Getting started with mass participation events

If you’ve been wondering whether mass participation events – marathons, charity skydives, cycle rides, sponsored swims – are worth the effort for a small charity, the answer from the latest research is a clear yes.

Enthuse’s Mass Participation Report 2025–26 paints a picture of a sector in robust health. 85% of event fundraisers now meet or exceed their fundraising targets, with 15% surpassing them by more than half.

Motivation has changed too. Fundraising is now the top reason people sign up, cited by 59% of participants as their main motivation – overtaking personal fitness.

Whether your charity might secure places at established events and encourage supporters to sign up, or work with a specialist organisation to run an event of your own. Here are some points for you to consider:

What can your supporters raise?

Enthuse’s data gives a sense of what you might expect to raise:

36% raise up to £500 per event
47% raise between £500 and £3,000
17% raise over £3,000 – up 4% in the past year alone.

If your charity is looking for higher-value fundraisers, then nurturing serial participants is worth considering: more than a quarter (27%) of those who’ve done events before raise over £3,000, compared to 15% of first-timers.

The research also found that the most successful fundraisers start their campaigns at least six months before the event. Those who start early are significantly more likely to hit £500, and nearly a third reach the £3,000 mark. So starting promotion early and provide fundraising ideas and support the moment a supporter secures a place is key.

Know your audience

A ‘third running boom’ is being driven by under-30s, and female participation has grown by 12%. Younger participants are very social: 80% of 18–24-year-olds sign up with friends rather than alone. ‘Sign up with a friend’ messaging, shareable content, and milestone graphics will resonate strongly with this group, and with 90% of younger participants active on social media, mobile-first fundraising pages are increasingly essential.

Events on your doorstep

The Guildford 10K, starting and finishing on the cobbled High Street, is a good local option which encourages charities to sign up. You can also register with runforcharity.com – interested runners can register for events such as the Surrey Half Marathon (taking place this March in Woking) or any other events that appeal to them, choosing your charity as their cause of choice.

Or you might looking at the North Downs Ultra Challenge, which is a great option for corporate teams.

Further afield but easily accessible, the Brighton Marathon, Royal Parks Half Marathon, and Swim Serpentine all have straightforward charity places processes.

Don’t want to organise it yourself? You don’t have to

There’s a well-established ecosystem of organisations that will do the organising for you. Companies like GoSkydive, which organises skydives, or Maximum Adventure, which organise a range of challenges and travel events, work with many UK charities organising events on your behalf. Typically, with this model, charities cover the activity cost in exchange for participants raising a set minimum target, and the charity receives a meaningful net return.

What your supporters need from you

In the research, Enthuse found that the top requests by participants of event fundraisers is for creative fundraising ideas (cited by 35%), followed by help with making the ask – something 30% still find daunting, even when motivated. Providing a simple fundraising toolkit with suggested social media posts and milestone celebration graphics, plus regular check-ins as the event approaches, will go a long way to supporting participants on their journey.

Where to start

Visit runforcharity.com and look at what’s available for the Surrey Half Marathon. It’s local, it has a track record with Surrey charities, and it’s a manageable first step. Secure two or three places, recruit some enthusiastic supporters, and treat this first year as a learning exercise. With 89% of event participants planning to maintain or increase their activity, the likelihood is that your first-timers will be back – and, as serial fundraisers, they’ll raise significantly more the second time around.

**Data referenced in this article is drawn from the Enthuse Mass Participation Report 2025–26