Help Solve Hunger & Power your Local Community!
While Chiditarod is many things — a shopping cart race, a beauty pageant, a bar crawl, and general costumed mayhem the first Saturday in March – the heart of the event is the fact that we are also Probably The World’s Largest Mobile Food Drive as well as a legit 501c(3) organization that works hard to solve food insecurity in the Chicago area.
In 2020 we were extremely lucky to have celebrated our 15th annual running of the race less than a week before the city was shut down due to the Coronavirus. In the months since, through our usual fall grant cycle, as well as the immediate response of an emergency grant program (which gave unrestricted funds to multiple food pantries and soup kitchens), we have given away all of the money we had available (with the noted exception of the operating expenses required to keep the lights on and produce the event).
As 2021 approaches, our coffers are empty, and yet Chiditarod is needed now more than ever — Food insecurity is up 24% in Chicago since the start of the pandemic, with Black and Latino households (especially those with children) disproportionately affected. While we can’t have the exact kind of race we know and love this year, we can continue the tradition of fundraising, which is a competition unto itself. Please know:
Here are ways you can help!
Put together a Fundraising Team
We aren’t restricting the number of people per team this time, so gather your friends and get in the spirit of giving for 2021!
- Jump right into Classy if you know how to set up or join a team
[Get started on Classy.org] - Need some instruction? No problem: Here’s how to set up a team or join one that exists
[Our How-To Guide]
Make a donation yourself
You do not need to be part of a fundraising team to make a donation to support the work of The CHIditarod Foundation. All donations are tax deductible, and the money goes to our Grant Program that supports grass root organizations working to alleviate food insecurity in Chicago.
Don’t forget about company matching!
If your company matches funds, terrific; if not, make sure to ask your friends, family, neighbors, and frenemies if their company does. And yes, matching funds, once finalized, also count towards your totals when seeking Fundraising Glory!
Fundraising Incentives
The competition is already fierce for the top fundraiser award of 2021! We have a new list of prizes to sweeten the deal for donors, check out what’s available.
Make a film for The Chiditarod Film Challenge
Take the creative energy that you usually expend on a cart build, and put it to work on a movie. Maybe let friends and family make cameos in exchange for donations to your team page. Register your entry by SAT JAN 16th, final video submissions are due by SAT FEB 13th.
Join us for our Telethon and give generously!
You’ll get to see some of the best of the Film Challenge entries, awards for awesomeness, plus some groovin’ DJ tunes, and you’re gonna want to watch the Fundraising Thermometer rise towards our lofty goal of $100,000.
Still have questions about Fundraising for Chiditarod 2021: Pandemic Edition?
We’d be happy to answer them –– drop us a line at fundraising@chiditarod.org.