Jodi’s race for awareness

Event overview

Held in Denver, CO, this annual race is heading for its 10th anniversary in June 2019. The atmosphere is filled with friendly competition as teams battle for top fundraising places. Colors are everywhere with ovarian cancer survivors honored with one bead necklace for each year since their diagnosis and memorial wreaths for those who have been lost. The funds raised go to many programs of the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance

Charity

While over 22,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, few know of the early symptoms. Jodi Brammeier, who was diagnosed in 2008, set out to increase awareness so that the cancer can be diagnosed and treated earlier.

The fundraising supports the programs of the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance(COCA). These programs include Nicki’s Circle Support Groups, COCA Cares Financial Assistance, Comfort Kits, Ovarian Cancer Resource Guide, Survivors Teaching Students: Saving Women’s Lives®, and more.

Challenges

As Jodi’s Race has grown, it has encountered very real problems of growth

1. Streamlining registration as the number of non-running events grows
2. Reducing the huge time commitment of getting up to date ranking information to the competitive fundraisers
3. Increasing participation of non-runners to aid fundraising and grow awareness of ovarian cancer

To accomplish the dual goals of fundraising and spreading awareness about ovarian cancer and its early symptoms, Jodi’s race needed to confront these challenges. While the sub-events, such as the Survivor’s Breakfast, the virtual race, and Furry Friend expanded the scope of participants, they needed a simple registration process. A process that gathered demographic information, collected donations, and registered participants all in one transaction.

Results

After switching to Race Roster in 2015, Jodi’s race was able to successfully increase both participation and fundraising. Through 2016-2017 Jodi’s race was able to maintain strong fundraising despite an industry wide decline in participation. The loss of two large local fundraising teams was mitigated by another year of strong online fundraising with Race Roster in 2017.

Three years of fundraising over $115,000!

• Year 1 – 3076 participants & $124K in fundraising
• Year 2 – 2988 participants & $116K in fundraising
• Year 3 – 2380 participants & $121K in fundraising

Our Solution

Customer Success

Jodi’s Race required a lot of custom configurations. The race organizers learned how to use the system to their best advantage and had ready access to Race Roster support when they needed guidance. Voice or email responses were prompt and personalized.

A Hub for Partners in the Dashboard

The Race Roster platform reduced the time and effort needed to keep track of the important data for sub-events, registration, fundraising, and volunteers. The dashboard kept the relevant information up-to-date and simple to access. Partners, like the event timer, were given limited access to what they need to do their job with limited reliance on the Jodi’s Race team.

Streamlined User Experience for Participants

Jodi’s Race draws in non-runners who would normally never be at a race. Sub-events designed to appeal to different audiences are particularly effective. The Race Roster platform allowed the organizers to make it easy for participants to view the options and register for the appropriate events.

Jodi’s Race also put a marketing activation to good use allowing a simple “add participant” button to offer discounts to families of 4-6. Combined with the ability to easily add donations with the registration, the race is set to continue its reach to both runners and non-runners