Marathons – raise more money for your nonprofit

Through out the years, we’ve seen many marathoners come to Firstgiving and raise extraordinary amounts of money for causes they care about.

About 8 months ago, a group of us that work at Firstgiving and regularly fundraise and compete in endurance events such as marathons, got together to try to find out more.

Specifically – what’s the connection between endurance athletes and charitable giving and fundraising?

So, we started to do research by:

  • pulling data
  • hosting focus groups
  • reaching out to and learning from the endurance community

…and this is what we learned

The average amount raised on a Firstgiving fundraising page this year (so far) is:

  • $420 for walks (25, 479 fundraisers)
  • $982 for all running events, including marathons (7,428 fundraisers)
  • $1458 for all marathons (3,229 fundraisers)

The dollar amount given when donating to a fundraising page is determined by:

  • the personal relationship between the donor and fundraiser
  • an amazing or challenging event, such as a marahton (the harder it is to do, the larger the donation amount is)
  • an affinity for the charity or cause (eg, a family member or friend had that illness
  • the direct impact their donation makes (eg, $10 buys a family a meal)

And the best part for your nonprofit is - you don’t have to organize this event.

So how can you get your supporters to fundraise for a marathon?

  • Find a marathon - visit Marathonguide for a complete list of all the marathons in the world. It’s likely you’ll have better luck if you target local races, as it’s an excuse for the race director to give back to the community and get publicity for their race.
  • Contact the race director – Ask the race director if he or she would consider donating bib numbers to your nonprofit. You may have to pay for the entry fee or offer volunteers for the race.
  • Promote it - tell your supporters on your website, through a newsletter, or email blast. Ask your supporters to tell their friends, too.
  • Pair up with a coach (optional) – give your runners guidance from a coach so that they can safely cross the finish line, get advice, and organize group runs. You can find a coach through local running clubs or schools or just ask your supporters if they know someone. Read this article on how to find a coach

Need help getting started?

Firstgiving has provided many nonprofits with information on how to get started and motivate your fundraising runners. We also have literature and hand-outs that you can give to them.

Please contact us if you’d like some help

5 comments »

  1. Sandra Sims on December 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 pm:

    You are so right, one of the best reasons to latch on to an existing event is that as you put it, “And the best part for your nonprofit is – you don’t have to organize this event.” This saves so much time effort and money for the non-profit!

    The stats for average amount raised on a Firstgiving fundraising page varying for walks, runs and marathons are quite interesting. I imagine that the minimums that some programs require had an impact, making fundraising for marathons the highest. Short walks and 5K runs don’t normally have a minimum, if they do it’s usually less than $50. Marathon programs like TNT, as you probably know, have minimums in the thousands.

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