Client Profile - The Race for Virginia and Friends

The Customer's Need

The Race for Virginia and Friends was started by a few people after the death of Virginia Clark. The idea was to raise money for pediatric cancer research. You can read Virginia Clark's complete story here.

Although there was a web site that was developed and maintained by volunteers, there was room for improvement. It was felt that a proper web presence could benefit the race as the number of participants and sponsors grew each year. It was also felt that giving people the ability to register or sponsor the race online via credit card payments would be a way to boost participation and revenues.

The Requirements

There were two main requirements of the Race for Virginia web site. First, the site needed to provide complete and accurate information regarding the race, sponsoring the race, registering for the race and any other race-related information that may be published.

Second, the site needed to be done as economically as possible because the desire of the race organizers is to give as much money as possible to the charitable causes they are supporting. Low administration expenses were a key driver in the project.

Third, it was thought that the online purchase of registrations and sponsorships would be an additional feature that could increase donations and revenue.

The Solution

The Race for Virginia web was implemented using a combination of KidSport Software’s Communication and e-Commerce Solutions. The Communication Solution enabled the new site to easily provide information regarding the race logistics, registration process, background on the organization and links to race sponsors.

For this year an additional feature was added that made use of the e-Commerce Solution. A web-based store front was implemented that contained a catalog of options that could be purchased via credit card. These options ranged from a $15 registration to a $3000.00 Event Sponsor sponsorship.

KidSport Software built the store-front and catalog which was then integrated into PayPal for credit card processing. PayPal was selected because it is widely recognized as a safe way to do business on the Internet as well as the pricing model they use for transactions. There are no monthly fees or hidden charges. Each transaction carries a percentage of the total fee that is very reasonable.

As part of the solution, each registrant was sent an email acknowledgement as well as a user ID and password to log into the system. This will enable the user to maintain their user profile and it also provides a platform for additional features in the future.