all of the other stuff that isn't as quite as sexy to talk about. So it's definitely stuff like winners, challenges, auctions, all that type of stuff that brings the money in to make that really pretty event.

Speaker 2: 55:45

And we're going to talk a lot about those different types of items and helping you guys to get percolating, because we're not going to pretend like we know all the different capacities that you can bring in some fundraising, but we're going to give you some ideas to maybe get you percolating, maybe think out of the box a little bit, because the last one that we're going to have is our true or false is fundraising, and I think this is what keeps a lot of people back from there. Like I don't want to fundraise for charity because I don't have a lot of people in my social network that I feel comfortable asking for direct donation. So is fundraising for charity runs typically, only Is that the only way you can actually bring in money for charities? Heck, no.

Speaker 1: 56:18

We're going to get crafty.

Speaker 2: 56:20

Actually, I do believe that I absolutely do believe Coach Shelby's going to get crafty in her fundraising. So let's talk all about fundraising and, as many of you we already talked about it are familiar with lacing up to make those miles extra special, extra magical. Because you're tackling raising awareness. That's something that is very vital when you become a charity runner and a charity fundraiser. It's raising the awareness of that nonprofit, but also raising that much needed funds to be able to really create a robust program for that nonprofit. So some of the nonprofits that are near and dear to your heart, that's again.

Speaker 2: 56:57

That's number one If you're looking at fundraising as a charity runner, and that nonprofit is not something that makes you excited. If you don't feel like they're truly doing this incredible work, you're not going to be able to speak to it. So let's take that band-aid off. Why is that? Or, as you've already mentioned, connection to personal causes. How do we know that that personal cause is really going to speak to us? Because, let's be honest, as we go through this nonprofit's Coach, I'm like these are all amazing, I would love to do stuff for all of them, but how do we know that it's like a true personal connection? Can you give us an idea on that?

Speaker 1: 57:31

Yeah, so, again, it doesn't have to be something that maybe you've gone through or something that you've faced the adversity in your life. It's something that gets you up and makes you feel motivated. So the way I like to think about it is how we sign up for races. In general, very rarely are we going to sign up for a race. It's like, eh, that's OK, but it's just a race, because you're not going to get up and train, you're not going to want to talk about it, you're not going to want to stay motivated.

Speaker 1: 57:58

So the same thing with the charities. Maybe, again, maybe you don't have kiddos, but you love helping the youth and it's something that you are passionate about of making sure the next generation, while you may not want to raise them totally, get that you still want to have that positive impact and show a different way of giving back. That doesn't include actually raising a child. Maybe, again, there's different organizations for different cancers, different illnesses. While you may not personally be affected by that illness and might not be going through treatment or whatever, maybe you have a family member that is. I believe one of our brunchers actually honors your mom in her charity efforts.

Speaker 2: 58:40

Makes me cry every single time. What's the problem?

Speaker 1: 58:43

And no, it's OK.

Speaker 2: 58:44

I won't cry here. I promise it's beautiful because, first of all, she's a phenomenal fundraiser. She's one of the best grassroots fundraisers I have ever seen, and I'm saying that as somebody who was actually was a professional fundraiser. She's fantastic because she's connected this very important cause to her and her family and she's allowed it to become this poignant flagship for what really motivates and moves her. So big shout out to Shannon, because she just crashed in New York City and I think maybe one of the very few people who can walk away from that race saying that she actually PR'd one of the toughest races to PR but also raised so much awareness and so much incredible funds for ALS research. So that's what you need, friends, to get that little bit of sparkle that connects you to it. While she may not have directly been impacted by ALS, it has been something that's touched her family and touched her heart. And another barometer is that you want to feel as sparkly talking about that nonprofit, but as Coach Shelby does when she talked about Achilles International, because, let me tell you, her face changed, her eyes sparkled. You can hear it in her voice. This is something that she's passionate about in her day to day life. This isn't something that she's just calling it out or reading it out because it's on our list. This is something that speaks dearly to her and that's what's going to make her a phenomenal fundraiser for this type of organization.

Speaker 2: 1:00:14

Not maybe necessarily Achilles, but if you were to fundraise for an organization like that, it just changes so automatically when I hear her talking about it. Well, it's not something that necessarily I've connected with. I think, yeah, the least that I can do is give her $20, $30, $40, $50, with the fact that she has such connection to it and you speak so eloquently about it. And while you don't necessarily have to wax poetic about whatever the organization that speaks near and dear to your heart, you have to be passionate about it. That really will be pivotal with charity fundraising. And if you're not quite there, then that's when you need to call that nonprofit that you've decided to fundraise for and find out more about it. Find something that they're doing that really makes you connect to them, because that's going to be a game changer. So, with that said, I have to think, coach, did you learn about these type of organizations through social media?

Speaker 1: 1:01:05

100% OK and again, especially because I've been very honest, that my running scene isn't off and popping in a lot of regards, the social media brought in a new wave of resources for myself, not only for my day-to-day running but also the causes that are, with running, Honestly, one of my favorite nonprofits, Bravelyte Gade. I found them through social media. Had it not been for social media I may have found them, but it's not. I can't automatically say, oh yeah, I would have found out through them with X, Y and Z.

Speaker 2: 1:01:43

Yeah, so we are seeing more charity runners than I think ever before and I think that it is thank you to social media.

Speaker 2: 1:01:49

And again, we talked about a little bit and we're running through the decade series, the best two, the running boom becoming so big, becoming more inclusive.

Speaker 2: 1:01:57

We're also seeing that being healthy and having a desire to prioritize wellness isn't about fitting into a mold or fitting into our high school genes, but more so about overall wellness, and overall wellness is very much about how we feel within our community and our connections to individuals. So I think we see that again with community and social aspects, with social media. So that's super exciting. And social media doesn't have to be the only way you fundraise, but it will be probably one of your tools in your big toolkit, so you're going to definitely want to keep that in your back pocket a little bit. You don't have to be a run fluencer, but you have to feel comfortable with navigating a few of the different and it doesn't have to be like Facebook's my jam, instagram's your jam other kids may love TikTok. Linkedin could be something's jam. It has to be a platform that connects to you, just like it's a nonprofit that connects to you.

Speaker 1: 1:02:49

And again, nine out of 10 times. Everybody on your social feed knows that you like running and to be able to bring it to a level that they may be able to better understand, I'm running in conjunction with this cause can honestly sometimes too on a selfish note help people get it. Yes, because you're miles. For them, it's like okay, you're doing it for something and while we also do it for ourselves, it can be a great stepping stone again to get people to understand why it means so much and how you're running is so much bigger than just moving.

Speaker 2: 1:03:27

Absolutely so. With that said, we're going to get right into how to fundraise, how to make that impact, how to be able to really, really really create a fundraising campaign, a grassroots fundraising campaign that helps you meet your fundraising goals or exceed your fundraising goals. So we've already talked about how it has to connect with you emotionally. We're going to also say this is where it's really important. If you don't love social media, if you don't love blogs, maybe it's texting, maybe it's personal phone calls, maybe it's emails, maybe you want to go old school and like write letters. But connecting with the individuals that you're hoping that you can actually create those donations with, and all of those different facets, is going to be super, super important as you continue to, as you start to fundraise.

Speaker 2: 1:04:12

So don't this is the one time we're going to say do not be shy. Actually, I think we say that all the time, but especially this time, do not be shy. Let folks know right out of the gate hey, this is what I'm doing, this is what I'm doing it for. This is the reason why I'm passionate about it creating that connector where you're updating individuals. Maybe when you have a really cruddy run, that's your time to update your potential group of folks or your network to let them know hey, this run sucked but it pales in comparison to what this organization is all helping folks to do or how to live their lives because of the limitations they may have or whatever the case may be or whatever they're facing.

Speaker 1: 1:04:53

So connecting again back to your training how you live your life and the actual purpose of that nonprofit and I will say one of my biggest fun things to see on social media with fundraisers is when they get crafty. I know Allie and Neil who we had on the show before. They were fundraising for New York and they actually made custom Lego displays based off of the. Disney characters. They were so flipping cute. That's adorable.

Speaker 1: 1:05:26

We even shared it on the Instagram because it was just so out of the box and maybe that's not your forte. Maybe you are great at sewing and you wanna make some fabric metal holders and sell them and put that money and make it clear that that money is going towards donating for X, y and Z. It's a great time to maybe show off some of your extra skills. Maybe you could even use some of your services. Maybe you're a coach as well. You can say, hey, I'm gonna be doing this workshop or I'm gonna be offering a special. All the profits are gonna go towards this organization. But always calling out where that money is going to an organization again makes people feel more connected, because they feel like they're not only supporting you, but they're supporting a great cause.

Speaker 2: 1:06:16

I love that you also are mentioning using our skill sets outside of running and putting those to good use, but also the fact that you're utilizing the fact that for our, the people that we're trying to reach to help get those donations from, let's be honest, while we may be super passionate and super connected to that nonprofit, that may not speak to their heart directly.

Speaker 2: 1:06:38

So when you're able to increase the possibility of them giving to your nonprofit or the nonprofit that you're raising money for, by connecting it with it like an actual good or service, it maybe feels transactional and you maybe want it to be more esoteric and they're doing it out of the goodness of their heart. Well, they may have already given to 10 charities out of the goodness of their heart. So maybe now this is the time to kind of bring up that creativity a little bit, creating something that is a bit more goods and services and it is more transactional, but knowing that those proceeds still go to that organization. It also gives you an outlet because, let's be honest, I know a lot of you guys are into knitting. There's only so much stuff that you can knit and keep around the house, so that's a great way to potentially have a little bit of a sell-off.

Speaker 2: 1:07:21

Bacon thongs are super popular. Talk about not doing things that are just related to running and creating like unique, fun things to be able to have.

Speaker 1: 1:07:29

I think garage sales.

Speaker 2: 1:07:30

Garage sales are fantastic and you could do online garage sales. You don't have to use just the traditional garage sales.

Speaker 1: 1:07:37

Coshmark is a great one. You have old running gear, even running shoes, that maybe still have some life in them, that you don't want anymore, don't need anymore. Your kids are growing out of clothes. Throw all that up there. It's money that's just sitting there and it's a great way to go ahead and just have that little bit of extra juice.

Speaker 2: 1:07:55

One of our TFB training athletes who is endeavoring to do a perfect run Disney season and is fundraising for all of the races utilized over the run Disney weekend. One of the most incredible ways of fundraising I have ever seen, which that was French braiding people's hair. So she took appointments before, during and after the entire weekend. She could meet people wherever they needed to be met. So she could French braid their hair for race day, Because, I will tell you, I am envious of every single French braid that I see at all of these cool races, cause I can barely put my hair into a ponytail. So I thought that was such a creative way and she did it by, like you know, donations were appreciated she didn't set an actual dollar amount and letting folks kind of let their generosity or the fact that most of us don't necessarily break our cash change anymore, kind of speak that. So she could have she likely got larger donations that way but also making it accessible to thinking outside of that cash box where sometimes you have to be able to accept Venmel, PayPal or Zeal or Zell or whatever the different, all of the different payment things are. So I think there's just so many creative ways of using our skill set.

Speaker 2: 1:09:08

But let's say that's not your jam. Maybe you don't want to host a trivia night. Maybe you don't necessarily want to. You don't have any skill set of things that you want to sell off or auction off. Maybe it is where you host something at a local restaurant. So this is where I'm really big of going back to our local community and saying, hey, local community, maybe you can give a dollar, maybe you can sponsor me for this race. I could throw your logo onto my singlet to where I can talk about you being a sponsorship, creating those sponsorship packages. Maybe that's too formal, so you're just saying, hey, can I host an event here and proceeds of that night will go towards my charity. There's a lot of different or there's a lot of organizations that you can actually use to find the restaurants in your neighborhood or in your local community to do that. A lot of them are more chain aspects. So if you have a communication or you have a local place that you visit quite often, I would suggest talking and starting with them first.

Speaker 1: 1:10:07

And the big elephant in the room too is not only asking for restaurants and organizations for their spaces, but also just point blank asking them for their financial support. A lot of especially corporate buildings, corporate offices they have a quota they actually have to meet during the year of donations to nonprofits and while they might have bigger amounts earmarked for their go-tos, a lot of times as employees they'll go ahead and support their organizations. A lot of corporations do price not price match, but meet the goals that you have already set. So if you raise $1,000, they'll match that $1,000, and so on and so forth. So a lot of them again, because again, money talks, they get tax write-offs, they're very eager to hand over some money and help out those nonprofits and they have different systems in place for that. So if you do work for a corporation or a bigger business, definitely sit down with your HR department or whoever that point of contact is at your company and ask the question, because again the worst thing's gonna happen.

Speaker 1: 1:11:22

They'll be like, no, we've already capped out, or no, we're not able to, and that's okay. But you put in very hard work for the companies and they wanna do good for their people as well as organizations.

Speaker 2: 1:11:33

Yeah, plus, let's be honest from the perspective of it just highlights their organization as well.

Speaker 2: 1:11:40

So yes matching gifts is a wonderful way and emailing your HR professional and get that started and don't be surprised even if maybe they don't have a traditional matching gift program if they still don't wanna send something your way and help you out.

Speaker 2: 1:11:54

Or maybe they have parameters and you have to wait until the new year. But talk to your nonprofit that you are fundraising for, letting them know that your corporate sponsorship or your corporate matching gift has different parameters, making sure that you're able to kind of work within because both the nonprofit and your employer will likely be able to come to terms that they will agree and maybe your nonprofit has to extend your fundraising minimum or fundraise deadline. But talking to folks and reaching out and asking the questions and don't thinking that no is always the answer, kind of giving yourself that possibility is definitely gonna be one of the most important things of charity running. So, coach, I feel like, when it comes to creativity of different ways of fundraising, that definitely is something that you would have or that you have in spades. What other ways can we potentially see raising funds that are a little bit out of the box?

Speaker 1: 1:12:44

There are a lot of great sites there where you can create customized shirts and yes, they do eat into the profit a little bit, but every little bit counts. You don't have to have a lot of stock on hand. You can get them printed on demand. Maybe there are local art galleries or local art artists that might be able to do a piece that you can auction off, or I mean even sometimes, if you're not versed in coaching or a service, there are other places that again want to be part of the philanthropy act and will donate maybe a pottery class or a certificate to go and learn self-defense. There's so many different ways. This is a great time to use your connections and you're not only helping them get their word out, maybe on a small business, but you're helping the charity. And I mean heck, even doing a car wash, as cheesy as it might sound a lot of times. You can host a car wash with your local run group and maybe your whole run group helps support you in this endeavor.

Speaker 2: 1:13:52

Absolutely. Actually, my run group did help me in one of my fundraising endeavors where they did a community garage sale. So, again, reaching out to the people that are near and dear, that are helping you with those miles, will absolutely come in handy as well. Coach, you already nailed it in terms of asking for different donations per se. So if you wanted to collect donations, I would definitely say this is a great opportunity, especially using the online resources, because some of us have networks that are maybe international or national, because we have really built our network online with social media.

Speaker 2: 1:14:26

So, if you have your local organizations, if they have a national presence, I should say auctioning those items online is phenomenal. You don't have to do it in person to be able to get the maximum for it. But maybe even making it a little extra fun with having, like an online Zoom party where you auction it live. Maybe even some of your friends are like me and speak a little faster and can get some espresso and pretend to be an auctioneer for the night. So all these different ways of just making it fun hosting a mystery night or a dinner night, but also I wouldn't sleep on any of those opportunities to get folks together with, like fitness workshops, maybe your local spin organization or your local yoga and hosting those things.

Speaker 2: 1:15:06

Actually, one of the most successful grassroots fundraising that I did was when I was fundraising for London and it was for the Royal Society of Blind Children, where we did a blindfolded yoga so that people could get an idea of how much more difficult it is to kind of do some of the moves without being able to see the instructor and having to make sure that the yoga instructor was able to really coach folks through it. So I think that that helped to walk away with people having a bit more in a safe zone, a knowledge of what it feels like to have low vision or no vision. So that's you know, kind of thinking out of the box of how did it connect to your nonprofit as well?

Speaker 1: 1:15:45

Absolutely. I love that idea. I would totally participate in that.

Speaker 2: 1:15:49

It was. It was a lot of fun it was. It was, weirdly enough, eye-opening of an experience of all the things that we tend to take for granted, which is it's raising awareness, right? So if you're thinking, how do I do something like that for my nonprofit, do reach out to your nonprofit. Help them with raising that awareness. They likely have somebody that can come to speak to you at your whatever it is that you're going to host, so you can get a little bit more awareness and have people connect more closely to it.

Speaker 1: 1:16:17

Now you know, you know I do love my cooking, but I will say a bake sale yes. Especially at offices people love like, hey, $2 for a brownie, $3 for the pack of cookies, whatever. It's a great way to again get people involved. You feel a little bit, maybe less awkward, because you're going to go ahead and give them something in return for the donation or even host a potluck.

Speaker 2: 1:16:46

Yes, but you know what I would do, more so than doing just a bake sale or just a potluck. I would make it a competition and by that meaning that you have the folks because everybody talks about how their chili is better than your chili or their lemon bars are better than your lemon bars have people that want to participate actually donate portions to be able to have a competition entry fee. Eric quotes I don't know why I'm doing that, but regardless a competition entry fee where they actually do pay to be able to participate, you're going to have to have some kind of a prize as well. But then you can also have a little bit of a competition where people are paying to be able to purchase some of these things. So all the way around, you're making money off the competitors you're making money off of, and again it's you're not making money. You're putting it back into your nonprofit is what you're doing.

Speaker 2: 1:17:32

Everybody feels good. You get a little bit of friendly team showdown. Maybe all our team challenge a little bit of trash talking that people always kind of seem to enjoy. So making it fun and thinking it out of the box of how can you maximize it, which brings us to our recipes of the episode. So, coach, where do you have a team savory that people can maybe do for a little competition showdown?

Speaker 1: 1:17:56

I feel like this could be highly controversial, because even the recipe, I already know how I would doctor it. That could even be a really fun thing Use the same recipe, but you have to make it your own. So the base is the same but the additions aren't. So I would challenge somebody to do a pasta fajol.

Speaker 1: 1:18:14

And again, don't come at me if I said it wrong. I don't know if it's fajol or fajoli I am, I'm Italian and somewhere, but it's. It's not the primary source, but it is a great, great recipe, especially during the cooler months. I say cooler because, again, don't come at us we're in Florida, but I love a soup and anything with pasta in it is a yes for me. What do you, what do you think you'd try your hand at?

Speaker 2: 1:18:40

Oh my God. Well, I'm trying a bowl of everybody's pasta fajol, and that's how I'm saying it, and I don't know if that's right either. Over on team sweet, I would be down with a bake off or something of that sort. So, absolutely. I love your idea, though, of having the one item and letting folks put their own spin on it for that competition.

Speaker 1: 1:18:58

It's like chopped you have the same ingredients but you have to make, oh man, a chopped night. Yes.

Speaker 2: 1:19:04

All of these things in again. You could do them in person or you could do them online. It doesn't have to be quite what you think it to be. It doesn't. Don't let the parameters of traditional fundraising hold you back. So I'm having a little bit of a carrot and orange cake on my side. I love Bundt cakes. I love how they have their sweet without being overly sweet, and I particularly like the recipe that I shared because it has a sour cream glaze and I just love the little bit of tartness with it. So for me, this is definitely ranking up really, really high. I feel like it also is one of the things where, if folks were to have a Bundt cake face off, they would have so many different variations that it would be a whole lot of fun. What A Bundt still lie. I mean, I do like big Bunts and I cannot lie about that, my friend. So what else are you sharing for? Maybe a recipe that can serve multiple groups, or that people are going to serve for when they get together for their nonprofit fundraising night?

Speaker 1: 1:20:04

Again, it's a good fall and winter recipe. And again talk about controversy. Beans, or known beans, have a chili cookoff. Yes, because I mean people will give you money to just fight about if chilies have beans or no beans. I am sorry people, I am a chili with beans person.

Speaker 2: 1:20:28

Yes, beans are the only way to go. Actually, you can almost leave the meat out and just make a bean chili. But I will say, the biggest controversy I have is is it okay for it to be a white chili or is it? Does it have to be a tomato based chili?

Speaker 1: 1:20:42

Oh, I kind of feel like chili needs to be a tomato based. But if you go, I think Texas, specifically Texas chili does not have beans in it. Well, you cannot actually call it chili.

Speaker 2: 1:20:54

They're wrong in Texas. I hate to say that, but I will tell you. What's right is the fact that Coach Shelby and I have finally found our one common ground when it comes to food. It's chili.

Speaker 1: 1:21:03

Yeah, I love, I love the quote, unquote white chili, but I don't believe it's chili soup. It's not chili, it's soup, it's soup. I'm sorry it can be a chilled soup, which, no, not really, but it's not, it's not chili.

Speaker 2: 1:21:18

I do feel like we're going to get a lot of hate mail from this. I don't know if any, I don't know if anybody's going to start want to volunteer to help with any of those different things, but they're definitely going to give us some hate mail. Us to that Texas chili comment that I made in your our soup for white chili. Another thing that I have on my side, though, is a little bit of chocolate and hazelnut. I love hazelnut with my chocolate for two Sweet. So having these bars I love specifically.

Speaker 2: 1:21:40

This is the recipe that you can make it and cut it in a different way. So maybe you want to make it more of a tasting platter of desserts for folks, so you can make these a bit smaller. Maybe you're going to package these up and sell them at a baking sale, so you're going to go ahead and make them a little bit bigger, a little heartier all the way around. They have a lot of different ways that you can have a lot of different variations. I will say, while you can play a little bit more when it comes to the soups and the chilies, on those feeding the big groups of people and those recipes, you can tweak them. You can't tweak quite as often when it comes to baking. So proceed with caution and if you decide that it works for you, let us know what your variation is.

Speaker 1: 1:22:19

Listen these hazelnut bars, I'll buy the whole thing there's my donation, I would get down.

Speaker 2: 1:22:25

So, shelby, where we went wrong is we were looking for recipes that met just what we wanted at home. What we should have done is gone for these big recipes right out of the gate. We would have found ourselves at home, we agree with all of them.

Speaker 2: 1:22:38

Show me the money. I know Well we do agree with folks is that, again, running has given us so much. We can't wait for you to give back to running, to continue to feel that connection to this community and building the life that you want, both in your personal day to day life in that community and in the running world. So we want to thank you so much for joining us during this topic. We can't wait to hear directly from you as to what you thought and how you are making an impact in the running community. We're going to ask you not to forget to check out quick bites. We still have the holiday gift guide drops on Wednesday and we can't wait to see you again for our long run episode dropping next Friday. We're going to keep serving up more miles with a side of smiles.