Ride for World Health Solidarity Ride Fundraising 101
Ride for World Health Solidarity Ride Fundraising 101
Thanks for your interest in Ride for World Health (R4WH)! We are grateful for your interest in our cause and looking forward to meeting you personally at our Solidarity Rides!
Here is your introduction to who we are at R4WH and how to successfully fundraise for a R4WH Solidarity ride.
Key Fundraising Tips:
1. Print out the R4WH Pledge Sheet to keep track of your pledges as they come in.
2. Print out a copy of our brochure or info card to take with you and show potential donors.
3. Read over the R4WH Key Facts below so you can tell others about R4WH and our beneficiaries.
4. All checks should be made payable to Ride for World Health and can be submitted on the day of the Solidarity Ride.
5. Remember R4WH is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. That means that all donations over $50 are tax deductible. Here is how to make sure that your donors get their tax deduction.
Have donors write a check payable to R4WH and make sure the address in the upper left hand corner is current and correct. If it is not correct, please make a note of the correct address and attach it securely to the check.
R4WH will send the donor a thank you letter including our tax identification number that they can use when they fill out their taxes.
6. Ask your employer about their policy on matching charitable donations. Many employers will match your own charitable donation and may even agree to match your entire fundraising efforts. Often, all that is required is filling out a simple form. If your employer requires R4WH to fill out a form as well, please contact our finance chair Kristen Burwick at kristen.burwick@osumc.edu who can take care of the paperwork on our end!
7. Final Step! Ask people! Approach your friends, family members, church members, and any one else you can think of. Send letters to family and friends that live far away telling them about the ride and your fundraising goals. Post a pledge sheet at your work or gym. Go to local area businesses to see if they will sponsor you.
If a local business is interested but would like to speak with someone at R4WH directly, contact our sponsorship director Allison Janusz at allison.janusz@osumc.edu who can discuss sponsorship levels and possible company representation on R4WH marketing materials. You will still get credit for their donation as part of your fundraising.
8. Remember, you are responsible for the minimum entry fee at the time of registering for the ride, as this fee helps cover the cost of the ride. However, you can keep fundraising up to the day of the ride to meet your personal donation goals.
R4WH: Key Facts
Here are some questions you may be asked while fundraising. Read over these Key Facts as they will help you tell others about the mission of R4WH.
What is Ride for World Health?
Ride for World Health is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to quality health care in the poorest countries of the world through education, advocacy, and fundraising. The organization was founded in November 2004 by a small group of medical students with a shared interest in global health issues. Now, every year Ride for World Health organizes a cross-country bicycle ride and lecture series to raise awareness of disparities in health care, both within the United States and overseas. The motto of the ride is “A journey across the country to meet needs across the world.” Proceeds from the bike ride benefit organizations dedicated providing health services to impoverished populations.
What are R4WH Solidarity Rides?
Ride for World Health holds several Solidarity Rides during their cross-country trek. Solidarity Rides are single day, public bike riding events with the dual purpose of promoting community interest in global health issues and involving the community in raising funds to benefit global health organizations. Solidarity Ride participants join the National Team Riders (the cross country bike riders) for a day of biking for a cause. Through their fundraising efforts, Solidarity Ride participants not only raise funds for R4WH’s beneficiaries, but also play a key role in spreading R4WH’s mission throughout their communities.
Who has R4WH supported in the past and how much money have they raised for these beneficiaries?
Ride for World Health supports different beneficiaries every year. Each year, beneficiaries are chosen based on their accomplishments and impact in global health. In previous years, Ride for World Health has raised $70,000 for Partners in Health, $60,000 split between the Global Health Access Program and The Pendulum Project, and $60,000 for Doctors without Borders.
Who are the 2009 R4WH beneficiaries?
This year R4WH has selected two very deserving organizations, Esperança and Village Health Works.
Who is Esperança and what do they do?
Founded in 1970, Esperança functions to serve some of the poorest communities in the world. One of the pillars of Esperança’s success is their partnership with community members, training and educating individuals to empower them with the knowledge necessary to initiate lasting change in their community.
Currently Esperança is operating four worldwide projects. The first, started in 1982, is located in Bolivia where volunteers are focused on the treatment and prevention of Chagas disease, a disabling and deadly parasitic disease prevalent in Bolivia.
The second project, begun in 2000 in Nicaragua, aims to address three very serious threats to the health of the local community – water-borne diseases, malnutrition, and childbirth. Volunteers work side by side with local residents to install filters for clean water, to create sustainable gardens which provide an ongoing stable source of nutrition, and to provide midwifery training programs aimed at decreasing maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality.
The third project, located domestically at the Golden Gate Community Center in Phoenix Arizona, was established to serve a population in which over half of the residents live 200% or more below the Federal Poverty Limit. Working hand-in-hand with Arizona’s Children Association, Esperança provides activity oriented day and summer camps for adolescents. Additionally, the program provides health fairs where residents can receive crucial preventative services such as blood pressure and diabetes screening and education through workshops aimed at the adult population who have very limited resources and access to care.
Esperança’s fourth program was started in 2003 in Mozambique, a country recently ranked by the World Bank as the sixth poorest in the world. Esperança works in five rural communities to combat HIV/AIDS, cholera, and malaria through education, emphasizing the importance of prevention and treatment adherence.
More information on Esperança and their projects can be found at their webpage www.esperanca.org.
Who is Village Health Works?
Village Health Works is a non-profit organization based in the U.S. working to improve healthcare among the underserved population in Burundi, East Africa. Since its independence from Belgium in 1962, Burundian civilians have suffered four decades of extensive ethnic violence and genocide at the hands of Tutsi military dictators.
The world’s poorest country according to World Bank’s 2006 Annual Report, Burundi is ravaged by extreme poverty. As a result of crippling government debt, Burundi’s public hospitals are fee-for-service institutions. The penalty for the many individuals unable to pay for necessary medical attention is enforced detention in guarded prisons. The vision of Village Health Works is based on the principle that all people, including the most oppressed and impoverished, are entitled to the highest standards of health care in their pursuit of happy and productive lives.
VHW works with local community members to establish a sustainable and expandable model of healthcare, providing much needed medical treatment to all comers, regardless of ability to pay. Clinical activities are focused on primary care with services available for the infectious diseases plaguing the local population - HIV/ AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Responding to rampant malnutrition, VHW has trained community healthcare workers to recognize and serve both children and adults suffering from acute malnutrition. VHW has also partnered with local farmers to develop agricultural education programs.
More information on Village Health Works can be found at www.villagehealthworks.org.
How can I find out more about Ride for World Health?
That’s easy! Check out their handy brochure I have with me or visit their webpage at www.rideforworldhealth.org.
