As the world changes daily in the midst of the COVID-19 health crisis, The LGBT Community Center in New York City continues to adapt to meet the needs of the most vulnerable LGBTQ New Yorkers. Many in our community need The Center now more than ever, and requests for our services have only increased since the start of the pandemic including from those who rely on us for HIV and AIDS support services.
Our community members’ health and safety is always our top priority, which is why we have made the tough call not to proceed with our annual three-day Cycle for the Cause on-the-road event in September. But we still need the Cycle for the Cause family to keep The Center’s work going. We’re once again asking you to rally around the LGBTQ community by participating in the 275 Challenge this year to make sure that we are meeting the needs of LGBTQ New Yorkers right now.
C4C: The 275 Challenge is a virtual experience to test yourself physically and creatively for 27.5 days in digital solidarity with one another while raising funds for The Center. Participants can choose between our four participant types: Cycling, Running, Walking, or Creating. Our Cyclists, Runners, and Walkers will choose a mileage goal to complete indoors (or, where safe, on the road) throughout the 27.5-day-long challenge. Creators will design their own unique Challenges whether it’s to bake, make, create, or do any other sort of physical or creative challenge—anything they choose for 27.5 days or 275 repetitions! This challenge is built for Riders and Crew, individuals and teams, people of any age or ability, no matter where you are!
We’ll provide the tools you need to fundraise, as well as support with planning your personal 275 Challenge experience. Throughout the month-long virtual event, there will be opportunities to experience your favorite parts of the Ride, including an opening ceremony, pickles, PB&Js, and your favorite C4C celebrities. And we’ll be introducing daily challenges, team competitions, and more to keep you motivated. We will come together at the end of the month on Saturday, September 25 for a virtual closing ceremony (or in-person if safe!) to celebrate all you have achieved!
Registration is now $0 and there are no fundraising minimums. Register today for C4C: The 275 Challenge and begin your fundraising!
We’re so excited to support you in the coming months and work together virtually until we can safely come together in person as a C4C community. We have no doubt that this community is going to do something huge to help all LGBTQ New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19, especially our friends and family living with HIV and AIDS, just as we have for 26 years. Let’s do this, Cycle Family!
How You Can Participate
Cyclist
Choose a mileage goal to cycle during The 275 Challenge. We suggest 275 miles (or 10 miles a day)!
Runner or Walker
Choose a mileage goal to run during The 275 Challenge. We suggest 27.5 miles (or 1 mile a day)!
Creator
Take the number 275 and have fun with it. Your creativity is your only limit!
What are you waiting for?
FAQs
No! You can structure your personal 275 Challenge any way you’d like, whether it’s completing your personal challenge in one day or chipping away at it daily over the entire 27.5 days. That said, we promise to make every single day of The 275 Challenge fun, engaging and community-focused!
To protect the health and safety of our community and given the logistics of Cycle for the Cause (shared hotels, multiple state permits, etc), we will sadly not be able to move forward with our annual three-day event in person. We have instead decided to reimagine the 275 Challenge to ensure we are still supporting The Center as best as we can, and bring critical support to the thousands of LGBTQ people who rely on The Center’s services now more than ever.
Due to the complexity of coordinating all of the hotel venues, vendors, volunteers, etc. that are involved with this event, we are not able to reschedule the three-day physical ride to another weekend. We are excited about our expanded 275 Challenge where we can continue to raise funds for The Center and come together virtually from August 29 – September 25, 2021.
In the event that it becomes clear that the public health situation will allow for large gatherings, The Center staff will make a decision regarding the planning of a one-day Ride experience and/or closing ceremony based out of the NYC metro area, similar to Ride Preview Days of past Cycle years. This one-day event will be held on the closing day of the 275 Challenge on Saturday, September 25, 2021.
Our expanded 275 Challenge is a virtual experience for you to test yourself physically or creatively for 27.5 days. Participants are encouraged to choose between our four participant types: Cyclist, Runner, Walker, or Creator. We want to give you the freedom to do whatever works for you!
The C4C Team is continuously looking at new ways to reimagine and improve our virtual events. With the success of the 275 Challenge 2020 and feedback from the hundreds of people who participated, we are expanding our event from one day to 27.5 days. This will give anyone who chooses to participate in the 275 Challenge an entire month to complete it at their own pace, and reach their personal fundraising goal with ease. This also gives participants opportunities to participate in fun social media-based daily mini challenges, tune in to live weekly updates, and attend virtual get-togethers to connect to our community throughout the 27.5 days. There are so many great things to look forward to!
No, you are all set! In fact, we’ve already converted your registration fee into a donation and have counted it toward your overall fundraising total. Additionally, all default copy on your fundraising page has been adjusted to support your virtual effort during this critical time, including a description of The Challenge and what you are asking donors to support. Log in to take a look and get started on your Challenge. If you personalized your page with your own text, that has not yet been altered. Please check out our samples and update your own story.
The great part of a virtual Challenge is that anyone can choose how they would like to participate, in whatever way challenges them that is fun and impactful. That includes our amazing and beloved Crew! Choose from one of our four participant types listed above and get a jump start on planning your Challenge. With our new Creator participant type, participants can choose an activity that speaks to you as a Crew member—275 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their local hospital, anyone? 27.5 days of walking in a rest stop costume in your neighborhood? You are going to crush this Challenge and we can’t do this without you!
For any questions regarding our new Creator participant type, please email us at cycleforthecause@gaycenter.org.
While your registration fee was non-refundable, it was also originally not tax-deductible. We are now able to convert your fee into a donation, which is fully tax-deductible, and officially counts towards your fundraising goal (plus our awesome incentive rewards). Thank you for this important contribution.
Absolutely! We are grateful to have your continued support, and the LGBTQ community and those living with HIV and AIDS need us now more than ever. Log into your online fundraising center here.
You may still mail those to: The Center, Attn: Cycle for the Cause, 208 W. 13th Street, New York, NY 10011. Please feel free to give Marc, David, or Stefan a heads up at cycleforthecause@gaycenter.org.
Funds must be received by October 31 to be counted toward the 275 Challenge fundraising prizes. Please do not send cash, and ensure your participant’s first and last name are noted clearly with your checks.
With the month-long event ending on September 25, the fundraising deadline in order to earn incentives is October 31, though please feel free to continue to raise funds through the year on your participant page.
Yes! We’re excited to offer even more incentives for all participants this year. Start receiving exclusive 275 Challenge items upon your first donation, and for any amount raised over $275. Note the deadline for earning all incentives is October 31. Those that earn the $275 reward t-shirt by August 13 will receive this prior to our opening day.
Unfortunately, due to the high costs and production logistics for fundraising jerseys, we will not be sending those out at the $5K and $10K levels. Our new incentives for those levels are pretty great though—check them out!
Please visit cycleforthecause.org, and stay tuned for announcements about events happening in 2022 where we look forward to coming back together in person as a community.
Please contact us at cycleforthecause@gaycenter.org with any questions whatsoever.
Incentives
With Cycle for the Cause going virtual for 27.5 days, we’ve added a whole lot of amazing reward incentives to thank you for your efforts!
In addition, all participants raising $275 or more will receive our limited edition 275 Challenge t-shirt. Recognition items from $500-$10,000 are not cumulative. All t-shirts earned by Friday, August 13, 2021, will be mailed out in time for the start of the event on August 29. The second round of t-shirt fulfillment will occur for participants who raise $275 by Friday, September 10, 2021, so those participants will have their shirts in time for the Closing Ceremony. All other t-shirt orders and recognition items earned by the fundraising reward deadline of October 31 will be sent within six to eight weeks.
Please be sure your registration address is your preferred mailing address!
First Donation: Commemorative Magnet
$275: Limited Edition C4C: The 275 Challenge moisture-wicking t-shirt
$500: Terry Headband
$1,000: Gym Towel
$5,000: Long Sleeve Hooded T-Shirt
$10,000: North Face Quarter-Zip Fleece
