I would like to put together rides in my area to benefit our local charities. For those that have done this, what legal hoops if any are there and what needs to be done to make the process smooth? Acquiring police escorts, the process for that.  It's obvious that I have never put together a ride but there aren't many in my area that I have found. I would like to ride for a cause! Between cancer charities, the humane society, and children's needs I'm sure I can find a reason to get people together to ride here! Any help would be appreciated! I'm trying to get an employee group together where I work to be a part of it all also.

That's good advice from John. 

Get a Meetup.com account (free).  I've found several riding Meetup groups in my area.  They're always going to one benefit ride or another.  If  there aren't any existing riding groups, create one yourself.  You never know who else is in the same boat as you.

Alright thanks for the info. We'll see how it goes from here.

To do a run with Police Escorts and such could be a lot of work for your first event. I would recommend starting a little smaller for the first event and doing it all at private establishments (bars, restaurants, bikes shops, etc) to avoid any of the permitting, escorts, etc. that you would have in a public area such as a park. The ideal situation would be to find a place or group that has done an event before and take your charity to them and ask for their help, because as John said I would be typing a book on all that you need to do.

I can tell you from experience, local Harley Davidson dealers go all out to host ride registrations and starting points. They're more than happy to give you space and open their doors for your riders to come in and spend money there. The ones I've dealt with have staff that helps plan and promote the event. There are several in my area and most will even throw in merchandise you can use in a raffle.