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Ely Marathon Independence Fund

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The Ely Marathon is an annual race that is held in Ely, Minnesota. The idea of a "Boston Qualifier" Marathon held in the tiny northern tourist town, came to life four years ago when The Ely Events Bureau hired an independent Ely business, Stone Soup Events to come up with and implement new event ideas. Owner of Stone Soup Events, Wendy Lindsay, not only created the event but has brought it the growth and momentum the Marathon has to this day. 


This year, negotiations regarding the Ely Marathon between the Events Bureau and Stone Soup Events resulted in a stalemate. Stone Soup wanted to buy the event outright, with a vision of growth in mind. Wendy, who had worked with the board for the past few years, felt like this was the only option for the Marathon, if it was to ever be the amazing event she envisioned. They could not agree on a price, since the "sale" of an event/marathon is somewhat unchartered territory. The result ended in a community rally to appease both sides, allowing Wendy to purchase the event for the asking price.  This page is that rally, we need to help make up the difference. (There was a $9000 difference between the offer Wendy made and the asking price from the Events Bureau.)


Why should the community come together to help a small business purchase this event?  

Stone Soup is the life of this marathon, it is a family run event. This event brings in $300,000 to Ely over a weekend that is typically already seeing the seasonal tourist decline.  The Marathon is only five years in and does not make a profit. It is run by a small business with a huge heart for its community. By purchasing this event, Stone Soup is taking a HUGE financial risk, a huge investment into our town, for no financial gain. We feel like this is reason enough.


Let's rally together, like the amazing community we are, and help Stone Soup purchase this event and let the MARATHON weekend continue to grow for our little town. If we keep investing in/believing  in/helping our creative entrepreneurs, Ely will continue to make its mark on the country.  Thank you so much for your donation, you ARE investing in the future of Ely.


More Info:

I am Michelle Moore and I own Heavy Metal Sports and co-organize USA Fit Ely (Ely's summer training program for our Marathon, 1/2 Marathon and 5K). I have known Wendy for years, have even worked for her for a short time when I first started my business. Her energy and creativeness has been inspiring to me as a person, her boldness and risk taking abilities have been inspiring as a business owner. When news broke of the Ely Marathon being transferred to the Ely Chamber of Commerce, I was contacted by handfuls of people, extremely concerned with the Marathon changing hands at such a late time in the season. There was  overall concern with the abilities of a Chamber taking on a Marathon in general. A Marathon is not just any event, it's its own kind of animal! So, once I talked to Wendy and discovered she was upset about losing it (due to a disagreement on price) I knew something must be done. A member of the fitness community suggested raising the price difference for her with crowd sourcing. With the help of numerous community members, we were able to convince the Ely Chamber of Commerce to put the offer to Wendy back on the table. It then went to the Events Bureau and they agreed, selling it to Stone Soup events for the asking price of $21,000. This page was set up to crowd source the $9000 difference. This event will be a HUGE financial undertaking from Wendy and Stone Soup Events. Despite the purchase agreement of $1000 this year, $5000 each following year for four years... the Marathon doesn't bring in a profit at this point. Paying out $21,000 on her own, would not allow the Marathon to grow as it needs to.

Once donations stop, we will transfer all funds to Stone Soup Events. Another campaign might need to be started each year until we raise the total promised commitment of $9000 if it is not reached this year. These funds will be put directly towards the purchase of the event and necessary costs of the event.

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Donations 

  • Monica Steele
    • $200 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
  • Lori Mcnamara
    • $50 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
  • Ryan Marshall
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
  • Andrea Strom
    • $50 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
  • Patricia Steger
    • $1,000 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
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Organiser

Michelle Moore
Organiser
Ely, MN

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