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RUN WALK RIDE SUCCESS
October 2007
 
Greetings!
 
SAVE THE DATES -- February 27 & 28, 2008.  That's when the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council will hold its 2nd annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
The Renaissance Waverly Hotel is a great place to build on the success of our first gathering in New York.  We'll start with an opening dinner and then spend a full day learning from experts, sharing best practices and getting a first look at the latest research.
 
Have suggestions for conference content?  Send them my way right away at dh@runwalkride.com.  Look for registration details by November 15.
 
Ready, set, read on!
 
David Hessekiel
President
Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council
Tel: (914) 921-3914
Y-ME Mothers Day Eventsyme event logo
Y-Me's presentation on the transformation of its Chicago run into a national fundraising series was a highlight of our May conference.  If you didn't have a chance to join us, The NonProfit Times shares highlights in this article.
Run Walk Ride 30 Study Released 
America's 30 largest athletic event fundraising programs generated more than $1.4 billion for charity in 2006, according to our first industry survey.
 
Study highlights are available online.  Join the RWRFC to receive a study CD full of valuable benchmarking information.
Team in Training Hires PR Firm
PRWeek reports that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has hired Dan Klores Communications to raise awareness of its signature endurance program.  
 
Team in Training has raised about $800 million since its founding.
Apologies to the AIDS/LifeCycleAIDS LifeCycle Logo
This June more than 2,300 riders pedaled from San Francisco to Los Angeles and raised over $11 million to fight AIDS in the process.
 
While reading that press release we realized that the AIDS/LifeCycle brought in $8 million in 2006 -- an amount that should have earned it a spot in our list of the top 30 events ranked by gross revenue (#24 to be precise).
 
It was an oversight -- we never solicited them for data.  We won't make that mistake again!
In This Issue
Y-ME Presentation Highlights
Run Walk Ride 30 Study
Team in Training PR Initiative
Tapping into the "Martyrdom Effect"
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SCHOLARLY NEWS
YOU CAN USE
 
RWR's academic advisor, Professor Michal Strahilevitz is always on the lookout for academic research of use to people in the field. 
 
She recently connected with Princeton researchers who've discovered that "painful and effortful" fundraising events (think marathons) elicit higher donations than pleasant ones (e.g. picnics).
 
Click here for a full report on the "martyrdom effect" and its implications for your athletic fundraising efforts.
Bonus
Offer
Join the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council by October 15 and you'll receive 15 months of membership for the price of 12.
 
Go to www.runwalkride.com/membership.asp to receive 90 extra days of membership.
Expires: October 15, 2007.