Background: The world’s first united way fundraising effort emerged in 1887 in Denver, Colorado, USA. It aimed to provide relief for the over 100,000 people who had lost their livelihoods after the gold rush brought them to Denver in search of a better future, only to see their dreams shattered. At that time, four religious leaders from different faiths and a women’s community volunteer group decided to raise funds together to address the community’s issues. Since then, the united way’s community fundraising method has been recognized as one of the best approaches to “raise the most funds at the lowest cost.”
For a long time, large-scale charitable fundraising activities in China have mainly consisted of donations following major disasters and collective targeted donations organized by large public welfare foundations, while grassroots individual fundraising has developed slowly. However, the “Challenge 8 Hours” charitable hiking event (hereinafter referred to as “Chall8”) organized by the China Youth Development Foundation, for the first time, combined outdoor sports with fundraising for charity. It encourages participants to fundraise in their individual capacity. While challenging their physical limits, participants also inspire the public with the spirit of sports and spread the concept of public welfare.
“‘Chall8’ was born for fundraising, and we do our utmost to deeply embed the concept of ‘fundraising’ into people’s minds, making it a worthy advocate and practitioner of fundraising!” said Gu Zhengzheng, the project leader of “Chall8.”
Grassroots Fundraising Is in Full Swing
It has been two years since the first “Challenge 8 Hours” charitable hiking and trail running race was held. People have become increasingly familiar with “grassroots fundraising,” and fundraising volunteers, like droplets, have come together to generate tremendous positive social energy. Do you also have such people around you? They may not stand out, but they are always busy helping vulnerable groups?
More and more ordinary people have become part of the public welfare cause through the form of “fundraising.” Lü Fulin, an experienced participant of “Chall8” who lives in Tianjin, is a retired police officer and also a marathon enthusiast. By chance, he learned about “Chall8” and “signed up without much thought.” He believes what attracted him was the race itself. In the process, he met more running friends who encouraged each other. Integrating his hobby with public welfare made helping children even more meaningful.
Similarly, Mr. Lü, who works in the IT industry, has set aside fixed time every day for fundraising since signing up for “Chall8.” On platforms such as Weibo and WeChat, he calls on his friends to learn more about the event. No matter how busy his work gets, he has not missed a single day of fundraising.
“Chall8” Raises the Banner of Fundraising in China
“Chall8” is the beginning of charitable hiking and trail running events in China and has become synonymous with the Chinese style of “fundraising.” Unlike traditional mountain marathons, the “Chall8” charitable hiking and trail running event allows participants to carry flags or identifiers of individuals or commercial organizations, highlighting the open spirit of charitable fundraising activities and encouraging any individual or organization to participate in donations.
To date, “Chall8” participants have raised over one million yuan through “fundraising” and “self-donations.” The number of participating athletes and donors has exceeded 3,000, and the funds raised have provided teaching equipment for dozens of rural primary schools in central and western China.
This year, “Chall8” will be held in Zhaitang, a key town in western Beijing. The funds raised will be used to help equip rural primary schools in central and western China with sports infrastructure, supporting the healthy and happy growth of rural children. This type of fundraising activity, which is based on “fundraising” and oriented toward solving social problems, is becoming increasingly widespread, also prompting China’s grassroots public welfare fundraising efforts to become more common, open, and deeply rooted in people’s hearts.