Iron City Tryke’s Raised Over $20K with Zeffy—Enough for Almost 20 Trykes.

When Thomas, a young boy with Cerebral Palsy, rode an AmTryke for the first time, “He lit up and took off!” Zach White remembers. Zach is the director of marketing and public relations at Iron City Trykes—a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans and children like Thomas discover (or rediscover) their mobility and independence. 

Thomas’s condition means he is completely wheelchair dependent. But this changed when Iron City Trykes gave him his very own AmTryke (adaptive tricycle). In fact, the first time he used his AmTryke, his mom had to remind him to keep looking ahead so he could steer. “But I’ve never seen my legs move!” Thomas responded. Buzzing with a newfound sense of independence, all Thomas wanted to do was look down at his legs. 

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Iron City Trykes is a chapter of the National nonprofit AMBCUS, whose mission is to inspire independence and mobility through therapeutic cycles known as AmTrykes. The nonprofit’s main focus is identifying and distributing AmTrykes to families of children with disabilities, though they also distribute AmTrykes to veterans. Their goal is to distribute as many life-changing bikes as possible to those who need them. 

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“It’s hard to imagine how life-changing a simple tryke can be, but we see it on a regular basis.” - Zach White, Director of Marketing and Public Relations

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How Iron City Trykes Helps Children and Veterans

AmTrykes are a little more technical–and expensive–than your average tricycle. 

Each tryke costs around $1,200, but Iron City Trykes asks for only $100 per recipient and fundraises for the remaining cost. 

Typically, children are referred to the nonprofit by their physical therapist. Then, Iron City Trykes orders the appropriately-sized tryke from AMBCUS. “On average, the AmTyrkes cost $1,200,” Zach says. “Dozens of parts are added to customize these trykes for the individual's specific needs. And countless hours go into the assembly of the trykes.”

Once the tryke is ready, the recipient visits Iron City Tryke’s facility for any necessary adjustments or fittings. This is completed by a team of volunteers, which includes physical therapists. Finally, the recipient can take their AmTryke for a spin around the block before they take it home.

Zach and his team feel blessed to witness the pure joy experienced by so many when they ride their AmTryke for the first time. 

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“In 2024, we provided 107 AmTryks, and we’re on pace to surpass that this year.”- Zach White, Director of Marketing and Public Relations 

Iron City Tryke’s began collecting donations using Venmo and PayPal. Though these platforms worked for collecting donations, PayPal came with significant transaction fees. Given the costs associated with supplying just one child with an AmTryke, money lost on software had real implications for Iron City Tryke and its beneficiaries. 

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“Our AmTrykes average $1,200 per tryke, and the amount we lost in fees would have enabled us to supply at least one tryke to a deserving participant.”  - Zach White, Director of Marketing and Public Relations

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In addition, both PayPal and Venmo lacked the necessary tools to level-up fundraising.  Zach hoped to find a platform that offered peer-to-peer fundraising. He also dreamt of a way to simplify his donor communications and ensure none of his supporters fell through the cracks. Ideally, he wanted a fundraising platform that enabled him to create a comprehensive database of all Iron City Tryke’s supporters and their contact information.

Zach conducted an online search to find a free fundraising platform for nonprofits. It wasn’t long until he came across Zeffy. Excited to learn more about how Zeffy could help Iron City Trykes with their fundraising, he reached out to Zeffy’s customer representative team. 

Zeffy Team member Maryse was more than happy to answer Zach’s questions. She assured him that, with Zeffy, IronCity Trykes could easily launch peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns and create the donor database they needed to refine their donor communication. And she was able to reassure him that Zeffy is, as advertised, 100% free. 

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“Maryse was very responsive,” Zach remembers. “She seemed to have a genuine care for helping nonprofits maximize their donations.”

Within just the first few months of switching to Zeffy, Iron City Trykes was able to save enough money to provide one additional tryke to a child in need. In addition to the $20,000 they’ve since raised, Zach has found that communications with their supporters have become a whole lot easier. 

Plus, with Zeffy, Iron City Trykes has been able to build peer-to-peer fundraising into their regular workflow. This one small change has been a game-changer. “After we’ve ordered the trykes, we now send the recipient's family a personalized Zeffy link and ask them to share it with friends and family to help us raise money for their tryke,” Zach says. “This change has been huge for us. Now, most recipients are averaging well over the required $100.” 

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“Zeffy has allowed us to more effectively and efficiently communicate with our recipients and donors.” - Zach White, Director of Marketing and Public Relations