How to Organize and Run a Walkathon Fundraiser for Your School

Looking for a fun and easy fundraiser for your school that combines physical fitness, competition, and community-building? Try a walkathon! You can find success by collecting flat donations or soliciting pledges per lap. Your students and donors will love it!

Worried about the work that goes into organizing an in-person walk a thon fundraiser? Don't be! With the help of an online fundraising platform like BetterWorld, you can streamline your efforts, collect donations, update donors on your walkathon progress, and award participants with fun giveaways and prizes -- all in one place. Sign up for free at BetterWorld today!

How to Host a Walkathon

Hosting a walkathon may seem daunting, but with the proper support, it doesn't have to be! Follow the steps below to be on your way to an easy and successful school fundraiser.

Pick a Platform

Your walk a thon success starts with choosing the right online fundraising platform -- be sure to pick one that streamlines your fundraising needs from the first planning session to the final lap.

When you start your online search, look for a platform that offers the most bang for your buck. Many platforms charge a fee, but others run entirely on optional donor contributions, including BetterWorld, where you only need to pay a small credit card processing fee, which most donors cover themselves! Furthermore, choosing a platform like BetterWorld allows you to keep more of the money you raise from the walkathon for your students.

Secure Your Walkathon Date and Location

It makes no sense to put in a ton of work planning and organizing a fundraiser without having a space to hold your actual walkathon. To avoid this huge mistake, secure a date and location for your walk-a-thon fundraiser early in the planning stages.

Some schools can host a walkathon on school grounds, while others use tracks and stadiums in their districts. If these options don't work for your school, secure another location big enough to host your walkathon and support the accompanying traffic.

Solicit Big Sponsors

The majority of your funds will come from your students' networks. However, you can jump-start your success by landing some prominent sponsors. Local mom-and-pop businesses love to support school fundraisers -- ask them to donate prizes for the participants of your walk a thon or enough money to buy shirts for your walkers.

Make it Easy for Your Users

If you want a successful walkathon fundraiser, you'll need to encourage students and staff members to participate, and right off the bat, there's nothing more discouraging than a cumbersome registration process. The key to boosting participation is an online fundraising platform with a user-friendly portal that makes it easy for users to register for the walk a thon, show off their progress, and easily share their fundraising efforts.

Make it Interactive

Donors will donate more when they feel involved in the cause, so make your walk a thon fundraiser an interactive experience with real-time status updates, a live stream, or text message reminders. If your walkathon is in person, offer some fun amenities for your donors and participants, such as food trucks, a DJ, a photo booth, or games.

Also, consider featuring videos of your students talking about the walkathon and the positive impact the money raised will make on their education. Donors are much more likely to donate when they know the money is going to a great cause.

Spread the News

A walk a thon is only as successful as the number of people who know about it. Be sure to spread the word about your fundraising efforts through any means possible.

Social media is a great place to start -- you'll find online fundraising platforms like BetterWorld on all major social media platforms. With the click of a button, your participants can share their walkathon goals with friends, family, and other social media connections, encouraging non-local people to participate by donating to your great cause.

Reward Your Participants

Raising money for your school and participating in the walkathon event are both great things to do. However, you can encourage increased participation by offering your walkers fun rewards and incentives.

Whether you reward individuals or an entire class is entirely up to you. To select your winners, consider looking at the largest amount of money raised or the most laps walked. For a class-wide award, you can look at the participation percentage and reward the class with the highest number of participants or the most laps walked.

You can also offer physical prizes like toys and gift cards or class-related prizes such as pizza lunches or dance parties. Whatever you decide to offer, make sure it's something fun and desirable to entice your students to participate in your walkathon fundraiser.

Tell Your Organization's Story

Walkathons are excellent fundraisers for schools, PTOs, and larger sports teams and clubs. People love donating to causes they believe in and care about, so be sure to share your story -- tell your donors what your organization stands for and how much the money you raise will help people.

When it's all said and done, you'll be happy with your choice to organize a walk a thon fundraiser. It's a fun way to get your students physically and mentally involved, and by working together towards a common goal, you'll build school spirit and community feeling.

Whatever you do, choose BetterWorld to set yourself up for fundraising success. Our free online fundraising platform has all the tools you need to host a quick and easy fundraiser.
Reach out to our team to schedule a free one-on-one demonstration of our platform. You'll get a feel for how we work and be more prepared to decide on your next fundraiser!