Walk 101: Should My Organization Add a Walk Event?

Possibly my last 2 blogs have you thinking “Walks sound like a great idea – Let’s add one next year”

And while I appreciate your enthusiasm, just hold your horses for a minute.

Any event, including Walks, should be carefully considered before adding them to your fundraising mix. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when considering starting a Walk event.    

• Do we have the staff capacity to start a new event? Will we have future staff capacity to nurture the event?

• Do we have at least one leadership volunteer who is really excited about doing a Walk, and is willing to lead/work on it?

• Do we have a mission community that would benefit from being brought together to meet and support each other?

• Are we willing to budget for the expense of a new event? (Walks are on the lower end of expense, but they are not free)

• Do we have, or are we willing to pay for, the technology to register participants, track teams, and allow participants to fundraise online?

• Are we willing to give 18 months of preparation before our first Walk event to make sure we have a solid start?

• Does a Walk make sense for our Mission?

If you answered “No” to any of the above questions, adding a Walk may not be the best decision right now. That doesn’t mean that it will never be the right fit, but you may need to start some conversations and create some building blocks prior to committing.

But if you answered “Yes” you are in the right place. Walk 101 will provide what you need to have a great event.