SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County is inviting area nonprofits, schools, groups and churches to register now for the 2019 Human Race.
The Human Race is a family-friendly walk and fun run along West Cliff Drive that annually attracts individuals from all corners of the community to fundraise on behalf of the organization of their choosing. Each year more than 120 organizations step out to collectively ask for financial support for the causes they champion during a six-week campaign.
This fundraising campaign will launch on March 27 and culminate on Race Day on May 11. New agencies have until March 22 to register to participate in this year’s event.
“The Human Race is truly a one-of-a-kind resource for nonprofit agencies and community groups of all sizes to reach a level of fundraising success that they may not achieve alone,” said Volunteer Center Director of Community Development Mariah Tanner. “We offer free tools, expertly led trainings, individualized support and fundraising expertise, and our community steps up to provide the people power.”
The event, which annually mobilizes more than 14,000 donors, has been a Santa Cruz County mainstay for 39 years. As such it is the largest collaborative fundraiser on the Central Coast and the longest-running Human Race event in the country, according to the Volunteer Center. In the last five years, the event has generated more than $1 million for the local service sector.
“Last year 120 local nonprofits, schools and churches raised over $300,000 and engaged thousands of donors from near and far,” Tanner said. “The top teams took away $20,000 or more in donations.”
The Volunteer Center provides all teams with event support including publicity and promotion from media sponsors, exclusive fundraising training, and free access to a peer-to-peer fundraising website run by Give Gab, where agencies can receive online donations, communicate with their support network and visually track financial progress.
Individuals who are interested in registering their organization can visit www.humanracesc.org for information or they can contact Tanner at 427-5070 or
hu*******@sc***************.org
.
