Putting the “Fun” in Fundraisers

eATLAS’ 4 th Annual ScavHunt will take place from May 30 th – June 1 st . We’ve partnered with Dario Durham and Sara Faddah of the 77 Flavors podcast, a must-listen for lovers of Chicago’s food, history, and culture. They’ve created the Flavors of the City Adventure, where players have to decipher clues to look underneath present-day Chicago to find glimpses of its past throughout River North and the Loop.

By Dave Lifton (@daveeatschicago)

The ScavHunt will benefit the Respiratory Health Association, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to “prevent lung disease, promote clean air and help people live better through education, research, and policy change.” Its events, including the Hustle Chicago Stair Climb up the former John Hancock Center and the CowaLUNGa Charity Bike Tour help accomplish that goal. To be sure, the eATLAS ScavHunt isn’t as physically grueling as those.

To participate, create a team of up to five players or enroll as an individual player, and register at the RHA’s website. Team members and individual players are then encouraged to raise money from their network of friends, family, and colleagues in the time leading up to the event. The team or individual player that brings in the most donations will earn a prize.

Events like the ScavHunt show that not every fundraiser needs a black-tie gala to be effective. Team fundraising, such as with our ScavHunt, has proven to be very popular because they involve the whole community. And in Chicago, the warm-weather months provide the perfect opportunity to use its greatest assets: the lakefront and the neighborhoods.

American Cancer Society’s Walk and Roll takes place on June 7 th this year. It consists of four events – a 5K walk, 5K timed run, 10K skate, and 15K bike ride – that starts in the southeast corner of Grant Park and continues along the Lakefront Trail.

On May 14 th , dozens of stationary bikes will be set up in Daley Plaza in the heart of the Loop. It’s the Chicago installment of CycleNation, which raises funds for the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association. There are similar events in 19 other cities across the U.S.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network holds its annual PurpleStride on the last Saturday of April in 60 cities across the U.S. The Chicago version raised more than $580,000, and teams can continue raising funds until June 30 th . The Walk for Lurie Children’s Hospital takes place in early June at two locations, Montrose Harbor on the lakefront and Busse Woods in Rolling Meadows. And the Les Turner ALS Foundation hosts the Walk for Life in mid-September. Last year’s installment brought in more than $600,000 for ALS care and research. All three events are between two and three miles, short enough for whole families to be able to participate.

With events not affiliated with a specific charity, the organizers will allow participants to choose from a list of benefactors. For example, Bank of America partners with many local and national charities for the Chicago Marathon and the Shamrock Shuffle. In 2024, the marathon raised a record $36 million for 217 organizations. Similarly, the Chicago Triathlon has its own charity program.

But not all of these fundraisers are for health-based nonprofits. On the day before Labor Day, the Active Transportation Alliance, which lobbies for cyclists, walkers, and users of public transit, hosts its main fundraiser, Bike the Drive. That Sunday morning, 15 miles of DuSable Lake Shore Drive is closed to cars from its northern terminus in Edgewater down to the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry, with 15 – 20,000 participants riding as much of the route as they choose.

Even though these fundraisers involve outdoor activities, there’s one that takes place in the winter. CHIditarod is a food drive held in early March to coincide with the start of the Iditarod in Alaska. But instead of sled dogs, teams race shopping carts through West Town and Ukrainian Village – with checkpoints and rest stops at several local bars. Teams of five (four pullers and one musher) decorate their carts and come in costume, with prized awarded for creativity, money raised, and food donated. Since 2006, CHIditarod has collected more than 280,000 pounds of food and raised nearly $1 million for numerous organizations fighting food insecurity.

Another winter fundraiser prefers to stay indoors. In January, February, and March, Piece Pizzeria & Brewery in Wicker Park collaborates with another restaurant to create a different specialty pie every month. The pies cost $35 and, thanks to matching donations, $70 is given to PAWS, a pet adoption organization. In 2025, the “Slice to Meet You” campaign raised $106,080, with 1,377 pies sold.