Giving Circle Members in Motion: Meet Brooke Sydnor Curran
By Cathleen | September 22, 2009
Who is that woman running all over Alexandria? Even if you are not a runner yourself, you have probably seen Brooke Sydnor Curran out and about town. Brooke, a Giving Circle member since 2006, has found a way to use her passion for running in a way that benefits the community. Since the beginning of the year, Brooke has raised $15,000 towards a goal of $20,000 for the RunningBrooke Fund, an ACT donor advised fund. Let’s get to know Brooke and her work a little more. I promise it is worth the click!
“The answer changes all the time… The short answer is to GET THE HECK OUT OF THE HOUSE. Not that I don’t love my house and the people inside :) but this is the one thing that I do truly for me and maybe for others too if you consider that I would drive them CRAZY! Three things came together in a relatively short time span that propelled me to be the runner I am now:
- 3 kids and my first pair of mom jeans
- making a life list of things I wanted to do before I croak
- 9/11 which made me realize that I should get started
So it all started with 15 or 20 miles a week 10 years ago and now I’m running around the world.” It turns out that Brooke and I ran our first marathons at the same time, the Marine Corps Marathon in 2002. Many people like to take a rest after completing a marathon and all the training that goes with it, but Brooke found the experience left her wanting to run more. What took you from running your first marathon to the idea of the RunningBrooke fund? “I remember my initial goal was just to finish without hurting myself! And I remember finishing that marathon with ‘gas in the tank’ and a desire to do it better and faster the next time… Then the goal was qualifying for Boston and when that became not such a big deal, I began to look for a new reason to run; and that was where the idea for RunningBrooke came from.” 
Brooke spent about a year trying to figure out how to make her running work for the City of Alexandria. Starting her own 501c(3) would be time consuming, involve a lot of paperwork and also require Brooke to be the intermediary between givers and the IRS. Finally, she asked her friend, Lori Morris (also a founding member of the ACT Advisory Board) if she had any ideas and the answer was “Of course!” At Lori’s recommendation, Brooke set up the RunningBrooke Fund, a donor advised fund with ACT for Alexandria.
“I didn’t want all the responsibility that comes with setting up my own 501c(3) organization; I want to do all the fun things, running and giving parties. Having the ACT fund makes it so easy and gives authenticity to my work.”
Setting up the ACT fund allowed Brooke to begin fundraising right away. And having this new purpose and goal put a big charge into Brooke’s training. Brooke set a goal to run a marathon in each continent and to raise $20,000 in 2009. Brooke pays all of her own training and travel expenses; all RunningBrooke contributions go into the fund and benefit organizations in Alexandria such as Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc. (ANHSI), ALIVE, Alexandria Seaport Foundation and Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN). A small percentage of RunningBrooke funds also go to Giving to Ghana to help build a medical clinic in the hometown of Brooke’s former AFS student. Brooke has already raised 75% of her goal and run marathons in Boston, Berlin and Easter Island.
So what’s coming up after 2009?
“July of 2010 will be Ayers Rock in Australia, May of 2010 or 2010 will be the Great Wall, and the Kenya Safari marathon. Antarctica is set for 2012 unless I can move up further on their list. And I’ve been thinking about how to change things up. If I get to $20,000, I’d like to have a bigger goal of $30,000 for next year. I also want to run a marathon in each of the fifty states to fill in between the other races. I can run a marathon a month until I’m done!
Here’s another idea, I tho
ught up this one on my run this morning… Anyone training for a fall marathon, or really training for anything, and want to put purpose into their efforts? Run, bike or swim for the RunningBrooke fund. Would you consider supporting Alexandria and beyond with your sweat equity? I would, through ACT for Alexandria, support you with all the needed paperwork and other assorted filings/forms/receipts. How awesome would that be?! Contact me directly at 703-989-4945 or brooke.sydnor.curran@gmail.com. We could have a great time doing something great for others…”
Amazing! Brooke had no prior fundraising experience yet has raised $15,000 and counting, all because she has a passion and a goal. Most of us can’t keep up with Brooke on the road (and on the left in the photo) but we CAN keep up with her on her blog: www.runningbrooke.blogspot.com. Check out her progress, give encouragement and find out how to donate to support a great woman and a great cause in Alexandria.
Do you know another Giving Circle “Member in Motion?” Are you a Member in Motion yourself? Let us know so we can introduce you next!
