March of Dimes

Most of my original review still holds (go there if you want to understand the mission and history of the March of Dimes), but a few updates are in order with regard to our local annual March for Babies
(the primary fundraising event for our local March of Dimes chapter).
The big one is that the annual local March for Babies is no longer held in downtown Austin over Mother’s Day weekend as it was for many years. A couple of years ago, they moved it to Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock, a week or two after Mother’s Day, which has its pros and cons. The course for the walk is now through the grass and trails around the park, which means you are on a pretty flat path, but more likely to get a bit muddy or wet. At least there is plenty of free parking and the great family-​friendly festival afterwards is still awesome for the kids.
Another change has been the addition of a timed 5K Run for Babies option
. This event occurs earlier in the morning on the same course as the walk and offers a team competition as well as individual & age group awards for the fastest times. I love that they have added this twist to the event, but even in year 3 of this «new» element, they are still working out the kinks. Last year, the course was clearly too short for an official 5K (as verified by several runners’ GPS data), which doesn’t inspire future participation of serious runners who track their timed performance. The Run has a separate registration & fundraising page from the March, which makes double work for anyone trying to organize large groups of participants (such as corporate sponsor teams). Hundreds of other charity races around the country are able to easily integrate their run, walk, and fundraising, so I’m not sure why MOD felt the need to reinvent the wheel here and miss out on the expertise that already exists in online charity race management.
I see a recurring theme in the «not recommended» reviews here (which have nothing to do with the local Austin chapter; probably why they are hidden) and other anti-​MOD essays where folks complain about MOD’s administrative expense percentage. That’s a valid concern whenever one considers donating to any charity — MOD’s is fairly high compared to many other charities, but not out of line with their peers in this level of philanthropy ($ 200 million raised per year). MOD employs professionals across the country to manage every aspect of the organization, which is why they are able to raise the kind of money that they do and support the kinds of services that they do. I personally support many grassroots, all-​volunteer organizations myself, but I also understand the need for and effectiveness of larger, more established charities. Anyone with internet access is able to review MOD’s annual report and tax returns online here:
For a great summary of MOD results in 2014 (the most recent annual reporting period), see the attached infographic.
For information about MOD-​funded local programs in Texas, see this site: