Taking on a sporting challenge is a fantastic way to raise life-saving funds for CoppaFeel!. You don’t have to be an avid runner/hiker/swimmer/all-around-amazing-sportsperson to fundraise either. Sporting challenges are great for motivating and holding yourself accountable as you get back into fitness.
You can organise your own challenge, or take part in one of our events.
If you choose to create your own challenge, here are some handy tips to consider in the process.
When: This will depend on the kind of challenge you decide to take on, but we recommend getting the word out about your fundraiser at least a month before your challenge to give your friends and family plenty of time to make their donation. Factor in some extra time if you’re planning to recruit fellow fundraisers to join your challenge.
Where: It’s up to you! You can make the destination the focal point of your challenge (we’re thinking scenic half marathons, climbing tall mountains, cycling to a faraway destination) or get active in your own home or local community. The sky’s the limit!
How:
- Choose your activity! You can challenge yourself to cover a distance, exercise for as long as you can, or complete an activity every day for a set time. Not sure where to start? Here are some popular examples:
– Lace up your running shoes and take on a distance of your choice. This could be your first 5k, a half marathon, or an even longer run.
– Cycle between two points. These could be two cities, important places that hold a lot of meaning for you, or popular distances like London to Brighton or the iconic Land’s End to John o’ Groats challenge.
– Get a group together and hike up a mountain! Or two, or three – the Yorkshire 3 Peaks is always a popular challenge.
– There are plenty of ways to get active from the comfort of your own home too. You can climb the equivalent of a mountain on your staircase, do loads of jumping jacks every day for a month, or run a marathon in your garden.
– Dig out your walking shoes, grab some friends and get walking. The location is up to you (you can plan a walking tour of some of your favourite sights in your home city or retreat into nature for the day), but choose a distance that’s outside of your comfort zone so people are inspired to support your efforts with a donation.
– Don’t forget about dancing either! Challenge yourself to a dance-a-thon, whether that’s by yourself or as part of a regular class you attend.
- Materials – Let us know about your plans so we can send you some fundraising materials. Just fill out this form and we’ll get the goodies to you asap.
- Safety – If you’re planning to be active for an extended period of time, it’s important to factor in refreshments and brakes. You could rope in a pal to act as your support vehicle along the way. Check out our Safe and Legal guide for more information on staying safe while fundraising.
- Show off your progress! Keep people up to date on your training. Each sweaty training pic is a great opportunity to ask for extra donations. Show your friends and family how hard you’re working so they’re inspired to cheer you on with a donation. An easy way to track your progress is by connecting fitness apps like Strava to your fundraising page. It’s super easy to set up, and people raise on average 40% more when they connect Strava to their JustGiving page, so it really is a win-win.
Go the extra mile!
- Organise a sweepstake. Get people to guess how long it will take you to reach the finish line in exchange for a donation. Closest guess wins!
- Are you part of a sports club? Encourage your teammates to join you or get other clubs involved and turn your challenge into a tournament.
- Set fundraising milestones along the way and do a dare when you reach each milestone (e.g. complete your challenge in fancy dress, dye your hair pink, let the young people in your life choose your work outfit, ice water plunge).
- Get your employer to match the funds you raise!
