The Gift of Giving - Our Partnership Model for Run & Trek for Change

For nearly every not-for-profit, generating revenue effectively and efficiently without filling supporter inboxes with ‘we need your money’ eDMs driving donor fatigue is a daily challenge. But so, too, is running an organisation that delivers brilliant Impact and works on a shoestring budget. In a world where there’s a problem to solve, a heartstring being tugged, and a request for support on every modern street corner (social media feed!), it’s hard to cut through the noise in an authentic and genuine way.?

As an organisation, we have always valued and worked hard to live out a partnership model where value is added to both the donor and One Heart. There are several ‘intangible’ value adds that giving to any organisation provides - giving is just a good thing to do! ?As Winston Churchill said, : “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” As an organisation, we were convinced there was a way to provide tangible value while simultaneously raising funds… challenge accepted.?

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” – Maya Angelou

The first Run for Change (then known as the Run from Poverty) took place in 2015. As we prepare to take an eighth team to Kenya in 2024, we are more convinced than ever that what we affectionately call RFC is one of the highest value adds we could provide to individuals and organisations and an effective, efficient way of fundraising.?

How does it work??

1. We build a team: gathering a group of unique individuals from a range of backgrounds, occupations, beliefs, experiences and ages with one key characteristic in common - they all have a huge heart for humanity and a desire to not only create change, but to be the change they seek in the world. The beauty is that this team of previously unconnected individuals becomes first a team, then a community and then a family. What we go through together has the power to be fundamentally life-changing - if you let it. And together, we carry each other, we laugh together, cry together, sit in awe together and get our hands dirty alongside each other. We have one anothers backs and experience something so profound that each individual on the trip is forever etched into your life story. It is a beautiful and special thing.?
2. Individuals fundraise, train & have a whole lot of fun: at the start of the Run journey when people sign up, there’s generally two areas of the process that people are feeling a little ‘nervicited’ (def’n: nervous and excited at the same time) about. The training/running component and the fundraising. In both of these, areas, even if people start out with trepidation and apprehension, there’s an inherent sense of satisfaction and reward of doing something that was once outside your comfort zone and stretching those boundaries. People start to enjoy the running, sharing their wins and even their tough runs as the family gathers around and cheers them on. Fundraising becomes somewhat addictive and a little bit competitive, and the ideas and creativity flow along with the laughter and camaraderie.
3. We go to Kenya - we see, we learn, we grow, we share, we run, we celebrate, we are changed.?As we journey through Kenya starting in Nairobi, through Iten and Eldoret, on to Uganda and back to Turbo - we are exposed to environments and people so different to that which most of us are used to; seeing poverty in some of its rawest, most confronting forms, and seeing the change that is possible when people are given the basics required for life - starting with love. We experience the stunning vistas of the Great Rift Valley and the bubbling spring that is the source of the Nile. We share our stories and are privileged to have shared with us the stories of others - both in the group and of the One Heart team and kids in Kenya and Uganda. We find ourselves transforming day in and day out as we open our hearts and minds to the process. The team that leaves Kenya are the same humans, but different people.?

Why do we do the Run & the Trek??

Yes, we do the Run & the Trek to raise money, but that’s not the only reason! In fact, it may not even be the primary reason… Quite simply, we believe in and love people. Humans are spectacular. We believe that people can make a difference. We believe that there’s power in stepping outside of our comfort zones. We believe everyone can fulfil their potential and we want to do whatever we can to empower that. We believe that we are better together.?

RFC23 saw a team of 13 people raise $230,000 (aud)—an average of $17,693 each—and run a collective of 468.1 km on race day (plus 1000's km more in training). Those funds are making a difference in over 1,000 people’s lives, and the ripple impact of that is going to be generational. Beyond the funds, the impact of relationships that have been formed, built, and solidified is somewhat immeasurable.?

2024’s Run team are kicking major goals at the moment, and there’s room for a couple more if you want to be part of the adventure. In September 2024, we are launching the Trek for Change - based on the same model as the Run experience, it will be in Tanzania with the physical challenge being a 7 day trek up Mt Kilimanjaro! It will be epic - reaching new heights (pardon the pun!)

We all face challenges and have situations that require creative solutions and things we’d like to see change in the world. As not-for-profits, we face the challenge of how to raise funds without just shaking the proverbial tin can. As individuals, there are any number of challenges that we face from financial, relational, employment, physical, emotional, and mental. Globally and as a society, the list of needs and challenges is endless.?

We can either sit around feeling hopeless, or we can do something about it. Two influential men, Barack Obama and Daniel Flynn , inspire me here:?

“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” – Barack Obama

“You have the power to change stuff.” - Daniel Flynn

What are you going to do and what are you going to change?