If there isn’t currently a Run for Congo Women near you, bring the movement to your town! There are a few ways to do it:
We recommend starting out by forming a “Team Congo” or participating yourself in a local run/walk. It could be a marathon, half-marathon, 5K, or even a fun run! You can search Active.com for established running events to register for. Then just start fundraising (download our Fundraising Tips) and off you go!
Then, make it an annual event and grow your Team Congo each year. Once you’ve got a good amount of people in your community dedicated to running for Congo Women, you might want to think about organizing your own Run for Congo Women event.
(Please note: at this time, Women for Women International is unable to provide funding for your Run for Congo Women). Set a goal for how much money you’d like to raise, and think about how you’ll achieve that goal (how many participants will you be able to recruit, how much will you “charge” as a registration fee, how much do you expect them to fundraise, etc). Then think about your costs. Can you get items like granola bars and water donated? Can you hold the run/walk in a park that doesn’t charge any permit fees? If after you create a budget it seems that your expected costs are more than 25% of your expected “income,” you might want to stick to participating in established local running events so that all of the funds raised can go to the Congo as opposed to having to spend lots of time and money on event-planning.
Delegate tasks like securing food and beverage, printing signs, getting entertainment, and recruiting runners.
You might want to use a free online registration system such as evite.com or eventbrite.com and ask people to pay their registration fee upon arrival at the event. Be sure to also ask registrants to fundraise through our online system by setting up a fundraising page at www.active.com/donate/runforcongowomen. Download our Fundraising Tips and share those with your participants.
Use the tools available on our website to spread the word offline and online. Distribute Flyers and Donate or Sponsor Forms. Send emails and share information about what has happened in the Congo and why you were moved to plan this event. Post the event on popular local websites and ask popular local bloggers to write about it. Go to gyms and running stores and ask them to post flyers. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about the Congo and your upcoming run.
Does the city allow raffles? Does the venue require an EMT on site? Insurance?
Are you staying on budget? Do you need to make adjustments to your costs?
Think about things like registration lists, forms for people to register on-site, Donate or Sponsor Forms, Women for Women International literature, and handy office supplies like staplers, tape, paperclips and paperweights. Do you have volunteers in place to check runners in? Do you have signage and/or balloons to help guide them?
Take plenty of photos.
(cash donors will not receive tax acknowledgements unless specifically requested). Any individual who writes a check for $25 or more will automatically receive a tax acknowledgement letter from us. If they donate online on your personal fundraising webpage, they will receive an email acknowledgement. When you mail in funds, please mail them to:
Women for Women International
Global Support Center
Attn: Run for Congo Women (RUNCONGO11)
PO Box 9224
Central Islip, NY 11722-9224
Email us at runforcongo@womenforwomen.org with questions or to share your stories.
Women for Women International supports women in war and post-war regions—like our sisters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo— with financial assistance, job skills training, rights awareness education, trauma counseling, and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives.
