Sing, dance, donate: Fundraising for roofing research

By Emma Peterson.

Invest in the future of resilient roofing by supporting RICOWI Foundation’s 2025 Challenge Grant!

The Roofing Industry Committee On Weather Issues (RICOWI) is a nonprofit corporation devoted to researching weather topics such as wind uplift and hail impact. Their work, which was founded in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, aims to improve overall roof system durability, reduce waste generation from re-roofing projects and reduce costly insurance losses. As part of their mission, RICOWI formed the independent RICOWI Foundation, which helps raise funds for other projects (not run by RICOWI) investigating climate resiliency and related issues.  

With each year that passes, the increase of severe weather events makes RICOWI and the Foundation’s work even more important. In response, RICOWI has redoubled its efforts to understanding these events and improving the resilience of buildings for the future. As part of this, the Foundation is running a 2025 Challenge Grant! This is a fundraising initiative aiming to “secure and distribute grants for studying the impact of extreme weather on building structures.”

At the beginning of March, the Foundation held an event at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Florida to kick off the challenge. The fun-filled evening included a delicious buffet dinner and some great music thanks to Professor M. Attendees got to sing and dance the night away to rocking hits from Motown to Memphis! When they weren’t on the dance floor, there was a fun raffle and a 50/50 drawing for attendees to participate in. All proceeds went to the Foundation!

Through the generosity of the members and attendees, the event raised $1,625.00 from the 50/50 drawing and the raffle! A huge shoutout to Shelly Higgins, the winner of the 50/50 who chose to donate all her winnings back to the Foundation.  

RICOWI is also thrilled to announce early pledges (a commitment of $2,500 per pledge that will be billed once $25,000 is raised) for their 2025 Challenge from WindSmart, Eagle Roofing Products, Westlake Royal Roofing Products, SOPREMA, National Gypsum and Building Envelope Products.

Learn more about the 2025 Challenge Grant and help fund the research of the future of roofing!