A couple of years ago, running became a city craze. and still continues to attract more and more people. The industry does not stand still and gives beginning runners everything they need for comfortable training, and even more: the lightest sneakers and clothing, trackers and applications. A person with any preferences can exercise comfortably anytime and anywhere, but this does not make running clubs and mass races any less popular. On the contrary, they are becoming a more desirable and conscious form of activity, because now many people run not only for emotions and medals, but in order to help others. As a result, instead of inspiring photos from the finish line (and with them), friends publish bank account details on social networks. For those who are not familiar with charity running, such activity is not very clear: the logical assumption that the money raised by the event will go to some good cause is, in principle, true, but does not provide insight into the essence of the phenomenon. We decided to figure out who, how and why reconciles sport with social causes, and talked with people who ran and organized charity races.
Masha Vorslav
Organizing any race requires money, which the organizers receive not only from sponsors. To get to bright and popular events like the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco, where everyone who finishes is given a miniature Tiffany & Co. medal. (they also give out kits with everything you need, like sunscreen and isotonic water), you need to pay about 200 dollars. For comparison: you can run the Moscow Marathon this year for 1,200 rubles (another confirmation that running is one of the most affordable sports hobbies). There are also free races, but they are usually designed for a small number of people who decide to spend time together.
In fact, it is the money issue that distinguishes a charity race from an ordinary one. At the same time, it is not always the case that a separate race is organized for charity: in most large running events (half marathons, marathons), a pool of places is given to charitable organizations, so in theory the participant has a choice: just run the distance or run the distance and raise money before doing so. The reality is a little different: places for famous races fill up very quickly (on the day registration opens or a few hours after), so partnering with a charity is often the only way to get to the event.
The organizers' task is to raise as much money as possible for the benefit of a fund or person. For the runner, this means that he not only needs to pay an entry fee, but also collect donations. Not all races have a minimum fee, without which they will not be allowed to run: for example, to take part in the 10-kilometer women's race in Glasgow, you need to pay 26 pounds (this is the fee for the organization itself), and bring as many donations as you can collect. At the same time, participants in the Virgin London Marathon will not only have to pay an entry fee of £100, but also raise at least £2,000 - otherwise they will not be allowed to enter the marathon. In events such as the latter, there is a developed support system for participants: Red Cross activists provide training plans and nutrition recommendations, as well as a bunch of tips on how to “raise” the amount, and in general are always ready to help if problems arise.
Runners can earn money by any means - the main thing is that they have it (naturally, illegal actions are excluded). In theory, a “proper” charity runner should tell others about how the foundation for which he is raising money works, why it is important to help others, and what problems specific social groups have. However, this is a very labor-intensive activity that requires a lot of free time and effort, moreover, it will not necessarily bring the necessary money. So some runners choose a different method. Anna Mitrokhova, founder of the women's running club "Girl&Sole", decided to sell buns.
“I managed to raise the first money by calling on my friends,” says Anna. - This brought in about twenty percent of the required amount. I collected everything else in seven months - with a break of two - by selling buns at four large fairs. At them, I was asked a lot why I was raising money not for a Russian organization, but for a foreign one, but this moment did not bother me very much - a few years ago our foundations did not take much part in major races, and I really wanted to get to the Berlin Marathon. Well, I didn’t have specific circumstances that would attach me to a specific foundation, so I decided to combine business (marathon) with business (charity).
A “good” charity runner should often say thank you to everyone and encourage people in every possible way
I would say that unless a runner has a large audience and a good cause for which people will give money just like that, it will be difficult to save money for the race. I was ready to put down my money if I couldn’t collect it. Ideally, a “good” charity runner should write a lot about what he is collecting and for whom, very often say thank you to everyone and pull people in every possible way. And I really don’t like asking and I really don’t like pulling everyone’s socks off, so the option of earning money on the side and investing it seemed much more attractive to me.”
By the way, races are a traditional fundraising mechanism, but not the only one. For every mile a user bikes, runs, or even walks, the Charity Miles app donates 10 and 25 cents, respectively, to charities (thanks to sponsors Timex Sports, Humana, and Lifeway Foods). A similar opportunity is provided by companies that, at first glance, are completely far from sports: for example, WWF decided to draw attention to the declining population of Amur tigers and offers running for them. The mechanism is simple: if you do not fulfill the terms of the contract (run, say, 15 kilometers in a week), you will have to give the tigers at least two dollars (but more is possible). Of course, the foundation does not withhold further donations to cats or other animals.
As with other charitable initiatives, race participants can see where the money they raised and donated went to. This is largely determined at the stage of selecting the supervising organization: several funds can buy seats for the same race, so the runner has the right to choose which one to compete for. You can also first choose the direction of charity; one of the most clear lists is provided by the Run for Charity website - it makes it immediately clear what and when to run to help the homeless, animals, hospices and other vulnerable groups. Regardless of how the race participant came to his organization, it provides an opportunity to make sure that the money went in the direction in which it was planned. So, after the Balloon Run, organized by Yulia Geseleva and Artyom Dozorov, the Help for Children foundation, which collaborated with them, prepared a report on the expenditure of funds: 143,000 rubles were divided into families of children who require expensive treatment.
The Balloon Run is a good indicator that even small projects can be beneficial. About 250 people took part in the race, but thanks to clever organization and the attractiveness of the idea (running with balloons is just fun, helping sick children is also noble) they managed to collect a considerable amount. Yulia Geseleva says that this was her first experience of organizing not only a race, but a sporting event in general. “I took part in many different races, and at some point I wanted to organize my own, albeit not too big, but different from the others. This is how the concept of “Balloon Run” was born. I proposed the idea to my good friend, and he immediately supported me. We worked out in detail the concept, marketing activities, communications of participants and the event script. We had a field kitchen, homemade cupcakes and cookies, gifts for the youngest race participants, and a DJ from Ecuador. I didn’t want to make money, I just wanted to make a cool sports event and help those in need,” says Yulia.
Charity adopts modern tools and therefore becomes closer to people
The most famous organization in Russia that is involved in charity running is the Naked Heart Foundation. The first race he took part in (the annual Paris Marathon) took place six years ago, and according to the foundation's president, Asya Zalogina, the team thought it would be his last. As it turned out, interest in such events not only has not subsided, but continues to grow: every year “Naked Hearts” attracts more people and funds. “We have long wanted to organize our own race, and this year, thanks to the huge support of Polina Kitsenko and Podium Sport, we succeeded. The “Running Hearts” race, I hope, without any complications, will take place on May 16 in Gorky Park,” says Asya. - Now we hope that we will be able to do two races a year: one in Paris and one in Moscow. We cooperate with local organizations; last year we worked well with the Moscow Marathon team.
The “Running Hearts” race will be small: it is designed for 1200 participants and includes two distances - 5 and 10 kilometers. Soon after registration for the race opened, we realized that people's interest in it exceeded our capabilities, but, unfortunately, it was impossible to change the scale of the agreed event. We have not set a minimum donation amount because we understand that the concept is new to the public and have decided to stick with the registration fee for now. Raising additional funds is, of course, allowed: the foundation helps each participant set up a page on justgiving.com, adds them to their team and informs followers on social networks about the current crowdfunding.”
On the subject of reporting: Naked Heart initially solicited donations that were not program-specific. Then the organizers realized that it was more interesting and logical to collect funds for certain projects. “People like to know how much money was spent on a particular project, and transparency of work helps with accountability. For the last Paris Marathon, we set a goal to raise 200 thousand euros for the arrangement of social integration rooms in Nizhny Novgorod schools - they will help children with severe mental spectrum disorders adapt to the school education system. Everyone helped us, we received this amount and in less than a year we will be able to show the finished rooms and report on the funds spent,” comments Asya.
Charity, like any form of social activity, is now a modern tool and therefore becomes closer to people. Even the laziest person can arrange a monthly write-off of 100 rubles, which will be used to solve real problems, and, if desired, monitor their movements. For those who are interested in educating others and being emotionally involved in the process, there are many ways to help, and charity running is one of them. In general, it looks like a natural development of a frivolous, at first glance, hobby, as running seems to beginners. Before our eyes, many of those who initially ran for fun gradually take on serious distances, set personal records, and then - whether forced, as happened with Anna Mitrokhova with the Berlin Marathon, or not - become involved in charity. For prudent runners (that is, following a training plan and taking good care of their own bodies), charity running provides an opportunity to improve not only physically, but also emotionally - in an age when every half hour counts, and the demand for good deeds is growing, exercises with such a high efficiency are especially valuable.
Charity marathons have long become commonplace both in Europe and the USA. In Russia, organizers are still only dreaming of such large-scale events, during which tens of millions of dollars could be raised for charity, and even in a fun and exciting way.
Photo from www.runforcharity.com
All over the world, within the framework of the so-called “run for charity” marathons, people run in order to help street children, cancer patients or other people in need of care and help. Everyone can choose a goal that will motivate them to run many kilometers. It's fun: people run in clown costumes, with flags and balloons, in a team of like-minded people; they run mainly not to win the main prize, but to show how fun it is to do charity work.
It’s hard to say when the first “run for charity” marathons appeared. For example, fundraising for charity in the famous London Marathon began more than thirty years ago. Conditions for participation in this competition mean that future runners must pay a membership fee for registration and access to the start. However, since 1981, the organizers of the London Marathon began to provide the right to charities to exhibit their participants at the event for free. Thus, they expected to help them. People who wanted to run for good were registered as marathon participants by a charitable foundation. And they, accordingly, had to raise a certain amount for the fund in various ways. So, caring philanthropists began to run in the race along with ordinary participants. This scheme was called “charity running,” that is, running in the name of charity.
In some countries, marathons even began to be organized, in which people ran only in the name of charity. For example, during the Phuket charity marathon in Thailand in 2013, participants had to pay a small donation (from 200 to 1,500 baht depending on the distance and category). However, proceeds from the event were donated directly to a charitable foundation under the patronage of the country's Princess Mahi Chakri Siridorn. However, this is not the most typical scheme of a race in the name of charity, since participants, as a rule, can choose the organization from which they will run.
If you are full of skepticism and think that no one is interested in this, then in vain. In this way, charitable organizations managed to raise considerable amounts. Let's take the famous London Marathon as an example. In 2007, runners contributed £46.5 million to charities, about the same as in 2008. In total, charities have received £500 million from this competition alone since 1981.
Where and for whom are they running?
Let's take a closer look at how this scheme works and how you can take part in the marathon. On one of the pages on the Internet you choose a goal for which you are ready to run. As a rule, a list of charitable foundations is posted on the marathon’s website. Some of the largest marathons are The Virgin London Marathon, The New York Marathon, The Great North Run, The Brighton Marathon, The Paris Marathon, The Amsterdam Marathon, The Berlin Marathon. In general, marathons are held in many major cities in Europe. They are also organized, for example, in Turkey, and even in Thailand and Kazakhstan. Therefore, you can easily find a suitable event. You can also get acquainted with some of the nearest marathons, for example, on a specialized website on the Internet - www.runforcharity.com.
Having chosen a convenient event, you must now decide on a charity. As a rule, charities explain in detail what they need the money for. Take Honeypot from www.runforcharity.com for example. As the organization reports on its website, they help children who are neglected by their parents due to serious illness, alcohol or drug addiction. As a result, young children have to look after their parents themselves, do laundry, bathe, and prepare food. In essence, they are deprived of childhood and the opportunity to go to the cinema or to the beach, the organization claims. The site below tells several stories of such children. Fiona, who at the age of 9 was already left without a mother, now takes care of her epileptic father. Daniel is only 7 years old. Due to his mother's alcoholism, he is often hungry and misses classes. For children like Fiona and Danielle, Honeypot has created a special space where they can “be kids”: play, ride a bike, swim.
So, if you want to help Daniel or Fiona, the next step to take is to contact the charity directly and express your desire to run away from them. They register you for the marathon, send you brochures and tell you the amount you will have to pay one time and also raise through fundraising opportunities. In some cases, the one-off fee, which is usually less than €100, is no longer required.
How money is collected
The most important thing that is required of you is to collect a certain amount through fundraising. These amounts can be quite large, and therefore the charitable organization teaches how to raise money from sponsors, acquaintances, or simply concerned citizens. First of all, it is advised to create a profile on specialized sites - fundraising, justgiving.com, virginmoneygiving.co.uk, gofundme.com. Here you talk about yourself and your goals for participating in the marathon. If people support them, they will donate small amounts. Charitable organizations give advice on managing your account and what to do if you don’t receive enough donations. Since profiles on these sites only transfer money to charitable organizations, people can safely donate small amounts without fear of scammers overlapping good causes.
You can also collect money in everyday life, and then “throw” it into your account. One of the Russian participants in the “run for charity” race, who took part in the Berlin Marathon on behalf of the Red Cross, shares her unique experience of raising money on the Internet on the website cakes-and-tights.ru. “The first thing I did was start the Sweet Treats project. I bake various pastries and sell them in the UK Style store on Nikitsky Boulevard, 17. I participate in fairs with my baked goods. I also bake everything from cakes and croissants to macaroons to order,” says the marathon participant.
How they run
In parallel with collecting the required amount, you need to actually prepare for the marathon. Among the competitions there are, of course, short-distance races: 5-10 kilometers, but there are also those in which you have to run several tens of kilometers and you should prepare for them seriously and in advance, starting training a year in advance and trying to switch to a proper diet. After all, in addition to charitable purposes, you can also count on cash prizes, which are given for first places when you win. Many routes run along the central streets of European cities. So, for example, in the London Marathon races you can enjoy views of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and other London landmarks. Many people greet runners along the route and hand out free energy drinks, drinks, and food so that participants can quickly refresh themselves. At the end of a marathon, runners even often get a massage to help them relax their legs.
Not everyone, of course, takes marathons seriously. If you have already done a good deed by raising a certain amount for a charitable organization through fundraising, then why not at least walk a distance of 5-10 kilometers, singing, telling jokes, fooling around, showing tricks, and so on? Every year, even multi-kilometer marathons are attended by simply amateurs who do not have the time or desire to prepare seriously for them. For example, in 2002, Lloyd Scott set the record for the slowest runner in the London Marathon: he competed in a scuba diving suit. In 2003, former boxer Michael Watson, who had previously said that after one of his battles he would never be able to walk again, also took part in the London Marathon. He became his real star, covering the distance that all other runners covered in a few hours, in 6 days.
So, even if you are not ready to seriously prepare for a charity marathon, this is still no reason not to participate in it.
Marathon goals:
- To develop in children goodwill, self-confidence, a desire to help other people, to be merciful and attentive to others.
- Create conditions for the child’s involvement in the public life of the city and region.
- Help you feel responsible and important in big common affairs.
- To give children the opportunity to see and feel the result of their contribution and achieve an understanding that even “a small daisy made by one child can turn into a big holiday for everyone.”
Description of the marathon:
Children aged 5 to 11 years old - schoolchildren in our city and kindergarten students - are invited to do a good deed: the creative project “Chamomile”. The organizers of the marathon in schools and kindergartens (psychologists, social workers, teachers) hand over the daisies they made to the organizers of the “Wheel of Harmony” festival, and each child receives a coupon for participation in an educational and entertainment program for children at the “Wheel of Harmony” festival, where a holiday awaits them : presentation of a marathon participant’s diploma, competitions, master classes with creative, educational and entertaining content, gifts and friendly communication.
Important!
The organizer explains to the children the meaning of the charity marathon: Chamomile is a symbol of happiness. We will make daisies, adults will be able to purchase them and leave a symbol of happiness in their home, and donate a feasible contribution to a good cause.
The goal of the charity marathon is to help children with disabilities who are undergoing rehabilitation at the Borisoglebsk Zhuravlik Center. Children will be able to receive the necessary equipment. And everyone who took part in the Marathon is invited to a big celebration on May 20 as part of the “Wheel of Harmony” festival. This is how a little daisy becomes a joy for everyone!
- The flower should have a stem that is easy to hold in your hand. The petals are white. The middle is yellow.
- Daisies must be made before April 25 and delivered to the address: st. Freedom. 73, DC ICAR, 3rd floor, office 300.
- 10 people from the school aged 7-11 years participate.
- It is necessary to provide a list of children (Last Name + First Name) who took part in the action, full name (full name) of the organizer of the action and the school director. Please also indicate the name of the school correctly.
- The school issues 10 coupons for children to participate in the “I am a Leader” program. Each child will find his own success story: identify his strengths and growth points; learn to talk about yourself easily and freely; will be able to find like-minded people and friends; will reveal his abilities and talents; and just have fun and spend time interestingly.
- For the organizer - a ticket to the Wheel of Harmony festival. The festival program can be viewed on our website.
- Please check the address of the venue after April 25 when handing over daisies.
- Registration of participation by phone: +7 929 007 77 69.
Where does the charity marathon take place:
The promotion can be held on the territory of CITY Park GRAD, Moskovsky Prospekt shopping center, Petrovsky Book Club, Linguist MC, Healthy Child MC, VTB24 bank, fast food restaurant chain SUBWAY, Alexfitness, chain of stores " Accessory”, “RUBIN” store, “Shakhti” center, “Aquaphor” chain of stores, Chizhov Gallery, “NMT” chain of medical centers, “Ikar” Business Center, as well as at enterprises and organizations that have applied for a desire to take part in charity marathon.
On September 25, the Moscow Marathon will take place - the most important event for running enthusiasts. And more recently, for charitable foundations. A few years ago, the passion for running came to Russia, and after this, charity runners appeared, charity runners who participate in marathons on behalf of charitable foundations and collect donations in their favor. This is a very popular phenomenon in the West, and becoming a runner in one of the so-called major marathons is as difficult and honorable as registering for the marathon itself.
Thus, one of the most influential marathons in the world, the London Marathon, annually attracts about 13 thousand runners. In the Chicago Marathon, out of 45 thousand, 10 thousand are running from charitable foundations, in New York - 9 thousand, in the Boston Marathon - 6 thousand charity runners, each of whom collects at least $5 thousand.
The fundraising amounts are also impressive; in 2014, the New York Marathon's partner charities collected a record $34.5 million in donations.
Moscow running
In 2014, the Moscow Marathon for the first time provided an opportunity for charitable foundations to take part in the race and use it as a platform for fundraising and attracting attention. This phenomenon is new, so in Moscow there is not yet a queue of people wanting to join the team of charity runners. But gradually the movement is becoming more and more popular. The first partner of the Moscow Marathon was the “Our Children” foundation, then it was the idea of the director of the foundation, Varvara Penzova. “The foundation has friends in running clubs, and they have heard about such a practice as charity running. In 2014, this did not seem particularly promising - this had never happened in Russia, but we decided to try,” recalls the PR manager of the “Our Children” charity foundation » Natalya Shavarina.“We had a goal - to increase the base of private donors, that is, those people who donated to us at least once. We could involve these people more in our work, talk about the problems of orphans.”
In the first year, 22 runners joined the fund and raised more than a million rubles. In 2015, it was more difficult - a crisis began, the flow of donations decreased, and as a result, the fund collected about 800 thousand in a year. But according to the foundation, the “Help on the Run” project still became very successful. “This is a very important issue with education in the running community,” says Natalya Shavarina. “Before 2014, only those runners who participated in majors abroad (or whose friends participated) knew about charity running.” Now there are more and more such people, and more and more runners are thinking about the possibility of becoming a charity runner.”
In July 2016, the foundation launched the “Legal Doping” campaign, which featured famous runners. Her goal is to tell people that you can not just run for yourself and your pleasure, but also help children. And receiving additional “motivation boost” is a kind of doping. Many charity runners unanimously spoke about how much the fact of participating in the “Help on the Run” campaign helped along the distance. “When you are literally falling and want to give up, what keeps you going is the thought that the foundation is running with you, and these children you are helping, and those who believed in you and donated money...” says Natalya Shavarina. “This is a very powerful supporting factor, and after the end of the race the guys experienced strong emotions - because they not only completed the distance, but also completed their own “marathon” to raise funds. It’s like real doping.”
Everyone ran
The Life as a Miracle Foundation has been participating in the Moscow Marathon for the second year. According to Yulia Ginyaeva, PR manager of the foundation, this project is very important for the development of charity in the sports environment.
The Life as a Miracle Foundation joined the Moscow Marathon last year, towards the end of the season, and within two months of the project they raised 600,000 rubles. Now there are about 70 people in the team of charity runners “Running for a Miracle” and during this time they have collected 930,000 rubles.
“We give people a new interest - running can be meaningful,” says Yulia. “That is, you can play sports not only for yourself, for your health, but also to help children who need it. Our runners know very well that by sharing and telling others about their initiative, they draw attention to the problem. They are already involved themselves and want to convey to their surroundings that helping is easy!”
The Arithmetic of Good Foundation has the largest team of charity runners. Today, the foundation team includes about 2,000 athletes. In addition, 20 charity runners became active fundraisers of the fund - and during the entire preparation for the Promsvyazbank Moscow Marathon, they raised funds in favor of the fund’s wards. Through their joint efforts, conducting charity training and book presentations, inviting them to Italian dinners or selling paintings, they managed to collect more than 324,580 rubles (data as of September 20, 2016)
At all the races held, fairs were also held, where anyone could support the foundation’s wards - thus an additional 423,735 rubles were collected.
Anastasia Lozhkina, director of fundraising for the Arithmetic of Good Foundation, says: “With the help of cooperation between our Arithmetika of Good Foundation and the Moscow Marathon, we want to attract public attention to the social problem and to charity in general. Helping those who need it should become part of everyday culture, a tradition.”
In 2016, the Moscow Marathon already supports 10 charitable foundations. The list of funds is in the Philanthropist collection.
Moscow Marathon partner funds:
"The Arithmetic of Good"
The Arithmetic of Good charity foundation was established by businessman Roman Avdeev to systematically solve the problem of orphanhood in Russia. The goal of the foundation is to help orphans find families and become successful members of society.
Funds raised from the project will go to the Hospital Assistance program. This is a program under which the foundation pays for medical services in the hospital for its beneficiaries.
It is worth noting that both last year and this year the fund’s trustees, famous people, took part in the project. Thus, actress Daria Ekamasova took part in the music marathon.
Foundation "Our Children"
The foundation has been helping children left without parents since 2006. The goal of the foundation is to unite the efforts of adults and give everyone the opportunity to take part in the fate of children left without parental care.
Website: detinashi.ru
The “Help on the Run” project began in June 2014, at the Colorful Run, where 4 girls ran for the fund. Each of them had to collect at least 20 thousand rubles, and in the end they collected 84 thousand. In 2014, 22 people ran for us, in 2015 – already 39.
The funds raised go to the Don't Spill the Water program. As part of the program, the foundation returns children to their families or helps them find foster families, and also supports crisis and foster families so that children do not end up in orphanages.
ORBI Foundation
The only foundation fighting the problem of stroke, creating systemic programs to help reduce the incidence of stroke and mitigate its consequences.
Website: orbifond.ru
Charitable Foundation of Konstantin Khabensky
For 8 years, the foundation has been helping children with cancer and other serious brain diseases. The mission of the foundation is to be there in time and save the child.
Website: bfkh.ru
Color of Life Foundation
The foundation helps children from orphanages find a place in life: it equips workshops, teaches them professions, and helps them get a job after leaving the orphanage.
Website: zvet-zhizni.ru
B.E.L.A. Foundation Butterfly children"
The foundation helps children suffering from a rare genetic disease - epidermolysis bullosa - and is establishing a system of providing medical care to patients with EB in Russia.
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