Case Study: 9Miles Project 100 Wave Challenge
How 9Miles Project Turned a Surfathon into an R289,000+ Movement
Charity sports events often default to a standard registration fee, leaving a massive amount of potential fundraising on the table.
The 9Miles Project took a radically different approach with their 100Wave Challenge, leveraging BackaBuddy’s peer-to-peer functionality to shatter their R250,000 goal and raise R289,542 to fund surf therapy, mentorship, and youth development programmes in underserved coastal communities.
The Challenge: Moving Beyond a Basic Entry Fee
Based in Cape Town, the 9Miles Project transforms the lives of vulnerable youth using surfing as a catalyst for life-skills development and education. To fund these critical programmes, they launched the 100Wave Challenge—an endurance event daring participants to surf 100 waves from sunrise to sunset.
However, instead of just charging a flat ticket price to enter, 9Miles needed a financial model that allowed participants to amplify their impact and bring their personal networks into the fold.
The Solution: A Micro-Donation and Peer-to-Peer Model
Inspired by a fundraising model pioneered by the Boys to Men Mentoring Network in California, 9Miles structured the event as a massive peer-to-peer drive using a BackaBuddy Events Campaign.
The "10 Friends x R100" Strategy
To register as a solo surfer or as a team, participants didn't just pay a fee; they had to commit to raising a minimum of R1,000. 9Miles made this highly achievable by breaking the math down for their supporters: Just ask 10 friends to donate R100 each.
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- Each surfer or team set up a linked sub-campaign on BackaBuddy.
- Instead of transferring money privately, surfers shared their unique BackaBuddy links on WhatsApp and social media, allowing 9Miles to capture international donations and donor data seamlessly.
Leaderboard Gamification
Through the BackaBuddy Events Campaign page, 9Miles activated a live leaderboard.
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- 16 distinct sub-campaigns actively competed against one another.
- Surfers like Leo Rietveld pushed their campaigns to 192% funded, whilst groups like the Nel Family Wave actively documented their journey to hitting their target.
- This public accountability meant participants didn't stop fundraising once they hit the R1,000 minimum—the competitive nature of the leaderboard drove them to continuously ask their networks for top-ups.
Transforming a Fundraiser into a Festival
While the BackaBuddy platform handled the financial mechanics, 9Miles focused on making the physical event at Muizenberg Beach an unforgettable community festival.
They didn't just invite surfers; they invited families, creating an atmosphere with art stations, drumming circles, and beach clean-ups led by Ocean Pledge.
This physical spectacle generated high-quality social media content in real-time, which surfers immediately posted online alongside their BackaBuddy donation links, creating a real-time feedback loop of stoke and donations.
The Results
By marrying a demanding physical challenge with BackaBuddy’s decentralised fundraising tools, the 100Wave Challenge achieved phenomenal results:
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- Total Funds Raised: R289,542 (Surpassing the R250,000 target).
- Active Campaigns: 16 dedicated sub-campaigns driving traffic.
- Impact: Fully funded safe spaces, academic support, and surf therapy programmes for at-risk youth across 9Miles Project's coastal hubs.
How Your Charity Can Replicate This
If you are planning an endurance event, an "-athon," or a community challenge, here is how you can use this exact framework:
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- Gate entry behind a fundraising pledge. Instead of a R500 ticket, require a R1,000 fundraising pledge. Teach your participants how to break it down into micro-donations (e.g., "Ask 10 people for R100").
- Use the Umbrella and Leaderboard structure. Do not let funds sit in private bank accounts. Have every participant open a BackaBuddy page linked to your main charity event page so all funds pool publicly.
- Focus on the "Why" in the messaging. 9Miles didn't just sell a surfing event; they sold transformation. Equip your participants with stories of the people they are helping, so when they share their BackaBuddy link, potential donors understand exactly what their money is funding.
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