By Joan Alford

Folks are climbing mountains, rafting through whitewater rapids and biking as far as 3,000 miles to raise money for charity.

Special events planners are creating unique outings that pit participants against the elements while raising funds and drawing attention to their causes. Outdoor enthusiasts not only test their physical endurance, but also develop aggressive fundraising skills.

Charities may require a participant to raise as much as $6,000 to join an event, which does not cover registration fees, round-trip travel expenses, and most times, meals and lodging.

Although relatively few charities enter into major adventure fundraising, the ones that do go at it in a big way.

The American Lung Association has the most extensive catalog of events. A majority of the more than 200 ALA offices across the country hold their own multiday bike treks and hikes.

The Washington state ALA will have a "Climb for Clean Air" event two weekends during July. For a $100 registration fee and $3,000 each in donations, adults will get the chance to climb Mount Rainier. A professional mountain guide service will donate the services of an experienced mountaineer.

The ALA began raising money through outdoor adventures more than 20 years ago. Tired of fundraising luncheons and dinners, Curtis Mekemson, the Sacramento ALA executive director in the late 1970s, decided to use his own passion for backpacking as a way to raise funds. For a donation to ALA, approximately 15 participants were schooled by Mekemson in the elements of backpacking and hiking.

"People learned about backpacking while getting outside to appreciate the value of clean air," said ALA Associate Director for Development Rusty Burwell of that first ALA adventure fundraiser.

Soon after, the success of the first ALA multiday cycling event on the West Coast - which brought in $10,000 - inspired similar events all over the country.

ALA's GTE Big Ride, a six-and-a-half-week, 3,000-mile marathon beginning June 15 in Seattle and ending August 1 in Washington, D.C., is expected to have 1,000 riders to help reach an $8 million fundraising goal. Participants must raise a minimum of $6,000 in pledges to take part.

"We already have $2 million in the bank from pledges," says Burwell. "It's a struggle to raise those funds, and the greater the effort, the more meaningful it is to them."

Event planners offer strong support in helping riders physically prepare for the ride, and they assist in raising money.

Training fundraisers

Pallotta/Teamworks, which owns and operates the Tanqueray American AIDS Rides and coordinates the Big Ride, gives parcipants a how-to booklet and with online resources that cover a 10-week fundraising plan.

Online instructions for Big Ride participants states, without apology, "Our goal is to make ... every Rider an expert at major gift fundraising. ... Fundraising will teach you to think Big!"

Teamworks advises riders to treat major donors - those who are capable of giving $5,000 or more - to dinner or lunch to make the ask. "A one-on-one dialogue about why this [the Big Ride] means so much to you will be highly effective."

Strategies for building personal and major donor lists, week-by-week checklists, planning pledge parties and other fundraising events and ideas, writing personal fundraising letters and holiday cards, and tactics for fundraising at work are also covered in the Teamworks material.

"Riders become professional fundraisers," says Bill Barker, chief executive officer for Teamworks. "We think that's a very positive thing."

Despite the booklets and online help, Teamworks prefers their riders to work one-on-one by phone with their assigned staff contact. "We've found it's much more beneficial for riders to work directly with our ride staff while raising funds," says Barker. "They get the personal encouragement they need."

Teamworks owner Dan Pallotta, who owns and operates the American AIDS Rides, a series of five cycling fundraisers that will again take place this summer in cities across the country, has been the subject of controversy.

Alleging misrepresentation of net proceeds from the Philadelphia-to-New York bike ride, Pennsylvania's attorney general sued Pallotta and associates last year, alleging that the group misrepresented its claim that 60 percent of the net proceeds raised from the ride would go to local charities. In reality, less than 30 percent of proceeds did so.

Pallotta and several Philadelphia AIDS charities agreed to pay the state $134,000 to settle the suit.

"The more important issue to stay focused on is that over four years we have netted more than $36 million," says Barker. "Fifty-seven percent of every donor dollar goes to AIDS research."

Barker adds, however, that although their goal is to return the highest percentage of donor dollars, there are no monetary guarantees for any fundraising event.

"They were very up front with us about what happened, and that made us comfortable in dealing with them," says Burwell of Teamworks. "They thought that releasing figures about the ride was good disclosure.

"Because we own the Big Ride, we must approve of every dime spent on the event."

Burwell says Teamworks created the marketing plans, built the Big Ride Web site, created the rider's handbook, worked with local ALA chapters and used the expertise learned from their AIDS Ride in organizing the Big Ride. GTE was brought aboard to sponsor the event.

"This was a great opportunity for us," says Barbara Bellinghausen, assistant vice president of public relations for GTE. "We're helping the cause while getting to meet some areas where we're not yet known."

Other groups involved

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society offers more than 140 bike rides, coast to coast, for cycling enthusiasts. Local chapters sponsor and organize individual rides that take place in the spring, summer and autumn. Last year, the one-day and multiday tours raised $21 million for the society.

The Breast Cancer Fund raises awareness and funds through A Step Ahead. Activities include mountain climbing, bike treks, and whitewater rafting. Women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer make the trips and enjoy group support along with the physical challenges of the adventures. "Our events capture people's imaginations and lay the groundwork for the physical challenge," says Moli Steinert, development director for the Breast Cancer Fund.

"Through these events, women reclaim their bodies to do what they think they couldn't do because of their cancer."

Since 1992, the fund has gained more than 50,000 supporters nationwide and has raised more than $3 million in programs and grants.

The fund's Climb Against the Odds event in June will see two teams of women - one group of breast cancer survivors and the other young women from Princeton University who represent a "future free of breast cancer" - climb Alaska's Mt. McKinley.

They hope to raise $100 for every foot of North America's highest peak, with a target of about $2 million.

As the mountain climb begins, another group of breast cancer survivors and supporters will set out on a six-day ride in Alaska named Bike Against the Odds. Twenty-five riders must present $1,500 each in pledges and be responsible for their own tour and travel fees.

The organization's third Whitewater Challenge will be a five-day rafting trip on Idaho's Salmon River, August 17-22. Participants will pay for their trip and travel expenses and must raise a minimum of $1,000 in pledges to participate.

"What we've found in the scale and scope of our events," says Burwell, "is that people are trusting us with their lives. They don't treat fundraising with a cavalier attitude."

Joan Alford can be reached at
jeapj@mindspring.com