While planning their Iditarod Race fundraisers, Shannon Noonan (Director of Marketing & Communications) and Kerry Quade (Producer, Signature Events & Special Projects) knew they needed to balance modernizing their fundraising while staying true to the tradition of the race.

The Iditarod isn't just a race—it's a year-round fundraising operation.

Known as “The Last Great Race on Earth®”, the Iditarod Trail Committee helps preserve the Iditarod heritage for future generations, ensuring the race continues to benefit the health and happiness of dogs around the world, delivers creative educational programs, and honors the history and culture of Alaska.

The Fundraising the Iditarod Trail Committee supports 3 major pillars:

  • Dog care
  • Creative educational programs
  • Protecting Alaska’s heritage

Dog health is central to the success of the Race. Research studies done through partnerships with universities and veterinarians have led to breakthrough discoveries in dog health. They’ve also adopted “Best Standards of Trail Dog Care Practices” to provide consistent guidelines for the health and happiness of trail dogs. The Official Iditarod Vet Team assesses kennel standards and provides education for mushers.

Their education programs range from childhood to higher education programs that bring the story of Alaskan heritage to a new generation of fans and visitors. The Race acts as an outdoor classroom for over 10,000 students with content in math, social studies, language arts, science, health and fitness, technology, arts, and character education.

The Iditarod Heritage Program also supports the conservation of Alaskan history, culture and places through education, training and skills development and heritage planning. The programs link community pride, tourism and economic development through outreach programs. It also focuses on instilling the dream of competing in The Race in new generations of mushers through careful outreach and cultivation among all Alaskans and race enthusiasts around the world.

We spoke with Shannon and Kerry about the many moving parts that support the Iditarod Race and its related events, and how Auctria helps them elevate their fundraising.

Every year, they put on the:

  • Legends of Iditarod Gala
  • Musher’s Banquet
  • IditaRider Auction
  • Tag Along Program
  • Iditarod Education Department Summer and Winter Conferences
  • Trail Mail Auction
  • Hat and Bib Auction

These events build excitement and provide education year-round to keep the spirit of the Iditarod Race alive!

Legends of Iditarod Gala: The Crown Jewel

The Legends of Iditarod Gala is a new event in the line-up created to be an unforgettable night dedicated to the people, dogs, and defining moments that have shaped Alaska’s greatest sporting tradition. At the Gala, they honor the newest Class of Legends inductees whose dedication, perseverance, sportsmanship and spirit have left an enduring mark on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. This evening celebrating The Legends includes a welcome reception, a dinner program, the Hall of Fame induction, new members award, as well as a live auction, a silent auction and a paddle raise to support the race.

This is one of the ways the Iditarod Trail Committee is changing their approach to fundraising for the race to elevate their efforts. This Gala offers a high-end event that showcases the stars of the race while providing a beautiful experience for supporters to meet The Legends their support benefits.

Musher Banquet: Kick Things Off with a Bang

The Musher Banquet is the kickoff to Iditarod Week! The Iditarod Musher’s Banquet is one of the most iconic nights of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®. Held in Anchorage just days before the start of the race, this unforgettable evening brings together fans, mushers and Iditarod Legends to officially launch The Last Great Race on Earth®.

During the event, they hold a Musher Meet & Greet, a Bib Drawing, Live & Silent Auctions, a Pre-Race Show & Special Guests along with Dinner & Drinks. The Bib Drawing decides the starting order of the mushers, and this event is when the race becomes real and the stories begin. At the banquet, attendees have the opportunity to purchase different ways to be a part of the trail via sponsor miles and the Checkpoint of Champions. Both sponsoring miles and checkpoints support the race and publicly recognize the supporter.

This event is key to starting their yearly race fundraising off strong, building energy amongst supporters and getting them invested in the race by involving them in the bib drawing and letting them meet the mushers.

IditaRider Auction

The IditaRider Auction is one of the Iditarod's most anticipated annual traditions, opening each year on December 1 as fans around the world begin counting down to the next running of the Last Great Race®. The auction offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure a coveted seat in the sled bag of an official Iditarod musher during the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage.

Winning bidders experience the first exhilarating 11 miles of the race, traveling down historic 4th Avenue and onto Anchorage's snow-covered trails behind a team of elite sled dogs. This isn't a demonstration or tourist attraction—it's the real start of the Iditarod, placing you at the heart of one of Alaska's most iconic events. Along the way, riders often receive exclusive Iditarod gear, commemorative keepsakes, professional photos, and invitations to special pre-race events with their musher.

Beyond creating an unforgettable adventure, every winning bid plays a vital role in supporting the future of the Iditarod. Proceeds from the auction help fund race operations, ensuring the successful staging of this world-renowned event, while also providing transportation stipends that assist mushers—particularly those finishing farther back in the field—with the significant cost of returning their dog teams home after the race. Your participation helps preserve Alaska's rich mushing heritage while supporting the care, wellness and stewardship of the incredible canine athletes that make the Iditarod possible.

The auction opens December 1 and runs through January, giving fans ample opportunity to bid on their preferred musher before the field is finalized for race day. If you've ever dreamed of feeling the surge of an Iditarod team beneath you, hearing thousands of cheering spectators, and becoming part of the opening moments of the Last Great Race®, the IditaRider Auction is your chance to turn that dream into reality.

Tag Along Program

The Iditarod Tag Along Program offers fans a unique opportunity to become part of the Last Great Race® by sending a personalized medallion on the 1,000-mile journey from Willow to Nome in the sled of an official Iditarod musher. Whether you choose to honor a beloved dog, celebrate a family member or friend, commemorate a special milestone, or simply create a one-of-a-kind keepsake for yourself, each custom Tag Along medallion carries your personal message across the Alaska wilderness. Even if your musher is unable to complete the race, your medallion will continue its journey with another team, ensuring it reaches Nome before being officially postmarked and mailed back to you as a lasting reminder of its incredible adventure.

Each Tag Along medallion is individually personalized and allows you to follow its progress up the Iditarod Trail as your musher travels from checkpoint to checkpoint. At $250 per medallion, every purchase directly supports the Iditarod Trail Committee and helps preserve the traditions, heritage, and world-class race experience that have inspired fans for generations.

The Tag Along Program has quickly become a popular fan fundraiser, connecting supporters from around the world to the race in a deeply personal way. With a limited number of medallions available each year, they are often claimed quickly, making this a truly special opportunity to leave your mark on the trail and own a keepsake that has traveled every mile of The Last Great Race®.

Trail Mail: Encouraging Engagement & Connection

Long before modern transportation, the Iditarod National Historic Trail served as a vital mail route across Alaska where dog teams were the lifeline connecting communities. The Iditarod Trail Committee keeps the heritage of this history alive through Trail Mail. For more than 50 years, students across the country submit artwork. The winning design is printed on an official commemorative envelope that mushers sign leading up to the race, and then dog teams carry them for a thousand miles from Anchorage to Nome.

Each envelope holds a letter from a classroom, which is returned after the race. This creates a powerful connection between students and the trail, helping the race feel real to students even if they’re far away from Alaska.

One official Trail Mail envelope from each musher is set aside to be auctioned to continue to support the race. No two are exactly the same. Each one tells its own story of the race and the mushers and dogs who race in it!

This is a great way to create multiple high-value auction items that supporters will be excited to bid on, allowing them to keep a unique piece of the race forever.

Educator’s Conferences: Seasonal Education Outreach

In addition to fundraising-focused events, the Iditarod Trail Committee hosts two Educator’s conferences per year: one in the summer and one in the winter. At these conferences, stories of endurance, teamwork and spirit, are shared with educators to help inspire students of all ages. It’s a one-of-a-kind professional development opportunity that brings authentic adventure-based learning to life.

Each conference has some seasonal differences but attendance includes lodging, expert presenters, immersive sessions, a field trip, workshops for refining lessons and collaborating with fellow educators.

By connecting with educators directly, the Iditarod Trail Committee can give them the tools to share the heritage of the race with students to inspire the next generation of supporters or maybe even mushers and volunteers!

Hat and Bib Auction: Finishing the Race Strong

Finally, at the end of the race, they hold the Iditarod Hat and Bib auction. This auction is a supporter's chance to own a piece of Iditarod history: an autographed bib worn during the Ceremonial Start of the 2026 Iditarod, or a bib-numbered hat signed by their favorite musher.

This capitalizes on the energy of the race itself before this year’s celebrations wrap up and planning begins for the next year’s race. Attendees have seen the race and become attached to their favorite mushers, which provides ample motivation to bid on items related to their favorite team! This ends the year’s fundraising efforts on a strong note, setting the team up for success for the next race.

Keeping Tradition Alive in the 21st Century

Alaska gives the world a beautiful gift with the Iditarod Race, a generational celebration of dog sledding that brings in future fans and mushers. With their online auctions and presence, the Iditarod Trail Committee is on the precipice of opening them up to a much wider audience—and national programs like Trail Mail allow them to tap into that audience effectively. This allows them to expand and amplify their sponsorships and fundraising.

The Iditarod Race is a national treasure that connects many of the remote villages in Alaska. Mushers are greeted by welcoming committees and even into people’s homes. Anyone can be a musher: male, female, young, old. The race showcases the relationship between musher and dog team, a long-standing tradition of dog sledding that should be kept alive.

With a budget of $5 million, the Iditarod Race is a major event with a lot of fundraising arms to make it happen every year. The Iditarod Race is an American asset, a tradition passed down from generation to generation. It’s vital that the Iditarod Trail Committee continues to seek out the best technology and partners to maximize their event success, even though embracing change can be hard at first. They’ve seen first-hand the benefits that a tool like Auctria can bring to the table.

By expanding their reach, the Iditarod Trail Committee is keeping the heritage of dog sledding alive for many generations to come.

Special thanks to Shannon Noonan and Kerry Quade for sharing their event experience. Don't forget to follow The Iditarod on their socials and check out Alaska Premier Auctions to see all of the amazing work they do as a valued partner of The Iditarod

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