Donation hike
How, exactly.... Would one set up a giving campaign based around a through hike? I don't have a charity in mind, but I certainly could raise some donations... Ideas?
I'd tell people I was hiking for a cause and tell them where they could make a donation. None of the money would ever touch my hands - straight to the charity it goes.
Agree with 10 K. It's best to work with a charity that has the capability to receive on-line donations directly (and securely of course) so that as 10 K said, the money doesn't touch your hands.
I notice you're (apparently) a new WB member. Welcome! If you've lurked here for any time, you'll have noticed that some solicitors of "charity" hikes are rather suspect in that they're seeking "donations" for their own expenses (gear, supplies, etc.). Sometimes they refer to such endavors not-too-creatively as "sponsorships." Don't make that mistake.
You should promise them double their pledge back for every mile you don't finish.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
LOL... good idea!Originally Posted by WingedMonkey
i had thought about hiking for charity, but i came to my own conclusion that for me these two things are separate and difficult to combine.in one sense, i felt it might give me more determination to finish, but on the other hand, my hike now becomes work, and im no longer hiking for the sake of the hike.finding a way to keep in touch so that my progress could be charted, id be constantly thinking about "what if I dont finish, what if i only make it a month?" maybe double the donation for every mile left undone as noted above. Id like to hear from people who have successfully done it, why they chose the charity they did might have something to do with their motivation.i agree though that contributions should be made directly to the charity; less bookkeeping, dont have to worry so much about accountability.
The trail itself has great needs. If you want to do a charity hike, make the recipient the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, or one of the maintaining clubs. MATC, which maintains 263 miles of trails, welcomes contributions. Our dues income totals less than $10,000 annually. Our annual budget runs around $250,000. Our membership chair, Barbara Gorrill, PO Box 55, Gray, ME 04039, accepts contributions on behalf of MATC.
Another group I'm familiar with, MATLT, Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, is struggling to preserve sections of the high peaks region of Maine, which straddles the AT. You can contact them through www.matlt.org.
I haven't been lurking, so I hadn't noticed that phenomenon. I've got all the gear I could use and then some and am in a stable financial position. I was merely trying to think of ways to be doing good while I was out there.I was also thinking of trying to figure out a way to use the thru-hikers to collect water samples from major sources to gauge the health of the water we drink. Any ideas on how to accomplish that would be helpful.
A couple of thought on hiking (or similar stuff) for charity. Most people that hike or whatever for charity raise far less in donations than they could by simply working and donating half their pay for 6 months to a charity. So I tend to take the view that the hiker's desire to hike is the prime reason they are hiking - not that they are actually hell bent on raising money that couldn't otherwise be there through their time and effort. That said, if someone who is going to hike anyway can raise some money for a good cause - that's great. As long as they don't do it with the idea that the hike will be in any way financed by the donations. As others noted, have the donations go directly to the charity or a trustee of some kind.
I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever hiked using a donation scale like a logarithmic or Lehman type scale for donations, for example: $0.01 per mile for the first 500 miles, $0.02 for the next 500, $0.03 for the next 500, $.004 for the next 500, then maybe kick it up to $0.20 for the next 100, and finally $1 per mile for the last 82, for a total of $152. Or something similar. Something like that would definitely serve to keep a fund raising conscious hiker motivated to keep on going and finish as the payout is largely in the final leg. Get 50, or 100, or more sponsors pledging at that level and you could raise a reasonable sum for some organization. Anyway, just a thought.
I knew there was a reason I kept that slide rule!
You could make one out of your Lekis.I knew there was a reason I kept that slide rule!
You could contact biology or chemistry departments at colleges or universities not far from the trail. You could possibly attract the interest of a professor looking for student research projects. However collecting water from major sources would not be of much interest, I would guess, as that is probably already being done. Collecting water from remote sites might be of more interest to someone doing environmental, public health, or aquatic research. You would have to arrange for adequate methods for taking, storing, and shipping samples (that could be tricky). The good news is that your slide rule is a good calculator for a gram weenie.
right here http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index...001e0215acRCRD
I did a couple of 50 mile walks for MS. These were sponsored events but there are a variety of ways one can donate on-line. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/donate/index.aspx
Hey, LaurieP, would this fall under the Mega-Transsect concept? If so, perhaps Dumplings could talk to you directly in HF at the ATC office?
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!
Read A Walk for Sunshine. Had a boy that died At 17 who never walked. I will throw down if I see one hiking for a cause on the trail. Its a mano to mano thing.
My AT partner, Pickle, did exactly what 10K suggested. He ended up raising over $15,000 for two medical research orgs, ALS and breast cancer. He never touched a dime, except for when a person in CT handed him $10 for the cause. We printed up some free business cards and started an email campaign for publicity. It was a fun and rewarding way to hike. Every mile and ka-ching, $6 for good causes. He took pledges of pennies per mile, told the donor when we finished and asked the donor to send in the pledge. Most rounded up to the nearest $100 anyway and money donated ended being greater than the money pledged. Pickle even did a matching program for a certain amount, and I donated excess funds I didn't need from my budget, since the hike was much less expensive than planned. We also got a lot of people interested in the AT. Everybody profited. Good luck in your project.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
I'd rather hand off to the family. Then to some nameless doctor thing.
I did a fundraiser for my son's Scout troop. We put a AT strip map up at the meeting hall and at every meeting they would put a pin in the map where I was. That way they could track my progress. We took pledges of a penny per mile. We had almost 40 pledges and since I finished they made about $800.
"Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011
I am hiking to raise money for HIV/AIDS, as well as the ATC. It is very easy to motivate donors... since most folks have no intention of hiking the AT, they enjoy donating to someone who is crazy enough to take on such a challenge. So far, I have raised $2,500 for one organization and $218 each for two other organizations... and I have not even set foot on the Trail!
Contact your favorite organization. Many can set up a donation page on their site, or a donation code, like "DumplingsHike", that donors can refer to when making their gift. This way, the gifts associated with your hike can be tracked.
As others have mentioned, a penny per mile, dime per mile, etc. etc. challenge is great. A "pay now, pay later" donation is a good idea, because folks can make an initial gift now, and when you finish the AT, they can make a second "congratulations!" gift. Tons of ways to promote a good cause.
There is a book on Amazon and through the ATC bookstore where a hiker raised money for Sunshine House ("A Walk for Sunshine", by Jeff Alt).
Additionally, if you are on Facebook, your donors can follow your adventures, if you create a Facebook community or group, and update it from the Trail.
There are only a couple of thousand people who hike the Trail each year and many millions who don't, but who would give willingly if asked. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK!
Feel free to email me at hikerosshike (at) gmail.com if you have further questions.
Good luck!
Ross / DirtyGirl
- - - - -
DirtyGirl
2012 NoBo AT Thru-Hiker
(and an incredibly proud 2011 SoBo JMT Thru-Hiker... I did it!!)
Ross Hayduk
San Francisco, CA
www.hikerosshike.org
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