March Gladness
Play with a Purpose
This year you can play for FREE.
While this is a fundraiser, we cannot do a pay for play model.
Click the button below to play up to 3 brackets per email address. (You will need to register each email and contact information to be eligible for prizes.)
Every year millions of people enjoy playing a bracket for the NCAA basketball tournament. We thought, wouldn’t that be a blast to do that with a purpose? The RetailROI March Gladness pool has a purpose.
Play brackets with your friends
You can play for free, up to 3 brackets per email address - but at the end of the day this is a fundraiser for RetailROI to help children in the foster system find forever homes faster so we will ask you to consider a donation here to help.
Win over 40 great prizes in gift cards to top retailers
100% of every donation helps a child in need
Corporate Sponsorships Are Also Available This Year - Including Grand Prize Sponsor
This year, rather than focusing on international organizations, our beneficiaries will be a program to help elevate case workers in the foster care system to that of first responders. THE #1 determination of whether a child in the system finds permanence is social worker turnover. RetailROI will be partnering with many organizations this year to help with this issue.
This year is unique… the need is great.
While you can play for free we ask that you consider making a donation.
Suggested donation is $20 for each bracket or $50 for every 3 brackets you play for the main tournament or $10 each 3 for $25 for the Sweet 16.
For questions, first check out the FAQs tab. Otherwise reach out at roimarchg@gmail.com
To play, click the button below:
US Charities
There are over 439,000 children currently in the US foster care system. These children enter the system for a variety of reasons ranging from abuse and neglect to lack of a safe place at a point of crisis. Less than 7% of children enter the foster system due to their own behavior.
The goal is to find permanence for these children as soon as possible. However, the role of social worker in the foster system is often a thankless job and turnover is very high. When a child has only 1 social worker, they find permanence almost 75% of the time. However, when turnover occurs this can drop to less than 20%.
How tough is this job?…See this video below from one our partners to understand some of the really tough things social workers deal with.
This year the funds from March Gladness after ROI expenses will be used to fund charities in the US that are working either to strengthen families so children do not go into foster care, or organizations that are working in the area of foster care.
To learn more about the vision, please see these slides shared recently at SuperSaturday.
To make a donation, click here.
To play, click the button below:
March Gladness 2024 Prizes
$1,500 Amazon Gift Card - Amazon Web Services
$500 Rooms To Go - Rooms to Go
$250 Visa GC - Connie Driscoll
$250 Retail Therapy Gift Card (Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Cheesecake Factory, Macy’s) - Sharon Leite
$250 Visa Gift Card - Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions
$250 Lamps Plus Gift Card - Lamps Plus
$250 Visa Gift Card - Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions
$200 Lowes Gift Card - Scott Hagizadagan
$100 Home Depot Gift Card - Mark MacLaren
$100 Under Armour Gift Card - Aptos
$100 Under Armour Gift Card - Aptos
$100 Cavenders Gift Card - Cavenders
$100 American Eagle Gift Card - Clifford Pearlman
$100 Zumiez Gift Card - Zumiez
$100 Cavenders Gift Card - Cavenders
$100 Target - Jen Thyssen
Vitamin Shoppe Gift Basket - The Vitamin Shoppe
$50 Home Depot - Ed Collupy
$50 Home Depot - Ed Collupy
$50 Lowes Gift Card - Scott Hagizadagan
$50 Retail Therapy Gift Card (Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Cheesecake Factory, Macy’s) - Christine Russo
$500 Sephora Gift Card - Aptos
$50 Carters Gift Card - Carters
$50 Burger King Gift Card - Carrol’s
$50 Burger King Gift Card - Carrol’s
$25 Jersey Mike’s - Jen Thyssen
$25 Amazon Gift Card - RetailROI
$25 Panera Gift Card - RetailROI
$25 Dunkin Gift Card - Ed Collupy
$25 Cracker Barrel Gift Card - Jay and Mary Fagnano
$25 Cracker Barrel Gift Card - Jon Schmeider
$25 Cracker Barrel Gift Card
$25 Cracker Barrel Gift Card
$25 Cheesecake Factory - Jay and Mary Fagnano
$25 Cheesecake Factory - Jon Schmeider
$25 Cheesecake Factory Gift Card
$25 Cheesecake Factory Gift Card
$25 Buffalo Wild Wings Gift Card - Jay and Mary Fagnano
$25 Buffalo Wild Wings Gift Card - Jon Schmeider
$25 Buffalo Wild Wings Gift Card
$25 Buffalo Wild Wings Gift Card
$25 Starbucks Gift Card - Jay and Mary Fagnano
$25 Starbucks Gift Card - Jon Schmeider
$25 Starbucks Gift Card
$25 Starbucks Gift Card
$25 Subway Gift Card
$25 Subway Gift Card
$25 Panera Bread Gift Card
$25 Panera Bread Gift Card
PRIZE FOR THE WORST BRACKET AFTER FIRST WEEKEND - $15 Little Casears Gift Card - IHL Group
To play, click the button below:
Create Your Own Groups
Did you know you can create your own mini tournament with your friends, customers, or company within March Gladness? There is no cost over the bracket charges to create the group. You can create your own prize for your group or have bragging rights. Most people simply create a group, and each person pays for their own brackets. However, we have companies that also want to pay for brackets for their clients and employees as well. See below if that applies to you.
How do you create the group?
You let us at ROIMarchg@gmail.com know before the start of the first game the name of the group. Then once the games start, we can add people to the group for reporting. Everyone purchases their own brackets, logs into the runyourpool site and then once the games start, the group owner tells us the name of people in the group.
Are we still eligible for the overall tournament prizes?
Of course, having a group or not having a group does not change that. You can add your own prize that you manage for your group. If you want to sweeten the pot for your friends by having $100 to the best person in your family, have at it. But that is something you manage.
How are reports done?
In the reporting at runyourpool, you will see Reports and then Group Results. You will see the results listed for all the groups you are in.
Make sure you understand the scoring. This pool REALLY rewards the underdogs you pick to continue to win. You get a point for the win PLUS the seed of the winning team in the second round. So if a #16 seed beats a #1 seed, you get 18 points for the win if you picked the #16 team in the first round. If that team continues to win again, you get 5+16 (21 points for second round). If you picked the #1 seed and they win, you only get 3 points in first round and 6 points in the second round.
*This seeded scoring continues through the entire game. You get the points for that round plus the seed number.
First Four: Play-in games are not included or scored (games before March 19th)
First Round: 2 pts + # of seed
Second Round: 5 pts + # of seed
Sweet 16: 11 pts + # of seed
Elite 8: 22 pts + # of seed
Final 4: 33 pts + # of seed
Championship: 65 pts + # of seed
HINT: pick your Sweet 16 and work backwards from there and pick upsets for teams not in your Sweet 16 – that should maximize your score if you picked the right Sweet 16 teams.
To play, click the button below:
When do brackets come out and I can select teams? What is deadline?
The brackets are released by 8pm EST on Sunday March 17th. Your brackets have to be submitted by 12:15EST on Thursday, March 21st. When you pay for your brackets, the instructions for the pool show up after the transaction and in the emailed receipt attachment. The brackets are on a separate system and you need to create an account and then play the number of brackets you paid for.
Do I need to know anything about basketball to play?
Not at all. There is a setting in the pool where the system intelligently picks the teams through a quick pick for you. We have had large prize winners who have chosen teams by mascots, name of schools, all kinds of strategies. In fact, the more you know can often get you in trouble.
What is unique about this tournament from others?
The first and obvious is it is for charitable purposes only. 100% of the money raised for brackets and sponsorships goes to help orphans and vulnerable children. Not just the proceeds, the total amount thanks to a generous donation from Avanade
Second, the scoring is different than most bracket challenges. We really support the underdogs here…in fact, since the first weekend is usually absolute chaos (hence the term March Madness), we reward those who can pick the right upsets. Each win in each round gets the value of points for the win + the bonus which is the seed # of the winning team. So in round 1, if a 12 seed wins over the 5 seed, you get 13 points for the win if the 12 seed wins (1+12) but only 6 points for the 5 seed winning (1pt for win + 5 bonus points for the seed). Generally, the best approach is pick the teams you expect to make the Sweet 16 and work backwards and predict upsets for many if not all the other games in the first two rounds.
Can I donate for brackets for my family or others?
Yes, of course. At the end of the day this is a fundraiser. While we cannot charge for brackets, we have real hard costs for each bracket and prizes. You can donate to the cause here.
As a company, can I donate for brackets for my clients and/or employees?
Yes, absolutely. This has been quite effective for companies in the past. But this year you would be making a donation per bracket rather than a pay for play model. Please reach out to us at roimarchg@gmail.com to discuss options.
What happens if the NCAA tournament is cancelled?
We now have the ability to create our own tournament. Our plan would be to take the last bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi to seed the brackets. We would then use artificial intelligence to run an actual tournament.
Can I pick my teams yet?
You can donate now and register now and we will send you a link when the teams are picked on March 17th. At that time you have 5 days to complete your picks which must be picked by 12:15PM EST on Thursday the 21st of March.
If I play multiple brackets, can both win a prize?
You will win the Prize for the best bracket played under your name. The goal here is to help as many people win as possible, not give all the Prizes to one person. So even if you play 3 brackets or 3 different emails, it is your best bracket that decides the Prize. There is an exception after the first weekend. We have a prize for the best bracket going into the Sweet 16 and then the worst bracket. You can win the worst bracket and the best bracket.
Is there anything special about the scoring?
Yes, there are different levels for each round. See the Rules & Scoring Page for details
Can we talk smack?
Yes, absolutely and that will be part of the fun. This will be monitored, so use respect. We may have younger age kids playing with their parent for fun so please use discretion. But if you want to talk company smack among friends, by all means go for it.
Are prizes only for the winners?
We are adding a couple of fun Prizes. There will be a Prize for the worst score after we get to the Sweet 16 and a Prize for the best score at that point. If there is a tie, we will throw the names in a hat and pick the winners.
What is tie-breaker for final?
We will use total points as the tiebreaker for the final games. This will be used for any ties for the top Prizes.
How will we be updated of progress?
After each round, login to your dashboard and you will see the latest results. Instructions are in the email you received when registered.
I don’t want to play, but can I contribute to this cause?
Yes, absolutely, simply go to this page clicking here and then ignore the instructions. We will send you a donation receipt after the tournament starts. This way your donation shows in the totals for the campaign.
If I donate is this a tax deduction?
Yes, since we cannot do a pay for play model, if you donate to March Gladness it can be tax-deductible. You can make that donation here.
What has March Gladness accomplished in previous years?
March Gladness – 2023
Last year 472 donations to RetailROI's March Gladness NCAA tournament bracket competition raised $47,825 to support Charity Partners to help Support the Socialite program.
March Gladness – 2022
Last year RetailROI's March Gladness NCAA tournament bracket competition raised over $36,000 to support Charity Partners Casita Copans in Honduras and Fergus Simpson Foundation in Jamaica.
March Gladness – 2021
Last year 607 donations to RetailROI's March Gladness NCAA tournament bracket competition raised over $32,312 to support Charity Partner Thrive In Joy and the Tia Tatiana preschool! 90 vulnerable children living in Herrera, one of Santo Domingo's most under-served communities, benefited from your generosity.
March Gladness – 2020
In 2020 we earmarked funds again for computer labs. We raised enough for 8 computer labs, helping over 1,200 kids. This was a tournament that turned into a drawing due to COVID.
March Gladness – 2019
Last year we raised over $32k for Together for Good, which helped 32 families stay together. Together for Good comes alongside families at risk of losing their children to foster care, not due to abuse or neglect, but at a point of crises the parents had no one to watch the kids. TFG steps in with partner families who care for the children so mom and/or dad can properly get back on their feet and it saves the state money and saves families.
March Gladness – 2018
In 2018 we partnered with CTRL ALT DEL Poverty and were able to deploy 6 computer labs and help over 1,000 children top reading and educational tools in mobile computer labs.
March Gladness – 2017
In 2017 raised enough funds to help purchase a new van for My Friends House, a residential home for teen boys in foster care. Here is a picture of the van.
March Gladness – 2016
In 2016 we partnered with Care for Children an organization that works with governments to raise up foster families for special needs children that are stuck in orphanages. Since 2004 in China alone, Care for Children has helped place over 400,000 special needs children into loving foster homes.
March Gladness – 2015
Collegio de Tia Tatiana is a K-12 school in an extremely poor area of Santo Domingo serving the children of struggling and broken families who strive to meet basic needs such as daily food and clothing. The school is part of Vision Trust International’s global efforts to change the lives of over 17,000 children by creating healthy, hopeful and helpful conditions to thrive in. March Gladness will help fund a school makeover of classrooms for the school and a new sports field for the local orphanage in the same community.
March Gladness – 2014
The proceeds from 2014 were used to purchase a building and land for the Trezo school in Cayes Jacmel, Haiti. Trezochildren.com was founded by two nurses and their families that took a trip to Haiti. Along with medical care they wanted to provide educational opportunity for the region. They approached RetailROI to help with funding the purchase of the building and land…which is still standing today despite multiple hurricanes and earthquakes in the region.
Thank you to all of the sponsors of March Gladness
To learn more about sponsoring click here!
