This article first appeared in the Summer 2018 issue of Biz Tucson Magazine.
View the full, online version here.
El Tour Has Raised $90 Million for Nonprofits
By Romi Carrell Wittman
Tucsonans know the weekend before Thanksgiving is almost as special as the holiday itself. It’s the time when some 9,000 cyclists from all over the world descend on Tucson for the annual El Tour de Tucson. But El Tour’s impact goes far beyond a mere one-day cycling event. For many local nonprofits, El Tour is the financial lifeblood of their organizations.
Most of us know the race injects as much as $20 million to the Southern Arizona economy. What people may not realize is it is also a significant fundraising engine for local nonprofit agencies. How significant? Roughly $90 million has been raised for nonprofits via El Tour’s fundraising support. This year the total is projected to top $100 million.
Ila Stadie, development director of the Perimeter Bicycling Association, said the fundraising aspect of El Tour was established in 1996 with the goal of introducing El Tour to a new audience while also enabling local nonprofits to use El Tour as a fundraising event. In that first year, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society raised more than $675,000. Conservative projections are to raise $12 million this year.
This fall, the Easterseals Blake Foundation is the primary beneficiary of the El Tour de Tucson event – yet any nonprofit can participate and raise funds as a supporting beneficiary. This year’s partners include the ALS Arizona Chapter, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson, Cakes for Causes and Friends of Pima Animal Care, to name just a few.
Beneficiaries are responsible for their own team coordination and fundraising management. Agencies must apply to the program, which begins each spring with informational meetings. Beneficiaries may participate in the El Tour main event and in the Fun Ride, which features shorter courses. For those who can’t be in Tucson on the big day – or for those who simply want to stay off the streets – the Indoor El Tour provides a stationary cycle alternative while still enabling participants to ride and raise money for their favorite organizations.
Prince 10 is a Planned Area Development in Tucson, Arizona by Prince Road and I-10.