One of the best parts of working with non-profit organizations is getting a front row seat to all the amazing work they do. In an effort to share the good news with more people, we do monthly roundups of great upcoming events to celebrate those organizations and help drive a little more awareness.
Big Beautiful Life Run, Walk & Roll
Customer Snapshot
- Events: 5k & 1.2k
- Donation goal: 70k
- Location: Essex Junction, Vermont
The Big Beautiful Life Run, Walk and Roll raises money to support children who are in chronic medical crisis. It’s a wonderful event that brings the community together in support of a worthy cause.
Why we love it
Donation levels
Having predefined donation amounts takes some guesswork out for potential donors, generally making it more likely for them to donate. The Big Beautiful Life Run, Walk & Roll also has different donation levels with associated perks, which could further incentivize people to donate more.
Fundraising teams
Most things in life are better when you can do them with friends. Fundraising is no different. Team fundraising teams help get more people involved, and generally lead to higher overall donation amounts. It can also help people feel more positive about the experience, making them more likely to participate in the future.
Charity options
The Big Beautiful Life Run, Walk & Roll gives people the option to donate funds to one of three charities. Though many events focus on one main benefactor, it’s always nice when they raise for multiple organizations. With RunSignup you’re able to have multiple charities for donation at one event. The donor simply chooses the organization they want their funds to go to, then selects the amount to donate.
Dash for Donation
Customer Snapshot
- Years running: 25
- Donation goal: $100k
- Events: 5k, Family fun walk, kids and mascot dash
For 25 years and counting Dash for Donation has raised money and awareness for organ and eye donation. It’s a family-friendly event where people can participate as individuals, families, and even virtually. There are even kid-specific events like the crowd favorite kid and mascot dash.
Why we love it
Participant survey
Retaining participants is important to the continued success of any event. Participant surveys give organizers insight into the participant experience. Dash for Donation has a survey on their homepage, giving participants the opportunity to share about their experience. With that information they can make any needed adjustments, or address any potential issues. Making it more likely people will continue to show up for future events.
Group/ age discounts
For their event Dash for Donations created a group ticket incentive. When people register for the event as part of a team they get a $5 discount. Teams are great ways to encourage those who may not normally participate in an endurance event. They also have kids-specific tickets at a discounted rate, further incentivizing entire families to participate.
Top fundraisers section
In our experience, there are two things people like when it comes to raising money: seeing progress and a little bit of competition. With a top fundraisers section they’re able to do both. People can see how they’re tracking toward goals. And seeing someone out doing them could ignite a little competitive spirit, encouraging them to try and raise a little more.
Miles for Money
Customer Snapshot
- Donation goal: $500k
- Organization: Zero Prostate Cancer
Scott Freitag is biking 11,000 miles to celebrate life. He’s a cancer survivor and suffered the loss of a child while going through chemotherapy. Most would be defeated, but Scott chose another path. He’s already nearly raised $200k of his $500k goal and shows no signs of stopping.
Why we love it
Sponsor levels and incentives
Sponsors are a great way to achieve your fundraising goals. Similar to individual fundraisers, offering different incentives can help motivate them to donate more. Miles for Money has a few different sponsorship levels that offer different incentives based on how much a sponsor gives. For example, a Gold Level sponsor gets their name on Scotts riding clothes, as well as on event merchandise and the event website.
Individual fundraisers
Along with sponsors, Miles for Money also utilizes individual fundraisers to help bring in donations. Individual fundraisers often help events increase their reach as people then promote donating to their personal networks. In fact, we found events with individual fundraisers raise around 7x more than ones without them.
Informative website
The Miles for Money website has a lot of great information not only about the cause they’re raising for, but also about Scott’s life and motivation for doing the ride. The additional context can help people feel more connected to the event and further motivate them to participate by either becoming a fundraiser or donating money.
Looking forward
It’s always encouraging to see the different ways people use events to positively impact their communities. If you’re interested in getting a monthly dose of good news, feel free to subscribe to the GiveSignup blog. And if you’re ready to get your own event going, you can create one for free here.