Anyone can be nominated to be a Champion Candidate! Before nominating yourself or someone you know it is important to understand it is a competitive fundraising competition. You should be comfortable committing to raising funds for Best Buddies and understand the other expectations of Champion Candidates. To learn more, you can reach out to your local staff partner listed on the website.

Most Champions are nominated by Best Buddies staff, participants, supporters, or previous Champions. A few are self-nominated, which we think is super awesome. Each local area typically has 7-15 Champions.

Champions commit to raising funds and awareness for Best Buddies. Champions compete to raise the most funds through sponsorship, donations, auction items, ticket sales, fundraising events, and matching gifts. At the end of the campaign, Champions are brought together at the Champion of the Year Gala where the person who raises the most funds is crowned the Champion of the Year for their local community.

Because opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are very limited, and our Champions raise funds and awareness to open doors for everyone to be included – in school, at work, and in the community. And when that happens, we all win.

It is not a requirement to be a professional fundraiser! Champions come from various industries and might not have experience with fundraising. Best Buddies provides extensive training to ensure Champions are successful throughout their campaign.

Absolutely! And we would be delighted to talk to your company about partnership opportunities as well. You can reach out to the local staff partner listed on the event website homepage to connect and learn more about partnership opportunities.

Absolutely! Volunteers are needed to assist with event planning, day-of support, and more. If you are interested in volunteering, visit the link below to receive more info regarding volunteer opportunities. Sign up to volunteer at bestbuddies.org/volunteer