No, you definitely don't have to be in Melbourne!

Our main event is the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday 13th October, however we've had people running and fundraising in other states previously (including someone dressed as a polar bear in NSW last year)!

Here's a great list of other runs happening across Australia in October. You could register for any of those and still fundraise as part of our Run for Change team!

And if October doesn't suit you, you can run in a different time. Feel free to discuss any of your ideas or concerns with Marta at [email protected].

Great question!

This year the main event we're taking part in, the Melbourne Marathon, is on Sunday October 13th in Melbourne.

And you don't even have to run! The organisers offer a 3km walk, as well as a range of running distances from 5km to the full marathon. The races all start on Batman Avenue, approximately 150m North of Rod Laver Arena, and end in the MCG.

The 3km walk starts at 11:45am.

The 5km run starts at 11:30am.

The 10km run starts at 7:30am.

The half marathon starts at 8am.

The marathon starts at 7am.

Yes! You will need to register on the Melbourne Marathon website (or another event of your choice) for the particular race you are entering, e.g. the 5km run.

This is separate from your fundraising page - both need to be signed up for.

The registration cost ranges from $40 (cheaper for under 16s) to $155 depending on the run you are entering.

Unfortunately, as a small organisation we don't have the capacity to pay for everyone's registration up front. However, we will reimburse half of your registration cost if you raise $300, and all of your registration cost if you raise $500 (or more).

To join the team and start fundraising, all you need to do is sign up on our Run for Change fundraising page.

Once you sign up, you will receive an email with tips on how to customise your profile and share it with your networks, who will be able to donate online through your page.

You can also collect cash donations and we can add this through the fundraising platform. If that's the case, please email Marta at [email protected] and we'll help you do that. 

All donations are then transferred directly to us by the fundraising platform so you don't have to worry about anything else. Easy!

There is no minimum we require of you - every bit helps and we are grateful no matter the amount!

However, as a guide:

• most people find that $300 is the minimum they will raise from simply asking their friends and family to support them
• $500 is the average people raise through a fun run 
• many fundraisers are surprised and end up raising over $1,000!

100% of the donations go to Climate for Change.

We use the funds raised via Run for Change campaign to deliver our pioneering face-to-face Conversations Program, which has reached over 7000 people face-to-face in just a few years - inspiring and empowering them to take action on climate change.

Over the next three years we want to take this program into communities that influence the national debate on climate change and go deep into those communities to shift that debate. 

Most of the funds we raise go towards paying a core team of staff who create content, develop and deliver training and other support resources that enable an incredible team of over 100 volunteers to deliver our work in the community.

Because we are a volunteer-powered organisation we are able to achieve a lot of impact with the donations we receive.

For more detailed information, please see our financial statement report for 2017/18. You can also have a look at our flyer with some key stats about our achievements and this FAQ document explaining why we run fundraising campaigns in a bit more detail.

And if you have any other questions, please reach out to Marta at [email protected]!

Don't worry! Fundraising is easier than you might think. If there's one thing we've learnt from fundraising ourselves over the past few years, it's that people LOVE supporting their friends.  

We will provide you with some useful resources to kickstart your fundraising and will support you the whole way via emails, Facebook and phone.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, you can also contact Marta, our Community Fundraising Manager, at [email protected]. 

That really depends on you! However, the more you put into this experience... the more you will get out of it (cheesy but true!). It's about how much effort YOU can afford to give, what YOU want to learn, and what YOU want to give to Climate for Change. We will be there to support whatever you do.

In terms of training, this will again depend on how far you are running and how fit you are already. Melbourne Marathon have put together some training plans that you can follow. They also have Wednesday evening and Sunday morning training sessions starting in early August. Depending on the appetite we can organise training sessions together too.

In terms of fundraising, it's possible to run a very successful fundraising campaign over just a couple of weeks but the more prep the better - we think three to four weeks is an optimal time for a fun run fundraising campaign.

Fundraising in itself shouldn't take you more than a couple of hours per week and mainly includes things such as sharing your campaign by sending emails and personal messages to your networks and posting on social media platforms if you're active on any.

We will be sending you fundraising tips on a regular basis, however if you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to contact Marta at [email protected].

There are many ways you can fundraise apart from asking people to sponsor your run.

However, if you can pluck up the confidence to ask, we guarantee you'll be surprised at people's reactions. Not only are they likely to say yes, but they may even thank you for giving them an opportunity to make a difference!

Most people love to give to make the world better. And they'll often give more than if you organise an event or sell something.

This Ted Talk by Amanda Palmer may help.