Successful Fundraising Ideas for Groups and Clubs

Stair Climb Challenge Fundraiser Idea

How to organize a successful stair climbing fundraiser

Reach new heights in your fundraising efforts with a stair climb challenge fundraiser. What you’ll need: Access to one very tall building with a lot of stairs! Believe it or not, stair climbing fundraisers are quite popular. The concept is similar to other physical challenges, except in this case, everyone is going up. The goal for participants of course is to make it to the top of the building or to climb as many stairs as possible before giving up. This is not a race, so it’s not necessary to start everyone at the same time. The stairway won’t allow it. In fact, you can hold the event all day long and let participants do the climb when their schedule allows it. You will need to have volunteers set up every 5-stories or so to help any participants who may have bit off more than they could chew. If you live in a smaller town and don’t have access to a large building, you could hold the event at your school’s sports stadium bleachers or anywhere that there are a large amount of stairs. More on that later.

This is a demanding physical activity and challenge, so it’s very important to have everyone sign a waiver and take safety precautions, including having first responders and medical personnel posted nearby. Be sure to gather any necessary permits or permissions from local authorities and the venue management to host your event. You will need to ask about liability insurance as well.

You have several choices with regard to the style of competition you want to have participants undergo. You can have them climb the stairs individually, aiming to complete a certain number of stairs or reach a specific floor. You can have teams of participants take turns climbing the stairs, passing a baton or timing chip between team members. Or, you can have participants compete to climb a certain amount of stairs in the shortest amount of time. Volunteers will need to keep track of everyone’s time.

Set up an online registration platform where participants can register for the event. Collect participant information, including name, contact details, and any relevant medical information. Offer different registration options, such as individual or team registration, and set registration fees if necessary. You could also set it up so that participants can create personal fundraising pages where they can set individual or team fundraising goals and share their pages with friends, family, and colleagues for donations.

Stair Climb Challenge Event Day Activities:

Arrange for event signage and directional markers to guide participants.
Set up registration and check-in stations for participants to pick up their event materials.
Organize a group warm-up session led by a fitness instructor to prepare participants for the climb.
Consider having live music, DJs, or other entertainment to keep participants motivated throughout the event.
Set up food and beverage stations for participants to refuel after their climb, and have water available and accessible at water stations along the stair climb route.
Recognize top fundraisers, fastest climbers, and best costumes with awards or prizes during a closing ceremony.

You will need to come up with a great name for this event so you can print up some t-shirts that say “I Survived the (insert name here) Stair Climb Challenge” for the participants.

Just like with a 5 or 10k run, sponsorship and event participation fees are what drive your fundraising efforts. Charge enough to make it worth your while and make sure you cover the cost of the t-shirts and any insurance that you will need to carry.

People will want to have time to prepare for this event and get in shape, so you’ll want to start your event promotion at a minimum of 3-months in advance, preferably 6-months. Create a sign up form on your website and be sure to promote heavily on all your social media channels. Reach out to local media for announcements. Also, create posters and flyers that you can place at various businesses throughout the community, including gyms, healthcare facilities, health food stores, etc.