March Madness - 2026
NoRa's March Madness for Local Charities
Overview
NoRa is once again hosting a NoRa March Madness for Charity event. The concept is simple. Our team members create drinks, name them, identify a charity and the pit their drinks against their colleagues' drinks in a March Madness tournament style event. Each drink is paired with a local charity with money being donated to that charity for every drink ordered or donation made.
To order online or make a donation to the drink/charity of your choice, click here
The Contest
The contest is broken out into three rounds - The Playoffs, The Semi-Finals and The Finals.
The Playoffs (March 19 - 27)
This is an "open pool play" round. Rather than going head to head, the teams are all just trying to score as many points as possible (see scoring below). The top four teams will advance to the next round - The Semi-Finals.
The Semi-Finals (March 28 - April 3)
Four teams will meet in two head-to-head matchups. The top seed will face the fourth seed and the second seed will face the third seed. Scoring is reset to zero for the start of the competition. Whichever team from each contest scores the most points will advance to The Finals.
The Finals (April 4 - 12)
The final two teams will face each other in a head-to-head matchup. The scores will be reset to zero at the start of the competition. The team that wins will have additional money donated to them from NoRa.
The Scoring
Each team scores points when customers order their drinks or make direct cash donations to the team/drink.
Drink ordering
When a team's drink is ordered in any variation whether in the store or online, the team will get 10 points.
Cash donations
If a customer would like to support a team or its charity directly, they can submit a donation at the register or online specifying the team/drink/charity they are supporting. The donations will be earmarked for that charity and given to the charity at the end of the event. For scoring purposes, the team will receive two (2) points for each dollar donated during the competition.
The Charities
The Charities for each drink are listed with the drink below. There is a link to each charities website as part of the drink overview. NoRa will donate a portion of the sales of each of the drinks along with any cash donations to the appropriate charities at the end of the event. NoRa will make an additional contribution to the winner of the competition.
THE DRINKS (in random order)
BLUEBERRY BLUSH
Team Name: Whirligig
Drink Description: Classy sparkling lemonade with a modern twist. Lemonade, seltzer and blueberry syrup.
Charity: Oak City Cares
MAPLE MORNING
Team Name: Candy Jail State
Drink Description: For springtime in Vermont: dewdrops glistening on newly green mountains, red clovers blooming in a cradle of warm wind, the gentle song of a winding brook, and the first shine of sweat on your forehead. Iced earl grey tea, maple, honey, & a whisper of milk
Charity: Siembra, NC
BLUEBERRY PANCAKE LATTE
Team Name: Breakfast Bunch
Drink Description: Blueberry, maple, and salted caramel. somehow we condensed a stack of pancakes into a latte. It's basically breakfast.
BRAMBLEBERRY BUZZ
Team Name: Berry Good Brew
Drink Description: Espresso latte with raspberry, blackberry, and honey syrup
Charity: Inter-Faith Food Shuttle
FRENCH SILK PIE
Team Name: The Decaf Divas
Drink Description: A classic French Silk Pie in a cup - A latte with dark chocolate and French Vanilla topped whipped cream (suggested as an ice drink)
Charity: CORA Food Pantry
PISTACHIO PRALINE
Team Name: Confection Perfection
Drink Description: A tasty latte served with a combination of maple, brown sugar cinnamon and pistachio that will make you go nuts!
Charity: SPCA of Wake County
LUCK OF THE IRISH
Team Name: Fighting Irish
Drink Description: Matcha with white chocolate, irish cream and honey
Charity: RUMAH
