Short answer: split the minimum into weekly targets, get the first 20% from the people closest to you in the first fortnight, then work outward in planned asks: friends, work, your wider network and one event. On a $3,000 minimum that is about $188 a week over 16 weeks. Start as soon as your place is confirmed, and finish a few weeks before the charity's deadline, not on it.
This plan uses no magic numbers. The weekly sums are plain division, and the deadlines are ones charities really publish. Change the weeks to fit your own race.
Do the maths first
Divide your minimum by 16 to get a weekly target:
- £2,300 (Coram, London): about £144 a week.
- £2,500 (Concern Worldwide, OCD-UK, London): about £157 a week.
- $2,500 (the Chicago floor): about $157 a week.
- $3,000 (the New York Bronze floor): about $188 a week.
- $5,000 (a Team for Kids tier in New York): about $313 a week.
Now check your charity's real deadline, because it is often earlier than race day. Concern Worldwide wants £1,000 by 31 December 2026 from its April 2027 London runners. Team for Kids wants its $5,000 and $10,000 tiers paid in full by October 13, 2027, weeks before the November race. Save the Boundary Waters wants Chicago fundraising done by October 30, 2027. Count your 16 weeks back from the earliest of these dates.
Also read the shortfall rule. Coram's terms say that if the money has not come in two months after the event, you pay the rest. Knowing that early is a good reason to front-load.
Weeks 1 and 2: set up and start close to home
- Set up your page. Most charities give you one: London charity runners get an Enthuse page, Sydney uses Grassrootz. Add a photo of you running and two or three sentences on why this charity. Your reason is the thing people give to.
- Make the first donation yourself, even a small one. An empty page is harder to give to.
- Ask your closest ten to twenty people one by one, by message or in person, not in a group post. Aim for about 20% of the minimum by the end of week 2.
Weeks 3 to 6: friends and family, in waves
- Post your story once on the platform where your friends actually are. Link the page and say the minimum and the date.
- Follow up personally with anyone who reacted but did not give. A short, friendly nudge works better than a second public post.
- Share a training update every week or two. A long run, a bad run, a new pair of shoes. Updates remind people without asking again.
- Target: about 40% by the end of week 6.
Weeks 7 to 10: work and your wider network
- Ask your employer about matched giving. Some employers match staff donations to registered charities. Ask HR or check the staff handbook, and ask your charity for the paperwork it needs.
- Ask at work, with your manager's OK: a note in a team channel, a cake sale, a dress-down day.
- Reach the next ring out: clubs, old classmates, your gym, your running group.
- Target: about 65% by the end of week 10.
Weeks 11 to 14: one event
At this stage one small event is often easier than lots of little asks. Pick something you can run in an evening: a quiz night, a sweepstake on your finish time, a raffle with prizes local shops donate, a sponsored long run with a per-mile pledge. Ask your charity first: many have rules on raffles and gift aid, and some will send you materials.
- Target: about 90% by the end of week 14.
Weeks 15 and 16: close the gap
- Post a clear countdown: what is left and the date.
- Thank everyone by name who has given so far. Public thanks brings in late givers.
- Ask the people who said "later". This is later.
- If you are still short, talk to your charity before the deadline, not after. Ask what your agreement says and whether offline gifts or matched funds still to come can count.
After race day
Post your finish photo and time, thank everyone again, and leave the page open if your charity allows late donations. Some of the money arrives after the race.
Where to go next
If you have not picked a charity yet, see how fundraising minimums compare and browse open charity spots by race. For the basics, start with how marathon charity entries work.