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[GUEST POST] How Mobile Tech Can Make Your Run/Walk More Efficient and Effective

You’ve put so much time and effort into your event. Your peer-to-peer (p2p) fundraising platform has done its job and now it’s up to you and your volunteers to make sure the day of your p2p event is a success.

Unfortunately, when talking with organizations after their events, we consistently hear the following:

“Our participants spend too much time standing in line”
“Our volunteers are frustrated when our participants are frustrated”
“We have to close online registration too far in advance of the event”
“Spotty cell and Wifi coverage means we have to do everything on paper”
“Post-race reconciliation and follow-up can take days or weeks”
“We struggle to turn the energy from the event into future action by participants”

The day of your event is what creates a lasting impact. Blackbaud’s 2016 Peer-to-Peer fundraising study reported that, “Returning walk participants raise 3x more money on average than a new participant.” But if you are hearing some or all of the comments above, technology on the day of your event can be the difference maker in turning event participants and volunteers into your most valuable advocates and fundraisers.

With new cutting-edge mobile tools, you can create a day-of experience that is as digitally connected and seamless as your online tools.

What day-of activities could you do with mobile application?:

  • Check-in participants who registered through your p2p software and track turnout (Save time)
  • Register people on the day-of using the registration form from your p2p software (Save time)
  • Accept additional donations and sell merchandise (Raise more)
  • Send email and text donation receipts and thank-you’s in real time (Engage more)
  • Connect your digital tools so each participant can be engaged beyond the day of the event (Engage more)
  • Pre-register next year’s participants at the end of the event (Retain better)
  • Track and reconcile all dollars collected (Streamline)

What should you look for in a mobile solution?:

  • An app that syncs with your p2p software platform, keeping online registration open until the day of your event.
  • An app that continues to work even if you don’t have cell coverage
  • An integrated credit card swiper that is end-to-end PCI compliant
  • Tablets and smartphones provided as part of the service so you don’t have to worry about sourcing them yourself or asking volunteers to use theirs

Events like run/walks are still the cornerstone of p2p. In order to keep them going strong, consider the day of your event to be as critical as how you got there and think about the role that technology can play in making it so.


By Cynthia León, VP of Business Development, Grassroots Unwired

Cynthia discovered her passion for technology as a project coordinator at a nonprofit organization. She has cultivated that interest in software solutions since then and is thrilled to be able to combine a love of tech with mission-driven work at Grassroots Unwired. At GU, Cynthia is the “ear to the ground,” learning from organizations of all shapes and sizes and helping them find mobile solutions for their face to face activities.

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