How to Turn Fundraising Into a Team Effort (Even If You’re Running Solo)

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Spending hours alone pounding the pavement… running can be a lonely process. But fundraising doesn’t have to be.

If you’re tackling a marathon, half-marathon or even a 10-mile run on your own, you don’t have to feel alone during fundraising. You have a community of friends, family, colleagues and supporters who can help you hit your target and make the journey more fun and motivating.

Several years ago I ran my first charity run – the wet, muddy and very hilly 10km INVNCBL race in Cardiff, raising money for the neonatal unit (NICU) at Singleton Hospital in Swansea. 

While I raised more than £700 for the charity, I didn’t do it alone. Along the way, I turned my solo challenge into a genuine team effort, which helped build momentum and kept my motivation high. In this article, I’ll show you how you can do the same.

Who Can You Involve in Your Fundraising Journey?

Start by asking who you can involve in your journey. Assemble your network of friends, family, colleagues and social media followers to build an army of supporters.

Your supporters will all want to offer help in different ways and to different degrees. Some will donate money, others may donate prizes for a raffle, and some will simply share your fundraising page far and wide. You can even share resources, such as free will writing services from Macmillan, with supporters who may want to make a longer-lasting contribution to your chosen cause.

Whatever their contribution, giving people a role in your journey gives them a stake in your success and reminds you that you’re never doing this alone.

Social media is, of course, one of the most powerful tools to use in modern fundraising. Explore how to promote your fundraiser on social media platforms using the handy graphic below. 

Can You Build a Fundraising Team?

If you can raise hundreds alone, think how much you could raise as a team! By creating a fundraising team, you combine efforts and build momentum together.

Many online fundraising platforms let you set up team pages that link individual pages to a shared overall total. This way, you and your friends can each have your own page, tell your own story and still contribute to the collective goal.

This approach also makes fundraising more social, encouraging friendly competition, mutual motivation and shared accountability, all of which can keep everyone on track.

How Can You Make Fundraising Interactive?

One of my favourite ways to build camaraderie is by getting your community actively involved in your fundraising with fun incentives. This turns donating into an engaging experience rather than just a transaction.

This could be as simple as running a daily step challenge with friends or holding a sweepstake to guess your finish time. Other classic ideas include bake sales, car washes, and pub quizzes, which are always popular. You can also get creative! For example, promising to run in silly fancy dress if you exceed your fundraising goal can spark extra donations and keep momentum going.

By making fundraising interactive and entertaining, you’ll encourage more people to get involved and feel part of your journey.

Why Should You Celebrate Milestones Together?

Whether you’re running for a national cancer support charity or a smaller local cause, don’t consider your donors as bystanders – they are part of your team.

Keep them involved by sharing regular updates on your fundraising progress so they can see the total climbing and the difference their support is making. Celebrating milestones together (like hitting 25%, 50%, or 75% of your target) turns fundraising into a true shared journey and keeps everyone motivated to reach the finish line with you.

From Solo to Collective Impact 

While I did the vast majority of my training solo, by the time I made it to the start line, it felt as if I had a huge team behind me.

When running for charity, you never have to face the journey by yourself. By building a network of supporters and involving them at every step, you can transform your fundraising into a true team effort.

The result is that you’ll not only reach your fundraising goal faster, but you’ll share the joy of making a difference together.

Author Bio

Chris Carra is a writer from Swansea who has extensive experience in running, resistance training, nutrition, plant-based living, and recovery. He has written about fitness and wellbeing for publications including Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, and Vegan Food & Living.