Fun Runs are a reliable form of peer-to-peer fundraising that fosters community support and connection. Part of what makes Fun Runs so successful is their versatility. Your fundraiser can suit any age group, include a variety of fun themes or twists, and work for various organizations, from schools to community groups to sports teams.
In this guide, we’ll cover Fun Run basics and how you can organize your own:
- How do Fun Run fundraisers work?
- What are the benefits of a Fun Run?
- What should you look for in Fun Run software?
- What are the steps to organizing a Fun Run fundraiser?
Fun Runs are a great way to get your community involved in fundraising and leverage your supporters’ networks to maximize your funds. Let’s dive in!
How Do Fun Run Fundraisers Work?
Fun Run fundraisers are easy to plan and set up with the right resources. Take the time to brainstorm with your team and get creative to give your participants the best experience possible.
Here’s how a basic Fun Run works:
- First, your organization plans the event. Determine when, where, and how you’re going to host this Fun Run fundraiser. The planning process can include decisions like choosing a date and time, selecting a venue, designing the route, planning the “fun” elements of the run, and creating a marketing plan.
- Next, participants sign up and create donation pages. You’ll need peer-to-peer fundraising software to ensure each participant gets an individual fundraising page. This way, participants can share the donation page with friends and family before your event.
- Finally, supporters will pledge donations to your organization. These contributions show their support for both the participant and your organization’s cause. For Fun Runs, supporters typically pledge a certain amount per mile participants run (e.g., $5 per mile). Peer-to-peer fundraising is effective because it relies on personal connections to garner donations. Even people who may not be familiar with your cause are more likely to donate if a friend or family member is participating and soliciting donations.
Then, all that’s left is to host the event itself! Be sure to have a way to track and report each participant’s running performance so you can secure the pledged donations. For example, if a supporter pledged $5 per mile to a participant who ran five miles, you’ll receive $25.
What are the benefits of a Fun Run?
There are hundreds of fundraising ideas out there—so many that it can be overwhelming to choose just one. So, why should you opt for a Fun Run?
Check out these key benefits of Fun Run fundraisers:
- More people will want to participate. These fundraisers feel fresh and exciting, giving people a reason to gather and support a worthy cause—all factors that motivate them to participate (which also drives revenue!). And if you’re an experienced fundraiser, you know that boosting participation is half the battle.
- You’ll build community connections. Online, peer-to-peer fundraisers already do a great job at helping you reach new supporters by leveraging participants’ personal networks. Because Fun Runs tend to be large, outdoor events in public spaces, you may also form new connections by partnering with other mission-driven organizations, securing partnerships with local businesses, or simply engaging bystanders.
- They encourage movement. Fun Runs promote health and wellness by getting participants moving and aiding their physical fitness! Studies show that running offers a host of other benefits, like reducing stress, boosting mood, improving sleep, and even enhancing brain performance.
Most of all, these events are fun! They’ll engage participants and supporters alike, leaving them with happy memories and positive associations with your organization. This is a great way to plant seeds that could one day blossom into loyal supporter relationships.
What should you look for in Fun Run software?
The right peer-to-peer software can make a huge difference in how much work it takes to set up your Fun Run fundraiser. Ideally, you want it to be simple to set up, accurately track key metrics, allow you to communicate with supporters, and offer great customer support—all without breaking the bank. After all, peer-to-peer fundraisers like Fun Runs are meant to be a low-cost form of fundraising driven by your community.
To help you pick the right software, we recommend you look for the following features:
- Affordability. A Fun Run shouldn’t break the bank! For example, 99Pledges is a free platform with no startup cost or platform fee. The only costs are standard credit card and PayPal fees of 3.49% plus 49 cents/transaction.
- Flexible payment methods. Flexible platforms will allow you to accept both online and physical donations, including credit and debit cards, cash and checks, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal.
- Individual donation pages. Choose a platform that will create individual donation pages to get participants more involved in the fundraising process as they reach out to their network to meet their fundraising goals.
- Easy setup. Even if your team is tech-savvy, not all your supporters will be. Finding software that is easy to use allows any of your supporters to get involved with their own donation page.
- Reporting. At the end of your fundraiser, you want to know how you did! Reporting features allow you to gain insight into the success of your fundraiser beyond your monetary fundraising goal so that you can improve for next time.
- Good customer support. Whenever you invest in software, it’s crucial to ensure that you’ll have the proper support in case something goes wrong.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of fundraising platforms out there. Before you start shopping, list your must-have features and determine a budget. This will help you rule out options that don’t fit your needs, narrowing down the list of possible solutions.
What are the steps to organizing a Fun Run fundraiser?
With the right software to help you, organizing your Fun Run can be a breeze. If you’re ready to plan your own Fun Run fundraiser, follow these seven steps:
1. Plan your event.
Before you can begin signing up participants and soliciting donations, you need to figure out the basics of your Fun Run. Start by taking these steps:
- Decide when and where you’re hosting the run.
- Make sure you have all the necessary permissions from your locale.
- Choose the length of the run (e.g., 5K, 10K, 15K, etc.). We recommend considering your target audience here—will most participants be kids and families, or are you catering to hard-core runners?
- Create an activity waiver for participants to sign.
- Determine which communication channels and marketing strategies you’ll use to promote the event.
Most importantly, you’ll need to plan out the “fun” elements of your Fun Run. From color runs to bubble runs, there are a variety of ways to make your event exciting. Or, you might choose a fun dress-up theme, like superheroes, pajamas, or neon.
2. Promote the Fun Run online.
Create a strategic marketing campaign to help you get the word out to your community. Each marketing message should align with your broader campaign theme, use the same tone and voice, and include a clear call to action (in this case, registering for the Fun Run). Start sharing about the event online at least one month in advance to ensure you reach your audience and give them enough time to register.
Social media is a great way to get the word out. Choose popular social media platforms that your audience is already using. For a diverse social media marketing strategy, use platforms like these that feature different types of media:
- Instagram so you can highlight behind-the-scenes photos from your Fun Run or graphics that illustrate the event’s intended impact.
- TikTok to share fun promotional videos and interviews about your event. To help your videos gain traction, follow trends and leverage creative ideas when promoting your fundraiser.
- X (formerly Twitter), Threads, or Bluesky, which prioritize short-form, written content. These platforms allow you to share quick updates about the event or connect with supporters through replies and reposts.
Consider additional online platforms like email marketing and search engines. Email marketing allows you to land your messages directly in supporters’ inboxes, making it one of the most personal forms of marketing outreach. Search engine marketing, which refers to increasing your website’s ranking on search engine results pages via paid ads and content optimization, is another good way to get your campaign page in front of more eyes.
While you can boost rankings by creating educational content that addresses relevant keywords, search engines like Google also sell paid, top-of-page positions through Google Ads. Nonprofits and other tax-exempt organizations can apply to the Google Ad Grants program to receive $10,000 of Google Ad credits each month. Working with a specialized Google Ad Grants agency can help you determine whether you’re eligible, apply for the grant, and manage your ads.
3. Recruit participants.
Once you’ve begun advertising your event, follow up on interest from your supporters. Make sure anyone interested in participating has all of the correct information and understands how the event will work and their responsibilities as participants.
Depending on the size of your event and the number of interested participants, it may be helpful to create a resource or FAQ page or share a hand-out that lists key details and instructions for the fundraiser. These resources ensure you won’t have to have the same conversations repeatedly.
4. Make sure each participant gets a donation page.
After talking with all of your prospective participants, you can begin finalizing who can still participate. You can enable participants to set up their donation pages using your peer-to-peer software. With 99Pledges, your participants’donation pages willautomatically be set up, reducing the effort they have to put in and eliminating any troubleshooting and stress.
5. Share fundraising tips.
Both your main donation page and each participant’s individual donation page will be shareable. Encourage your participants to share their donation page as widely as possible on social media and in private messages with friends and family.
Provide them with tips on engaging with their personal networks to secure pledges and donations. For example, create a resource with basic fundraising tips, background information about your organization, and details on why you’re fundraising. Include some compelling impact stories or metrics if you have them on hand. To make sharing the page as easy as possible, provide custom graphics, message templates, and social media post copy that supporters can use.
6. Keep energy high during your event.
It’s finally the day of your event! Make sure your hard work pays off by ending on a high note.
Staff members who help run the event can maintain high energy by having positive attitudes, cheering on participants, and providing support when necessary. In addition to your staff, encourage all participants to bring friends and family to the event to cheer them on. Bringing signs, megaphones, and more can make the event more exciting!
Consider incorporating additional revenue streams into the event to boost your revenue even more. For example, sell commemorative, custom merchandise and set up a concession stand for spectators.
7. Thank your participants and donors!
Once your event is over and you’ve met (or even exceeded!) your fundraising goal, thank all of your participants and donors. Send a timely, personalized thank you to participants and encourage them to get involved again in the future. While you may not be able to thank every donor individually, you should still acknowledge all donors publicly.
A social media post after the event is a great way to do this. Additionally, ask your participants to thank their donors to make sure everyone feels appreciated.
Additional Resources
A Fun Run is a great way to bring your community together for a worthy cause. Because this fundraiser is so versatile, you can engage families, teens, and even seasoned runners. If you’re thinking about starting a fundraiser of your own, work with 99Pledges to streamline the process.
For more fundraising tips and ideas, check out our other helpful resources:
- 55+ Genius School Fundraising Ideas: Shatter Your 2025 Goals. Explore more creative fundraising ideas that are suitable for schools.
- The Only Guide You Need to Team Fundraising Platforms. Get everything you need to know about team fundraising software in this comprehensive guide.
- 20+ Amazing PTA Fundraising Ideas for Every Occasion. These ideas are perfect for a PTA fundraising campaign at your school.
