CHALLENGE EVENTS BLOG

Challenge events are growing rapidly! Everywhere we look there are events from 5k to overseas treks being promoted. With increased competition it's sometimes difficult to stand out from the bigger charities or most popular events to make sure we fill our spaces, whether this is a mass event or a charity owned/organised challenge event.

Recent research by Enthuse.com found that 47% of the general public are still considering taking part in a challenge event in 2024/25.

So, how are you going to convince those still sitting on the fence to take part in a challenge or mass event for your charity?

Here are my 7 things you can do that will help fill your challenge event spaces:

Opportunities for everyone

Do you have opportunities for ALL supporters to take part in a challenge event for your charity? Not all supporters are willing or able to take on a half marathon or an overnight hike. Offer a range of events, including those that attract supporters that might just be setting out on their fitness journey.

Personalised support

You might have a lot of events and hundreds of participants each year, so one to one support is not always going to be possible. However, some supporters, especially those who are new to this type of event will have a lot of questions, so it's a good idea to make sure they know how to get these answered (don't take it for granted they will find the answers just because they are on your website/socials/in emails etc) and provide ways they can contact you if they need to.

Look at ways that you can create a community amongst participants, whether that's on social media, WhatsApp or at in person training or information events running up to the event. This will help individual supporters feel like part of a team and they will be able to support, encourage and offer training and fundraising ideas to each other.

You may even have a dedicated supporter or volunteer who is experienced in challenge events that is willing to mentor or support a beginner.

A unique and inspiring range of events

Do you think that the 47% of people thinking about signing up to an event include some of your existing (long term or recent) supporters who just haven't been inspired by the right event yet?

Yes, we said in the first point that you need opportunities for everyone, but you also want to inspire your supporters with unique events that stand out from the crowd. Do you know what your supporters would like? If not, ask them.

If you're struggling to come up with original ideas Creating Awesome Event Ideas might help.

Team opportunities

Give supporters the opportunity to train and fundraise together by offering a team sign up option for your corporate supporters and groups. Colleagues and team members will encourage and influence each other to join.

Can you include some type of 'competition', or maybe a leader board for training miles/steps or fundraising for example?

Helpful Fundraising ideas

Providing supporters with fundraising ideas will increase the amount they raise! I don't just mean a list of things they could do like; set up a fundraising page, hold a quiz, do a raffle, post on social media etc. I mean interesting and practical ways to help them fundraise. Share case studies from previous supporters on how they've done it. Give them practical steps and make it as achievable as possible.

Realistic fundraising targets & time for them to be achieved

Set achievable fundraising targets for supporters. Be clear and transparent on how much you are asking them to raise and key dates. Remember that a large part of the target could be raised in the last couple of weeks, however, encourage supporters to start telling friends, family and colleagues as soon as possible.

For a one day (or night) event my advice would be to guide your supporters to start fundraising 6 months before.

Promotion!

Of course it goes without saying that you need to promote your events to fill spaces! This is a whole subject on it's own.

How creative can you be in your marketing strategy?

You can register interest in our Marketing Your Challenge Events workshop here.

If you need help developing short or long term challenge event strategies you can book a

FREE Discovery Call with me to see how I can help,

Tracey

Join our new Facebook group - Challenge Events Hub