We’re excited to highlight three inspiring fundraising events that are making a big impact in their communities. From supporting refugees and immigrants to honoring legacies and advocating for public education, these events showcase the power of peer-to-peer fundraising. With creative storytelling, seamless participant engagement, and strong calls to action, they are leveraging GiveSignup’s tools to maximize fundraising success.
Let’s take a look at this month’s standout peer-to-peer events!
Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS) Enduring Welcome Fund: $100K in 100 Days
Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS) is rallying supporters for an ambitious fundraising push with the Enduring Welcome Fund: $100K in 100 Days campaign. This standalone fundraiser empowers CRIS supporters, staff, and volunteers to become fundraisers, working together to reach their $100,000 goal. Inspired by a successful volunteer-led effort in 2017 that helped sustain CRIS during a time of crisis, this campaign demonstrates the power of peer-to-peer fundraising—without the need for a registration fee.
How They’re Using GiveSignup:
- Zero Registration Fee: Making it easy for anyone to join as a fundraiser and focus on driving donations, without any barriers to participation.
- Storytelling with Heart: CRIS is using GiveSignup to power their fundraiser with storytelling that connects and engages fundraisers with a clear mission and time-sensitive goal to drive urgency and action.
Greta’s Run
Greta’s Run is one of the largest 5Ks in their area, honoring the memory of Greta Schoenemann. Founded by her childhood friends, the race has become a powerful tribute, bringing the community together to celebrate Greta’s life and support inclusive recreation programs. As it marks its 12-year anniversary, Greta’s Run continues to make a lasting impact.
How They’re Using GiveSignup:
- Sponsor and Volunteer Opportunities: Greta’s Run is highlighting sponsor and volunteer opportunities right on their main page, giving a clear and direct call to action making easy for participants to get involved and support their mission.
- Easy Directions to Become a Fundraiser: Greta’s Run makes fundraising simple with clear, step-by-step directions on their donation page, ensuring supporters can easily set up and maximize their fundraising efforts.
Ride 4A Reason
What started in 2008 with four passionate cyclists has grown into a powerful movement for education. Ride 4A Reason brings together hundreds of students, teachers, and community members each year to cycle from Oakland to Sacramento, raising crucial funds for 12 public schools and advocating for increased education funding. The funds raised support essential programs like library books, art education, after-school programs, and staff salaries—helping to create better opportunities for historically marginalized students.
How They’re Using GiveSignup:
- Custom Pages: Ride 4A Reason added custom pages including, training resources for participants, their impact, and even the 2025 routes.
- Fundraising Thermometer: Highlighted progress throughout the event with a donation thermometer.
- Countdown Clock: Built excitement for event day by including a countdown clock.
The State of the Industry: 2024 RaceTrends Report
Our annual RaceTrends Report is here (read the full report here), breaking down the participation numbers and industry trends from 2024 to help you make better predictions and more successful decisions in 2025. Here are a few key takeaways about giving trends:
- Big donations make a big impact: In 2024, donations over $250 made up just 2% of all donations but accounted for 29.3% of total donation dollars. Meanwhile, small donations under $10 were the most common, making up 37.9% of all donations.
- Peer-to-peer fundraising is a game changer: Events with peer-to-peer fundraising raised 784% more on average than those relying solely on donations.
- A simple checkout donation prompt boosts giving: Events that enabled a donation checkbox at checkout raised an average of $3,195, compared to just $982 for those without it.
- Different peer-to-peer models see different results: Events with a handful of highly engaged fundraisers raise an average of $9,840 per fundraiser, while events requiring every participant to fundraise tend to see lower per-person totals, averaging $13.58 per fundraiser.