Events

Beer and ping pong and Xbox Kinect — you don’t need a heck of a lot more to make for an epic Saturday. But those factors all combined to pit media giants including The New York Times, Gawker.TV, Aol Thrillist, and Foursquare in a tournament to support charity.

The tournament, BackSpin 2011, was a way to bring together the NY tech community and raise money for Child’s Play, a non-profit that provides books, games and consoles to hospitals across North America.

One of the best ways for fundraisers to get new ideas is by learning from their peers in the nonprofit sector. And despite the economy and continued budget cuts, 2010 saw no shortage of successful fundraising campaigns.

The MU Children's Hospital will be hosting several fundraising events in the upcoming weeks, beginning with IHOP's National Pancake Day celebration and including the annual Children's Miracle Network radiothon, MU Dance Marathon and St. Baldrick's Day, co-sponsored by the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Patrons of IHOP will have the opportunity to make a donation to the Children's Miracle Network program at MU Children's Hospital on Tuesday, while enjoying a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Kansas University Dance Marathon raised $37,000 for charity at its third annual dance marathon last weekend. More than 400 students attended the 12-hour event, almost double last year’s turnout.

KUDM, a student-run nonprofit organization, raises money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and as of Jan. 1, donates exclusively to KU Pediatrics. KUDM has donated $57,000 over the past two years and has set a donation goal of $60,000 this year.

Speedweeks at the Daytona International Speedway is a hectic scene: crowds of die-hard NASCAR fans pack the grandstands while race cars come roaring by with a deafening howl. But amongst all those race fanatics are some hard-working volunteers from local charities and nonprofits who are at the track not to cheer on their favorite drivers, but to raise money for their organizations.

Races at the Speedway and other major events here are great opportunities for charitable groups to raise money, said Crystal Elkins, director of marketing for the United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties.

With the reveal of this year’s fundraising total in the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon — $9,563,016.09 — it seems there are no limits in sight for the Interfraternity Coun-cil/Panhellenic Dance Marathon’s fight against pediatric cancer.

In 2010, donations for THON exceeded $7.8 million in the fight against pediatric cancer, increasing from the year before by $347,920.49.

This year, that gap increased to $1,724,961.73.

Charles Millard, founder of The Four Diamonds Fund, said he was not predicting hitting the $9 million mark.

The incredible fundraising success of THON is simply more proof that donors want to give; donors want to be engaged, included and asked; and that donors will give in remarkable numbers and amounts, in good times and bad.

This year, the Piedmont Triad chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation expects to raise $2.5 million to support research on the disease.

That includes $1 million the group aims to raise at its Annual Hope Gala, to be held Feb. 26, a fundraising total that would be the highest ever for the event since it began in 2001.

Spearheading the fundraising effort is Paul Fulton, a former president of Sara Lee Corp. who also will receive the chapter's Beverly Berry Living and Giving Award at the event.

The Gorilla Organization sticks to its guns for what's best to achieve its mission. It stays true to its mission, and it's resulted in an annual fundraiser that has brought in more than 1.3 million pounds from more than 2,500 participants over the years. And best of all, the donors and supporters are passionate stewards of the cause. All because Davies and his staff stay true to the Gorilla Organization's mission.

Students and teachers at Gelinas Junior High have raised more than $10,000 for Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital – and two anonymous donors have matched that amount, resulting in a donation of about $30,000 to the new hospital.

They met their goal Monday night at a fundraiser they called "A Touch of Class," which featured performances from the school's chamber orchestra and refreshments served by the school's National Junior Honor Society. It represented the school's largest-ever fundraising effort.