Anyone ever organized a charity event?

I know what you're thinking, "Oh lord, there's that mndsm idiot again. Sometimes he's all hepped up on goofballs, other times, he's espousing the virtues of the ms3. Occasionaly he gets a wild idea and it involves a Volvo. Mostly he's useless though." and quite frankly, I don't blame you. But- I need a bit of the ol' advice, and given I have a much more varied demographic here vs. my local t00ner clubs, I figured I'd take this to you guys.

Our local Mazda club is a pretty tight knit community. Recently, we had a new member reveal something to us, that kind of blew us all away. He was scheduled to help another member move, but was unable to do so, as he had his driving priviledges revoked, due to having terminal cancer. Now I don't know exactly the extent, but I do know that as of this posting, he has approx 6 months to go. Which by my math, is 2-3 months of ok, followed by the remainder of his time sucking ass. What we DID learn of him, is that he is a huge car nerd, both real and R/C. Loves his ms6 in fact. So- we decided to maybe put a little something together for him. And that is where things kinda get blurry.....

Me being a shoot first and ask questions later kinda guy, I took over, and all hell broke loose. We went from 10-15 Mazda guys to.... the entire MN Euro Club, all of the Mazda guys, and at least one hot rod club out of Chicago being involved, almost overnight. Safe to say... it got big, fast. Me also being me, I had a website set up for this (knowing computer nerds who like their cars worked on helps a ton) and did the ol' Facebook thing while we were at it. I haven't published a ton of the info anywhere, because I'm trying to lock a few things down first. We have word on a venue for the show following the cruise, that should support 400 cars. If we continue to grow at the rate we're growing, we may well hit capacity. We have a line on Biffys for the event, a possible food setup, and some other ideas in the works, just to keep some funs goin for the man, as it could possibly be his "last ride".

Tentative plan is- Pile of cars meets somewhere that can support pile of cars. Pile of cars convoys to guy, and scoops up guy and guys car (Because ain't no fun if you can't do the deal in your own car) and roll back. Proceed with show awesomeness. We have not set anything up for donations or anything yet, mostly because thusfar, I can afford everything out of pocket (goodbye Konis for this year, but I like philanthropy better anyhow) and to be quite honest, I don't know what the hell to do with the cash. As soon as I get the event location and date (scheduled right now for 08-07-10 if y'all wanna come) locked, I'm going to have pre-registry, so we have an idea of who's going to be there.

What does all of this mean? Not really sure. But- I was hoping to get some ideas/thoughts/opinions/things my dumb ass forgot, so I can pull this off. Tim/Marjorie/powers that be, I hope this isn't stepping on any toes. Not askin' for doughs or handouts, I got it all covered, local like. Just trying to get a gauge of how to handle this beast.

Sounds cool. Sorry to hear about your friend though.

I tend to make lists - starting at the end and work out your timeline - think of the event as a show - so map out what a run of show would look like from beginning to end. From there you kinda automatically back into the logistics (like how long does it take to move 400 vehicles around town?). Is there food? Who, what, when, how and who pays? How will people know to show up or what to do when they do show up (marketing plan)? Is it mostly to honor the guy or is it a fundraiser? Are their entry fees, raffles, places to donate? is there a charity set up to receive donations? Do you need permits (parade, food, raffle...). Registration process so you get a better estimate/head count....

That's a few things to ponder

Oh lord, it's that mndsm gy again... Great story! I don't have much to add, except that you will need to check into how to handle the donations part of the event - to cover your ass legally and make sure this is not seen as "income" for you. Permits for the event may also take time, so don't put that off til the last minute.

You need one of those big glass walls to draw out your timeline like they have in CSI.

First and foremost decide what it is you're trying to accomplish for this fellow car brotha'. Does he need help with bills? Just a morale booster? Raise cancer awareness? Whatever the ultimate objective is will dictate what steps you will need to take to pull this off.

If you intend to collect donations talk to a local bank who can set up an account for you. If you want to sell food there will be local regs to deal with and will best be handled by somebody who already has the proper permits and certification (think local food serving bar or caterer). Explain to them what you're trying to do and see if they will work close to cost. Moving 400+ cars will require some co-operation from the local officers. Many local radio stations will run promo spots if it's for a charity run. You could also set-up a poker run to keep the cars and drivers entertained and spread out. Local bands will jump on this just to get a gig to play and will also help bring out their own fans.

I have other thoughts but I've rambled enough for now. If you get it together post it up. I love a good road trip, I may just have join.

Marty!

ECMJ brought up a good point with the permits. When you get it nailed down with a written proposal petition the local city council to waive permit fees. This alone could save a few hundred dollars. Again nobody wants to be the bad guy when it comes to something like cancer.

What exactly are you trying to raise money for? His personal benefit, or the benefit of helping to research the disease?

I personally would get in touch with American Cancer Society, or Mayo Clinic, or something similar, and see if they have any insight on how to do it. I've "run" a few charity events, and by that, I mean I was part of a club and contacted another organization that was better equipped to run it smoothly. Seemed to work best for us in our situation.