OFFICIAL CHARITY PROGRAM

AT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, WE INVEST IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE LIVE AND WORK

Through our Official Charity Program, we provide invitational entries to the Boston Marathon to select non-profit organizations. Organizations use these entries to recruit athletes who pledge to raise funds for their cause. For selection into our Official Charity Program, the Boston Athletic Association greatly values organizations that strengthen our local community and align with our mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running.

ATHLETES INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE BOSTON MARATHON ON BEHALF OF A MEMBER OF OUR OFFICIAL CHARITY PROGRAM

If you do not have a current Boston Marathon qualifying time for your gender and age group, you may be interested in participating in the Boston Marathon on behalf of a member of our Official Charity Program.

All members of our Official Charity Program receive invitational entries to the Boston Marathon that waive qualifying times.

To apply to participate in the Boston Marathon on behalf of a member of our Official Charity Program, please contact your organization of interest directly. Contact information for each organization can be found via the organization logos shown above.

The coordinator for each member of our Official Charity Program will be able to provide you with information about their team’s application and selection process, fundraising deadlines and requirements.

Each athlete who participates in the Boston Marathon on behalf of one of our Official Charities is required to raise a minimum of $5,000.

If you have secured an entry into the Boston Marathon as a qualified athlete, you are also welcome to raise funds for a member of our Official Charity Program. Please contact the organization that you wish to raise funds for directly for information regarding joining their team.

The Boston Athletic Association does not have a program by which it provides individuals with invitational entries to the Boston Marathon so that they can participate in the event on behalf of the nonprofit organization of their choosing.

APPLICATION PROCESS FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Organizations must meet the following criteria to be considered for our Official Charity Program:

Organization is a registered 501(c)(3)

Organization is aligned with the Boston Athletic Association’s mission and strategic focus areas – Health and Fitness

Programs benefit our local community

Organization is not religious-based or political

Organizations that meet our program criteria and are interested in applying for our Official Charity Program may submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) to Nicole Juri, Director of Development, at njuri@baa.org between January 1 and April 30. All LOIs received during this time period will be reviewed on a rolling basis. A LOI should be emailed in pdf format, should be no more than one page in length, and should not be submitted by an organization more than once per calendar year. Organizations should include the following information in their LOI - overview of the organization (mission, population and geographic area served, etc.) and an explanation regarding how the work of the organization meets the criteria of our Official Charity Program. If an organization is invited to submit a full application after review of their LOI, that organization will be notified within two weeks of LOI submission. All full applications will be submitted to our Charity Committee for review at its annual meeting taking place each summer. Organizations accepted into our Program will be notified shortly after this committee meeting.