Grassroots racing, be it cars, go-karts, sailboats or lawn movers (yes, lawn mowers!) are often charity events. Racing for charity means you'll need online sports ticketing software to keep everything organized and not get in the way of the fun. Here's how to do it!
Racing For Charity
Local racing is a grassroots effort, with hard working volunteers spending their time organizing races just for the fun. As such, most local racing events are not ticketed and use a welcoming “come one, come all” informal format. But what if a local race has decided to raise money for a charity - just how does that change the event and the way it is organized? Let's look at some examples...
Go-karts
The recent charity event by the San Bartolomé go-kart association raised a healthy sum for the local non-profit childrens' soccer team. In addition to a fun day out racing karts, the event was able to raise more than the expected amount of money. Such a windfall is not uncommon once the community gets involved and the momentum starts to build. Noteworthy is how many local small businesses participated making the fund raising a tax deductible benefit. A good practice when racing for charity is to invite businesses that are in some way are associated with the type of racing, as "corporate sponsors." Doing so provides a little advertising in exchange for their support.
Sailing
Down under, the 2013 Heaven Can Wait Charity Sailing Regatta is set for later this year but a call for entries is being made now. Yacht racing is a very specialized sport as well as being a very expensive one - but that just means big donations for the charity. Last year's event raised $30,000 for men's cancer research and this year the goal is $50,000. Watercraft entry for the race is a process being performed on the official website. The same website will also be selling event tickets and asking for donations during the purchase process. The race also includes several ancillary events for non-boat racing fans which helps increase attendance (and thus donations). The idea of attracting more than just race fans with extra events like a cook-out is an idea that can be easily applied to your race.
Lawn mowers
Crazy as it may sound, lawn mower racing is a real motorsport and is extremely popular (video above). It even has an national governing body, just like NASCAR! This past weekend in Grand Island, New York, a regional lawn mower race event was held that had over one thousand people(!) in attendance. The event raised money for cancer awareness to the tune of $6,000.
The city of Grand Island was a major participant in the race event, helping organize it and providing logistical support. Municipal involvement in any racing event usually costs a lot of money (police, fire and rescue, etc.) but those services were underwritten by the city as their contribution to the charitable efforts. Early on in your race planning, be sure to reach out to the local city government and ask about any programs they offer for event underwriting or material support. You may find there is an express lane for permitting, including the waiving of any permit fees. If your event isn't operating as a 501c charity itself, the non-profit organization you are raising money for can coordinate with the city so your event will qualify for any incentives.
What to look for when choosing ticketing software
The noble act of charity fundraising has a few rules that need to be observed in order to make everyone happy (racers, fans and of course the charity itself) plus it helps ensure everything goes smoothly on race day.
Donations made at the event should be welcomed, but there’s some overhead involved that can be a hassle for race organizers. Secure containers to keep cash and checks in, plus a watchful eye, will be needed as common sense would dictate. If your volunteer staff is limited, one option is to accept donations only online. That’s where online sports ticketing software comes in.
You may assume that in order to use sports ticketing software, the race has to have assigned seating, but that’s not the case. Your race for charity can use the same “come one, come all” family friendly format it does now. In fact the event can still be free to attend. Ticketing software just makes the task of accepting donations much easier. Off-loading donations to the ticketing software saves times too, letting race volunteers focus on their responsibilities at the event.
The best sports ticketing software will have a simple set-up, just add an event name, date, time and write a short request to encourage attendees to make a donation. It will also let you configure the online ticket sale as a single-click “buy and goodbye” experience or have options for tier ticket prices, if that suits your race event needs.
Also, a very important feature to look out for when choosing an online ticketing software - no fees or per-transaction costs. Some ticketing software programs have mandatory fees charged for each ticket sold. Those fees not only turn people off from attending, those who are resilient enough to still buy tickets won’t be donating 100% to the charity, their gift will be diluted by the per-ticket fee.
ThunderTix Sports Ticketing Software
ThunderTix has years of experience helping grassroots sporting events sell tickets and would love to be part of your next race. We pride ourselves on our sports ticketing software helping local racing events get up and running to start selling tickets and, when needed, accepting charitable donations online. Our technology as a ticketing software for nonprofits powers some of the largest charity events in the country but it is easy to use. Plus, we never charge you per-ticket fees. Our sports ticketing software pricing scales to a very affordable level for small to medium events and can be used all season long - not just for your one-time race for charity.
If you need help making the move to an online ticketing software, please contact us at your convenience, and we'll talk about how ThunderTix can best serve your needs.