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Your fundraiser can be a vibrant and colorful event that gets participants and local businesses excited to participate. Color runs bring people together in an uplifting and memorable event that unites participants in the experience and the cause. A well organized color run fundraiser for a school, sports organization, or non-profit can raise up to $100,000, making a real impact for your cause.
This guide is meant to be a quick overview of the process of planning your event. Our free Comprehensive Guide to Planning a Color Run Fundraiser + Budget Checklist will walk you through every step with everything you need to know about hosting a seamless color run fundraiser in ten steps.
A Color Run Fundraiser is a non-competitive short running event where runners are doused with colored powder at different stations along the course. The event is usually organized to raise funds for a specific cause or charity. Funds are raised via participant registration fees, sponsorships, donation matches, and additional fundraising activities.
The Color Run typically involves people of all ages and fitness levels, and it is more about having fun and supporting the cause than achieving a specific race time. Color runs have become popular worldwide, and are an effective and fun way to raise funding.
Choose high-quality, safe, environmentally friendly color powder, and be sure that you have enough color powder with our calculator to ensure participants aren’t disappointed. Remember it’s better to have leftover color powder than to not have enough at your event. Choose colors that match your cause or go with a full rainbow of colors.
An easy way to ensure you have enough color powder for a fun event is to plan for a minimum of:
2oz of Color Powder x Number of Participants x Number of Color Stations
Check-in Station: Have runners arrive an hour before the race to check in, receive their shirts, and have some fun at pre-race color powder activities like dance contests, $1 raffles (raise more funding!), color powder slime station, giveaways, etc. to excite your guests. Plan for and provide clear instructions for any day of participants.
Start Line: Set up banners, streamers, signs, and balloons at start and finish lines to excite runners.
Water Stations: Set up a water station at the halfway point of the race and another near the finish line.
Color Stations: Set up a color powder station at every kilometer of your race track length. Most races have one color per station.
Finish Line: Celebrate participants’ achievements at the finish line with music, applause, and colorful confetti. Consider hiring a photographer or arranging for volunteers to capture memorable moments throughout the event and at the finish line.
Photo Booth: If you plan to have a photo booth, near the finish line is a great position. Create a custom hashtag for users to include in their posts and encourage them to share their images with your official accounts.
Blow-Off Station: Set up large fans for runners to shake off the loose color powder near the finish line area. Position the fans to blow away from other activities.
Food Stations: If you have snacks or other refreshments, position all food and water options together for easy access. At the minimum, have bottled water on hand for all participants.
Prize Station: If you offer prizes, have a dedicated pickup area. At a minimum, offer prizes for top race finishers and highest fundraisers (if applicable). Consider having a photographer to take photos of participants receiving prizes to share on social media.
Medical Station: Have a clearly marked medical station staffed with a medical professional to handle any injuries. Consider having sunscreen, bug spray, and band aids available here as well.
Color Run Event Day
Start setting up as early as possible. You will never regret having too much time when planning an event of this size! Plan out locations for your color stations, water stations, a first aid station, the start and finish lines, and any other activity areas before setting up.
Post bold signage throughout your venue to guide runners and supporters to the key areas.
Round up volunteers and go over their roles and responsibilities. Train color station volunteers to throw color powder correctly to keep the race fun and safe. Ask everyone to stay after the event ends to make clean-up quick and easy.
Have a plan and supplies for cleaning up to leave your venue well cared for. Our color powder cleans up easily. Just blow or dust off any residual powder and leave the remaining pigment to be washed away by rain or with a garden hose.
Send thank you notes to volunteers and sponsors highlighting how their contributions led to the event’s success. Send email thank yous to all participants and include stats on how many people attended, goals reached, and memorable moments.
Don’t forget to share your successes on all your social media and online outlets.
Overwhelmed? Get our free Comprehensive Guide to Planning a Color Run Fundraiser with a Bonus Budget Checklist for a step-by-step guide to planning your Color Run Fundraiser.
