FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Based on online clinical research, we have designed a daily calorie goal chart chart based on age, gender, and weight which approximates 7 miles of moderate walking per day. Please select your goal based on this table and enter it into the Apple Fitness app.

Compete for Causes will email you a URL after you have signed up. At this URL, you will then click on the "instructions to connect" link.  Then, follow the stepwise instructions from there which will implement an Apple Shortcuts script which helps send us your Move points each night. It is easier to follow the instructions if pulling up this URL link on both your laptop and your iPhone. 

Even though your Move points data will begin showing up on the leaderboard now, the competition will not begin in earnest until May 3rd. Until May 3rd, we will be in a "warm up" period to get everyone connected and troubleshoot any technical issues. The script will no longer function on your phone on May 24, the day after the competition ends. 

Other common issues:

• Please make sure you have the latest iOS version of software on your iPhone.

• Please turn off your iPhone and re-start to see if this fixes any problems.

• If you are using a wearable, make sure both wearable and iPhone have bluetooth “on” to transmit data between them.

• Please make sure you can see Active Energy data in Apple Health or alternatively red ring Move calories in Apple Fitness. Active Energy is the only data being sent to Compete for Causes, and if you see data in either of those apps, you should be able to participate (and transmit the data to the leaderboard). Check this by going to Apple Health > Activity > Active Energy and scrolling down to Data Sources to make sure your wearable and your desired app (e.g. Oura, Strava, Garmin) is feeding into Apple Health.

• If you have 0 Active Energy in Apple Health on a given day, you can expect to see 0 on the leaderboard.

• In the Apple Shortcuts > “…” part of Send Move Points, please look for and expand the arrow at the end of the Get Contents of http section. Once expanded, make sure the source to the right of “points” is “Health Samples”

• If all else fails, delete the Send Move Points shortcut in the Apple Shortcuts app and re-install with instructions / link from the organizers

We will be providing prizes to those in the competition. Winners will be selected via random drawings and be notified promptly after such drawings. (There is no payment of any kind to enter the competition or win these prizes. The size of any donation will not increase your chances of winning. To enter without purchase, simply sign up with no donation.)

Signup for the event on our website and share your daily active calories during the 21 days of the fitness competition. A $50-100 donation during signup is suggested but not required and sharing daily active calories will be handled automatically. For automatic data sharing, you need an Apple iPhone that enables Move calories (red ring) to be measured in the Apple Fitness app or as Active Energy in Apple Health. An Apple Watch is preferred because it also tracks passive movement throughout your day (e.g. walking through grocery store), but other wearables (e.g. Oura, Garmin, Suunto) may work as well. You will have to share data (e.g., Move calories) with the Compete for Causes leaderboard through a daily Apple Shortcut script. Finally, you must set your Move calories goal per the table in these FAQs.

The competition runs 21 days from May 3 to May 23. Everyone’s goal in the competition is oriented around closing your ring on average for 19 of the 21 days, implying 2-3 rest days.

Each person’s daily calorie goal, if achieved, will be equal to 100 points or the equivalent of closing one’s red ring in the Apple Fitness app. This allows people of different ages, weights and genders to calibrate to one scoring system.

To date, we have about $11,500 in pledge commitments from individuals and corporate sponsors. If 100-200 participants end up being in the competition, the current match donation made as a result of your effort (if you hit your goal) would be $50-$100. This donation is incremental to the donation inherent in your buy-in donation.

There is no minimum number of calories to burn. However, if you don’t achieve at least 1,900
points across the competition, you will not earn a match donation for the SMOCH programs being funded by 501c3 Father Joe’s Village. The maximum 
points one can earn in a day is 250 points, which is a very hard day of physical exertion.

Father Joe’s Village SMOCH program will receive donations in two different ways. One, each participants donation multiplied by the number of participants in the competition. Two, a percentage of the aggregate amount of pledge commitments from individuals and corporate sponsors which is based on the percentage of participants who hit their goal by the end of the competition.

Regular exercise controls weight, combats health conditions/disease and drives longevity. 
Exercising with friends enriches relationships. Competition and rewards drive personal 
performance. You will be more motivated by risk of not earning the match donation. You can drive habit 
forming change in your exercise. Finally, giving to non-profits is rewarding.

We can maintain your privacy in the public leaderboards by using a pseudonym instead of 
your names and we can maintain the privacy of your email if needed.

The donor’s will be asked to make their donations to the non-profit. The amount contributed will be based on the % participants who have achieved their goal.

Any exercise or movements which cause Move calories in Apple Fitness or Apple Health will count. Examples 
include walking, tennis, soccer, pickleball, gym classes, running errands. It is common for
people to close a third of their ring in a day even without an intentional exercise activity based on movement around the house alone.

You will be asked to share your data (e.g., Move calories or Active Energy) via Apple Shortcuts. If 
technical issues arise with your data, we will try to troubleshoot as above in the FAQ. If participants cannot fix things, we can look to make appropriate adjustments or corrections after the competition is over in some circumstances.

We are a grassroots organization founded in 2023 with a mission to create physical 
competitions which motivate individuals to increase their fitness levels, charitable giving and 
engagement with friends and family. The co-founders include Jeff Szekeres, Adam Rhodes and 
Andre Niemeyer and also include CTO, Jackson Szekeres, and advisors Craig Lee and Mike Coward.

Other than those disclosed by name in the competition, the donors are high net worth individuals, foundations or corporate sponsors who are known to the organizers and who wished to remain anonymous.

Saint Margaret of Cortona Harbor (SMOCH) is a program within 501(c)(3) org, Father Joe’s Villages, focused on supporting young, pregnant women experiencing homelessness, domestic violence or other abuses. More can be found online at: https://my.neighbor.org/helping-pregnant-mothers-in-need/

The competition raises awareness about the non-profits mission and impact and could lead to
future new donors.

No, Compete for Causes does not pursue to profit from these fitness 
competition. The Founders contribute to this for philanthropic purposes and any fees generates are meant to defray costs of running the enterprise (i.e. breakeven LLC).

The organizers will publish a daily leaderboard of scores for each participant at a specific URL and remind you to have a look with periodic emails.

Apple uses algorithms based on your age, gender, weight plus data from its heart sensor and 
accelerometer to determine approximate calories burned. Make sure your vitals for age and 
weight are updated in Apple Health for more precise readings. Also make sure you wearable is 
snug against your skin for more accurate readings.

The daily goals are meant to be challenging to achieve. If you have to exercise more than 75 
minutes per day to achieve your daily calorie goal, please discuss with an organizer whether 
there are any potential technical issues.

If you have donated via the non-profit website, you can deduct your donation for tax purposes. If you donate via the Compete for Causes store, at the end of the competition, Compete for Causes will make a single donation to to the non-profit owed from the aggregate of the buy-in donations received. If sending via Compete for Causes, we believe individuals should not be able to call their buy-in a charitable contribution because Compete for Causes makes the actual donation. Please consult with your personal tax advisor for formal position on this matter.

All of the organizers can be reached at info@competeforcauses.com.