We have a series Customer Case Studies, in which we take your stories and share your challenges and successes as a learning tool for other RunSignup users. This Lehigh Valley Road Runners Case Study focuses on using custom questions to manage volunteerism and building a member-focused Race Series.
Lehigh Valley Road Runners and RunSignup
The Lehigh Valley Road Runners moved to RunSignup in the summer of 2014 to provide a single solution for their Membership, Races, and Free Events.
About the Lehigh Valley Road Runners
The Lehigh Valley Road Runners was formed in 1993 by the merger of two long-standing local organizations. Their purposes is to develop and promote distance running and racing in the greater Lehigh Valley area, to provide information and social activities, and to enhance training opportunities in a supportive atmosphere for runners of all abilities. We spoke with Jill and Leslie, members on the Board of Directors who collectively work with the event management, website and membership.
Today, the club has grown to 600+ area members.
Membership Options
Members can join as Individuals or as Families (maximum of 6). They see a significant number of their members through Family Memberships. Because all memberships end on 12/31, with options to join or renew throughout the year, they see a gradual increase in memberships throughout the year.
The Importance of Free Events
One of the driving forces for switching membership to RunSignup was the ability to host free events for free (sounds simple!). Hosting free events is a piece of their overall strategy of being more than just a training group. With their previous membership system, they incurred transaction charges for downloading registration information, and that defeated the intention of a free event. With RunSignup, they are able to offer their free events at no cost to them, while keeping the event information in the same system as their membership data and paid events.
“I think if anything, our club has introduced and welcomed a lot of individuals – a lot of people in the area who may have wanted to do an event, and were drawn to the club because of that. We keep growing because we welcome with open arms. As a club, we are proud that we put on top notch events, are well thought of in the community, and give back.”
– Jill Forsythe, LVRR Board of Directors
Using Custom Questions to Help Organize Volunteer Efforts
As a part of the club structure of the LVRR, they encourage members to volunteer at a minimum of 2 of their club events each year. In Custom Questions, they have each member indicate a “yes or no” on whether they are willing to volunteer for a specific event. As events come up, Jill & Leslie can download a member report and sort it in excel to view the members who indicated they could volunteer for that event. This gives them a starting list for members to reach out to regarding volunteering for that event, and helps them stay organized.
As a future wish list item, LVRR would like to be able to require members to respond “yes” to at least two of the events to ensure they all are helping volunteer for LVRR events.
The Ice Scraper Series: Built for Members
While the LVRR puts on multiple events each year – including the well respected, 4,000+ St. Luke’s Half Marathon – it is their Winter Ice Scraper Series that is built to appeal to their members and draw new member. The series consists of 4 low Frills Races, December through March. The Setup:
- The Series is free to LVRRs, or $10 per race ($35 for entry to all) for no
n-members. - Non-members are prompted to sign up for the club to access free entry into the series.
- RunSignup automatically detects club members and gives them a 100% discount into the series.
- In RunSignup, the Series is setup as a single race, with one “event” for “All Races” and individual event for each of the races. The events are each set for their different start dates.
The Winter Ice Scraper Series serves a dual purpose of both encouraging non-members to join the club for a free race registration, and providing a fun, free club event for members.
If you have a success story about your race, store or club, big or small, email us…we’d love to explore a Case Study on your topic!