Whether you're operating within a nonprofit or are an individual looking to raise money for an important cause, you may have considered organizing a 5k fundraiser.
A charity run can be super successful in attracting sponsors, obtaining donations, and raising your chosen charity's profile—but it can be challenging to pull off.
Perhaps you've planned a charity run in the past, but it wasn't as successful as you'd hoped. Or, maybe you're hosting a charity run for the first time. Either way, you've come to the right place!
Let's make sure you don't leave anything out before getting started. In this post, we'll cover:
- How to choose a race location
- Logistics to consider
- How to build a budget for the race
- How to collect donations and fees
By the end of this article, you'll know how to plan and budget for a charity race that will help you do your part in changing the world.
How to organize a 5k run for charity
Choose your location
Start by deciding on a location—your route selection can greatly impact your charity run plan. For example, you may need more resources for using a specific route, which may affect the range of participants who can participate in the race.
As for distance, we are focusing on 5k runs since they seem to be the more accessible race length. This distance can attract serious runners while not being too daunting for less experienced athletes.
Check whether you can pick a location that will be accessible for various ages and running abilities. Doing so will give you a much larger scope for getting all kinds of people involved—and the more runners you have, the more funds you can raise!
For example, we can safely assume that most runners prefer a flatter course with no steep hills to tackle. If you're not targeting serious runners, you may select a course like this.
A looped course can also be a great choice if you want the start and finish location to be the same. Choosing this type of route avoids transporting participants back from the finish line.
Ideally, the route should be accessible for crowd support. Finding a path that offers enough room for supporters to gather alongside the runners and cheer them on as they pass is great for raising spirits and morale. The good vibes can make a major difference when runners feel the burn! If possible, encourage the local community to come out and offer vocal support for the runners on race day.
The positioning of water stations is also important to factor in. Stagger these at frequent intervals, so runners stay hydrated—you may also consider choosing a route that allows water stations on both sides of the path or road.
Remember to be vigilant about safety concerns. Find out: is there typically much traffic on your selected route? Will you be able to close thru-traffic on race day? If not, are there sidewalks runners can use to avoid cars? Can you easily arrange necessary things like portable toilets, hydration stations, and trash cans on the route?
Be sure to factor in legal considerations, too:
- Obtain permission to use specific routes
- Figure out how long a road can be closed off to traffic
- Research if there are any conflicting events on the day you want to host your charity run
- Sign up for liability insurance
Pro tip: Before you commit to a race location, ask someone else to walk or run the route. As they move through the route, ask them to report back with observations and feedback. This exercise will highlight any blind spots you can't see when choosing which way to take.
Ready to learn how to start a free money pool for your 5k charity race? Click here to get started.
Plan the charity run logistics
After you've sorted out your route, think about the resources you'll need to ensure a smooth and successful race day, including:
- The level of security required
- The number of volunteers and staff needed for roles across the event
- Signage for start and finish lines and along the route
- Tables and water bottles for water stations
- Trash cans and recycling bins
- Post-race snacks
- Information stands for sponsors or to sell merch
- Two-way radios to stay in contact with race workers
- A money pool platform to collect donations, entry fees, and more—like Braid
When it comes to keeping runners safe during your event, don't skimp on these precautions:
- Ensure there is plenty of water available on the route
- Ensure that traffic control is present, so nobody gets hit by a car
- Use volunteers and signage to ensure participants stay on the route
- Ensure there is always a medical presence throughout the event
5k charity race budgets and financials
Usually, a 5k race will cost the amount of money you're charging runners to register. So if you're solely charging registration fees without sponsor support, you will break even.
To avoid just breaking even and successfully creating profit for your charity, you need to get a grip on your financials. Doing this step will inform you whether or not it's sensible to hold the event in the first place.
Charity runs have many financial parts:
- How much does a 5k charity event cost?
- How do you budget for race day expenses?
- How do you pay for your 5k event?
- How do you collect money for your 5k race?
We'll answer these questions and show you how to simplify your charity run's finances with Braid Money Pools.
What is Braid? Braid is an app where you can collect, manage, and spend money with race day committee members.
Keep reading to learn more about Braid and why it's a fantastic tool for charity events.
Ready to try Braid Money Pools for your 5k charity run? Start here!
How much does a 5k charity event cost?
Once you nail down the event expenses, you'll have a better idea of how much the event will cost.
Write out costs for each expense, like t-shirt printing or security personnel, to see how much you need to collect and your spending limit.
Try researching different vendors to see if you can save in certain areas—for example, some brands of water bottles might be cheaper than others.
Pro tip: Check if you can partner with local sponsors to provide snacks and refreshments. And if you have runners traveling from out of town, you could contact local hotels to offer accommodation for discounted rates to encourage more signups.
These small choices and connections will help drive down the cost of the event, so you can focus more on raising money for your cause.
How do you budget for race day expenses?
An excellent way to simplify your budget is to set up a Braid Money Pool for each item, like "5k Race Website Design", "Chip Timing", or "Race Day Signage."
Individual pools allow you to collect and spend specific event expenses while staying within your budget. It also means race day money never comingles with your personal account. It's always accounted for in your money pool dedicated to your charity run.
After analyzing your budget, you may find paying for all expenses will cost you the money you're charging for the registration fee. So, how can you raise money for your charity? There are two ways you can go about it:
- Ask for additional donations for charity from participants and outside supporters.
- Get sponsorship—the sponsors will pay for the event, and any money you have left over can go to the charity.
How do you pay for your 5k event?
Paying for your event hinges on:
Registration fees
Set reasonable ticket prices, around $25-$30 per head. This price range tends to encourage the most purchases. Offer a 20-25% early bird discount to boost registration and collect money sooner.
Donations
When marketing your charity running event, make sure outside supporters know where to donate—you can post your pool link on your website, social media, newsletter, and more.
Donating via Braid is seamless and quick, and anyone with the link can contribute—they don't even need to sign up or download the app.
Sponsors
Event sponsorship plays an essential role in race revenue as a significant source of income.
Try garnering sponsor interest by spreading the word in your inner circle, asking your employer or local companies, or researching who in your community is connected to your cause.
You may also consider contacting sporting goods or running supply stores, as the event is closely tied to their business.
Pre-race fundraising
Fundraising is a fun way to raise money for your event while also getting community members and participants excited for race day.
Whether you sell branded t-shirts or raffle tickets for a new pair of Nikes, it's a huge boon for making pre-race money.
You get to cover race day expenses, and supporters get to take home a memorable item.
Get started with a free money pool for your 5k charity race here.
What is the best way to collect money for a 5k charity race?
There's no need to open a new bank account or set up a PayPal account for your upcoming charity race—just use Braid.
Braid Money Pools are where you can collect and manage money with your event committee.
You can also pay for every event-related expense directly from the pool efficiently and transparently.
You've already seen how to implement Braid into your financial management. Here are five more reasons to use Braid for your charity run:
1. Braid is simple to use
Set up your free pool and invite other event committee members to join in minutes.
When it's time to collect registration/entry fees, race participants pay into the pool using their debit cards.
They don't need a Braid account; they just need your pool link.
And because you don't have to move money in and out of different accounts, you can seamlessly track transactions and stay within your budget.
2. Each pool you create is free
Set up your pool and use it for as long as you need without paying any service or maintenance fees. It's totally free.
Race participants, sponsors, and other supporters can pay into the pool with their debit cards without incurring fees. That goes for fundraising dollars, donations, merch sales, registration tickets, and more.
There are also no balance limits, so you can accrue as much or as little money as you want for your charity event.
3. Share admin roles with event committee members
As pool admin, assign admin roles to your fellow race day committee members so they can share pool tasks with you.
Admin can view all transactions, receive notifications for pool activity, invite others to the pool, spend with the Braid debit card, and more.
For example, you can give someone spending permission so they can pay for the t-shirts while you take care of the chip timing fees.
However you divide the tasks, everybody can see these various activities in your money pools.
4. Create as many pools as you want
Together with your event committee members, you may decide to create multiple pools for different expenses relevant to the race.
For example, you may collect registration fees into one pool, then divide these funds into separate pools for the drinks, signage, signage, ad sales, etc.
You can also allow different income streams for the event to go into separate pools. For example, "Donations", "Merch", "Sponsor Money", and more.
You get to decide what works best for you. Braid is flexible.
Another reason why people love Braid is that it keeps event money separate from personal accounts. And you don't have to start a new bank account or transfer money in and out of PayPal or Venmo.
Your event money comes into your pool and stays there until you spend it with the Braid debit card.
5. Pay with the Braid debit card
Every pool has a free digital Braid debit card to use anywhere Mastercard is accepted. You can also request a physical card to pay for in-person purchases.
As pool admin, you can set spending permissions so other event committee members can spend with you and lighten your load.
And don't worry about staying within budget—set spending limits per card user, so everybody stays within their means.
Real-time notifications display your card activity instantly, and you can view all transactions in the app.
If you ever need to freeze the card, you can do so quickly in the app. And since the Braid card doesn't include transaction or overdraft fees, you get to spend 100% of what you collect for your charity event.
Your 5k charity run can be successful with Braid. This can simplify event money and fundraising—and make handling the finances a breeze.
