It is with great pride that we share our final numbers for Team Runners Doing Good for our 2021 Fundraising Campaign for NeighborLink Fort Wayne. It is also with even more enthusiasm that I share that a goal was met and exceeded for the 6th time.
In total, we reached $5,467 in fundraising with 100% of that number going directly to NeighborLink Fort Wayne. That is a tremendous effort with even better results despite such a challenging environment for anyone in the fundraising arena.
Historically, this ranks as our 3rd highest fundraising total ever. We have now, across 3 fundraisers, raised more than $15,000 for NeighborLink Fort Wayne. If not for the pandemic, I know that number would be closer to $20,000. That said, back to this year’s campaign….
Why is this year’s number so significant? The biggest thing I can point to is that 100% of the fundraising total was from private donations from individuals. In a year with businesses more conservative than ever with their giving, $0 of our sponsorship dollars ended up in the fundraiser. The last time we ran in 2019, we had nearly $2,000 in sponsorship given directly to NLFW and with the Trail Race being cheaper, we had eyes towards that number being considerably higher this year. It didn’t work out that way but what did was that people, more than ever, supported us in more and varied ways. Even some of our expenses were covered by individuals supporting us directly. That’s never happened either.
In all, raising nearly $5,500 in a year, that felt very much like the uphill climbs we experienced at Ragnar Trail Michigan, is something to find great joy in and appreciate more than ever. It also emboldens us and helps point our gaze towards 2022.
There were times where I wasn’t entirely sure that that 2022 would happen. There were times where I wasn’t sure that I wanted it to but the feedback from the team was so incredibly positive that it can’t be ignored. Also, I had a couple of potential sponsors and long time supporters state that they look forward to supporting us in the future so if we can have a few things fall our way for next year, it could be a huge year for us so 2022 is HAPPENING!
Finally, a huge THANK YOU to our supporters. Somehow, every single you year, you guys show up, donate, and support us in ways that continue to surprise us. We are beyond grateful for you.
Runners Doing Good 