Your fundraising fuels cutting-edge research and delivers critical services to help the MS community live their best lives. We’re calling on our entire Bike MS community to raise $36 million this year to get us across the finish line for people affected by MS!
5 Ways to Get Started
- Set a goal and aim high.
- Personalize your Fundraising Center by sharing your story of why you ride.
- Make a self-donation to kickstart your fundraising and show others that you’re leading the way.
- Use the power of social media to share your story, videos and photos, and launch a Facebook Fundraiser.
- Get creative! Below you’ll find a list of activities to get you started.
Here are a few ideas to help get you started:
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Social Media & Email
Facebook Fundraising
Link your fundraising page to Facebook. Learn how on the Fundraising Toolkit page.
Fundraising Link in Emails
Remember to include your fundraising link on all outgoing emails, and texts. Also, re-record your voicemail to include a mention about participating in Bike MS and a request to contact you about donating.Share, Share, Share
Ask friends to share your posts on social media and forward your emails. -
Activities
Offer Donor Incentives
For example, for each $50 donation, post a goofy video of you dancing in honor of the donor; for each $20 donation send your donor a handmade thank you card; or, for each $10 donation create a doodle and send it to your donor. Customize these with your talents! Visit your Fundraising Center to post these for your donors to see.
Dinner Party or Wine Tasting
Invite people for a dinner or wine tasting party once they donate. Everyone can share their favorite dish or wine and explain why it’s their favorite.
Movie Night or Activity Night
Host a movie night with your teammates, friends and family (you can also host from your own homes, too, through Teleparty). Incorporate fun games as well! Every time the word “bike” is said in the movie, everyone donates $1 to your team.
Host an activity night. Encourage donors to contribute a set amount to participate. For example: - Bingo - Cooking Class - Trivia - Exercise/Yoga class - Dance party - Concert - Game night
Live stream your activity to your fundraising page for your friends and family to watch.
Garage Sale
Have a garage sale to do some spring cleaning. You can host this sale in person, online, or email and text pictures of items for sale. Get others to join your sale, too!
Extra Change Box
Keep a jar nearby to put all your extra coins in – it adds up! Or put it on your desk (or a communal space if allowed) at work.
Lip Sync Battle
Encourage team members to record videos of themselves singing and then submit the videos to you. You then set a time to showcase all the submissions and let donors vote on their favorite with their donation dollars. The person with the most donations wins! Variations of this event include a pet photo or kid photo contest.
No-bake Bake Sale
Host a no bake, bake sale. Have people donate what they would spend on making baked goods for a sale. Instead of baking, they donate to you.
Matching Gifts
Many companies offer matching gifts, which double – or even triple – donations with virtually no extra effort on your end. Find out how.
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Get Moving
Training Miles
Use your training miles to raise funds. Set a mileage or fundraising goal you’d like to achieve by a specific date. Then, share the goal with your friends and encourage them to donate (e.g. $1 for every 1 mile). If you use Strava (or a similar app), make sure to edit the title of your ride to reflect your donor. For example, “Darryl’s Donation Ride 50 Miles!”
Pro tip: You’re training anyway... so turn your training miles into dollars by using the Charity Miles app. While money raised via Charity Miles is not linked to your individual Bike MS fundraising (Charity Miles donations are sent to the Society overall), it’s a great way to cash in on your hard work and make a difference!
24-hour Bike-a-thon
Host a 24-hour bike-a-thon. Get the whole team involved as you rotate shifts around the clock. Donors can pledge money for each hour ridden. -
Around Your House & Neighborhood
Grocery Pick-up or Delivery
Offer to deliver or pick up groceries in exchange for donations to your fundraising page.IOUs
Offer “IOUs” for future things such as dinners, errands, or general chores in exchange for a donation.In-Home Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of everyday objects you and your friends might find at home (a pink highlighter, wrapping paper, an old teddy bear, etc.). If someone doesn't have an item on your list, they can make a donation to bypass the item and move on to the next. Whoever gets through the list fastest gets a prize.
Favorite Things
Create lists of your favorite things like books, movies, crafts, school worksheets for kids, distraction techniques and share them for a donation.Orange Ribbons
Cut orange ribbons and sell them to your friends and family. You can either mail the ribbons to donors or offer to hang them in your window with their name printed on them. Don’t forget to post photos using #bikeMS.
Note for Your Neighbors
Put a note in your neighbors’ mailboxes letting them know you are participating. Ask them to join your team and make a donation.
