For Stair Climbs

The stair-climb fundraiser, dramatic by design

Stair climbs are the most photogenic team-building event there is. Vertical metric, easy to verify, dramatic finish line. Whether you're running an in-house challenge or partnering with a venue like a high-rise tower, ScanRaise tracks every flight and turns it into pledged dollars.

Start a Stair Climb

Why stair climbs make great fundraisers

The metric is vivid. "We climbed the equivalent of the Empire State Building twice" lands harder than "we walked 10 miles". Visceral, photogenic, easy to communicate.
Devices already track flights. Apple Watch, Fitbit, every iPhone has a barometer. Flights climbed gets recorded automatically. Per-flight pledges feel small but compound fast (think: a 60-story climb at $5/flight is $300).
Pairs naturally with a venue partner. Local tall building, university stadium, parking garage. The venue gets the marketing exposure, the team gets a unique team-building memory, the charity gets a real check.
Heart and lung charities love these. AHA Fight For Air Climb, American Lung Association, Mountain Medicine Foundation. Cause alignment is built in.

How it runs

Set up a campaign with the unit "stair flight" or "floor". Pick the charity. Set the date and the venue.
Participants sign up via a single link. Connect Strava or Fitbit to auto-import flights, or use the built-in tracker to manually log climbs.
Sponsors pledge per flight or as a flat amount. Their card is held; charge happens when the campaign closes and verified flights are final.
Photo check-ins at the start and finish line strengthen the verified data. Anti-cheat catches device spoofing.
Live display projects the running total at the venue. Climbers can see their team's progress as they finish each flight.

Stair-climb scenarios

Single-Building Event

The downtown tower climb

A regional bank partners with the local 40-story tower for a Saturday morning climb. 200 employees register, each connected to Fitbit. Per-flight pledges average $2 each, the bank matches 1:1. Total raised: $34,000 to the American Lung Association. Photos at the top become the company's most-shared social post of the year.

Distributed Format

Climb anywhere, all month

For distributed companies. Throughout March, employees climb stairs at their own buildings, gyms, or homes. Each Fitbit-tracked flight is a pledge unit. Total miles vertical at month-end gets matched by the company. No single venue required, full national participation.

Department vs Department

The "stairwell wars"

An office tower-based company runs a quarterly stairwell challenge. Each department's collective flights climbed are tracked. Losing departments buy lunch for the winners. Side bet, the company donates per flight to a heart-health charity. Engineering wins the most flights, marketing wins the most flights per capita, both win bragging rights.

Stair-climb event ideas

Memorial 110-flight climb

Annual September 11 remembrance climb. 110 flights to honor the firefighters and first responders. Per-flight pledges fund a fire department, EMS, or 9/11 memorial fund.

Lung health awareness

March is American Lung Association Fight For Air month. Pair with the AHA, run a company stair-climb challenge, donate per flight.

Heart Month challenge

February heart-health awareness. Per-flight pledges to the AHA or local cardiac foundation. Pairs naturally with an existing wellness program.

Stadium stair climb

Local university or sports stadium offers their stadium stairs for a Saturday morning climb. Athletic department gets exposure, charity gets pledged dollars.

Distributed team climb

Distributed company. Each employee climbs stairs in their own building/home/gym. Flights auto-track via wearables. Full national participation, no travel cost.

Charity weekend warrior

Pair with a hiking event or extreme charity climb (Manitou Incline, Stratton, Stowe). Each vertical foot climbs becomes a pledge unit.

Ready to climb for a cause?

Set up a stair-climb fundraiser in 2 minutes. Apple Watch and Fitbit auto-sync. 2.5% flat fee.

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