Derby Fundraiser

[FatSebastian]

We are involved with a private school that does fund-raising to cover a significant portion of its expenses. Every year there is some kind of event where people pledge money toward some activity that the kids participate in, and the amount of money received is often dependent on the degree to which they successfully participate, such as a Walk-A-Thon, Bike-A-Thon, etc. Prizes are sometimes awarded for the kids that raise the most funds - usually donations from local businesses of nominal value (think gift certificates for restaurant food or other things / activities that kids might enjoy, etc.).

Has anyone ever heard of something like a "Derby-A-Thon" as an organizational fund-raiser? I have seen arguments against racers competing for prize money, and I tend to agree with them. However, I am curious about fund-raising where the kids compete for the benefit of their organization, not themselves directly.

I imagine a scenario where kids might collect pledges based on how well their cars rank / place (the details of which are TBD), and/or collect "racing sponsorships" (they get a flat amount pledged just for competing). I could see this being especially popular with sponsors because anyone could pledge, say $X for first place, and the sponsor would only be out $X because there's only one 1st place, so they could make that pledge to as many teams as asked. I think it would be something different for the kids to do, and perhaps attract more fund-raising interest than past years because it is different (providing a suitable proposal could be worked out, of course).

Ideas? Comments? Lurking pitfalls?

[Darin McGrew]

As an occasional sponsor, I prefer to give a flat rate. Barring that, I prefer to give "$x per y" where the total is fairly certain (e.g., $x per 1km in a 5km walk-a-thon that almost everyone is certain to complete). I don't like pledging when the total is uncertain. I don't want my gift to be diminished if the person I sponsor does poorly, and I don't want it to become excessive if the person I sponsor does unexpectedly well.