Rabbit Run

YoungLives in Fredericksburg, VA has spent the past few years perfecting their "Rabbit Run" fundraiser - and now they are spilling the secrets to their success! Check it out:

Six months out: We have a race committee, which is just our YoungLives committee with a couple of people who jump in for specific race planning times. We recruited a team leader who plans races for her job and works for the YMCA. We try to start as early as possible in the planning process. In the past we have done it in the fall, but this will be our second year of moving it to the Spring and having an Easter theme, which has been a big winner. By moving the race and adding a theme we almost doubled our participants and we more than doubled our profit (last year we netted $10k). We start by planning, securing the course, getting someone to do timing chips, and getting permits. We also try to get a title sponsor first so that we can put their name in the race heading. Once that happens, we also have the money for other advertisements and race expenses. If we know someone in a business (like a car company, hair salon, grocery store...) or have a connection we start there for sponsorships - and we also open it up to families to be sponsors. We print and hand out sponsor forms with the YoungLife tax ID and allow our sponsors to pick what they want to do. From $5 to $5,000...it all helps! Our sponsorships more than cover the race costs so that we make a profit from them - and then all participant fees are profit as well.

Advertising: We use large poster paper with Publisher templates to make creative and colorful ads to hang around town, in gyms, YMCAs, wherever. If we have sponsors early on, we advertise for them on these fliers. (We try to keep everything local, from t-shirt guy to prizes and sponsors).

Registration: We put out registration forms for the race wherever we can: gyms, running stores, churches etc. Anyone is welcome to participate! We have a 5k Rabbit Run, a 1 Mile Hop, and a 1/4 mile Bunny Chase, which really is little kids chasing a big dressed up Bunny - it's the best! We market this mostly to families (we welcome walkers!) and to the running community also (we offer race timing chips for them).

Day Of: On the day of, everyone is on point and we pull in extras, including spouses and kids. Anyone helping wears bunny ears! We have a moon bounce for kiddos, and Chick-Fil-A, Panera and some other local restaurants donate food. We have course marshalls out with bright colors out to guide our runners, and our team leader is the MC for the day as well. We have people registering runners at packet pick-up, and we have people handing out the timing chips. We also have our Bunny just out and about spreading Easter cheer! After the races are over and prizes are given out, we have a 10 and under Easter egg hunt that a local church sponsors.

Prizes: For prizes...I LOVE OUR PRIZES! We offer the first place winners already cooked hams, second place adults get Easter baskets with fun goodies and coupons in them, second and third place children get a variety of sizes of handmade chocolate filled Easter eggs that are beautifully decorated. The overall winners get $50 gift cards to a local running store. We have tried to keep the prizes very Easter-esque. Also, we do have finisher medals for everyone! Anyone who crosses the finish line get a BEAUTIFUL medal to wear around their neck, full color and double sided with the race info and an Easter egg on one side...my favorite part.

Want to know more? E-mail Megan McCormack