Engaging supporters with a virtual MoonWalk during Covid-19

The story

About Walk the Walk

Walk the Walk is the largest breast cancer grant making charity in the UK and has been in existence for nearly 25 years.

In that time, Walk the Walk has raised over £130m through power walking challenges across the UK and overseas, helping people to get fitter while supporting a good cause.

The funds raised by Walk the Walk go towards a number of breast cancer charities, helping them to build infrastructure and fund projects that make a tangible difference.

The challenge

Filling the gap left behind by physical events

Walk the Walk is different to a number of charities in the fact that it is a grant making charity, which means its sole objective is to raise funds and distribute them to other charities rather than deliver services directly itself. Walk the Walk is also self-sufficient and receives no government grants or funding to supplement its income.

As the charity relied on physical events for all its fundraising, Covid-19 hit the organisation hard.

Being an intermediary to other charities, Walk the Walk cannot rely on the same personal connection the likes of a hospice might, for example. Walk the Walk is popular because it puts on a unique, entertaining physical experience that people want to take part in. Covid-19 had put a stop to its usual activity and its biggest selling point.

Traditionally, the physical MoonWalk events are a fun, social and colourful physical event, where a large gathering of participants power walk a half or full marathon through the likes of London and Edinburgh at night, lighting it up with branded t-shirts, positive energy and decorated bras until they receive their medal at the finish line.

The challenge now was to re-invent the Walk the Walk brand and push it into a digital space by running its flagship MoonWalk event virtually, to reproduce an exciting and engaging experience. This saw the birth of the Virtual MoonWalk.

The more approach by Enthuse

Creating a seamless donor journey

When Covid-19 hit, it made large physical fundraising events unattainable. Walk the Walk was keen to offer a meaningful virtual alternative that was easy-to-use and engaging, to give fundraisers the chance to raise money for good causes at a crucial time.

The first hurdle for Walk the Walk to overcome was the fact that, when Covid-19 hit, they had already started signing people up to the 2020 MoonWalks. So not only did the event get put on hold but Walk the Walk had to contend with the fact that Everyday Hero, the company they were using for fundraising and donations, was closing down.

Walk the Walk needed a partner to help recreate the MoonWalk experience virtually.

Having previously ran event registration through Primo Events (which had been acquired by Enthuse) Walk the Walk enlisted the help of Enthuse to run the entire donor journey; from donations, to event registration and fundraising.

Enthuse reacted quickly to launch virtual events at the start of the pandemic, which gave Walk the Walk a timely solution for their MoonWalks. The branded, personalised fundraising pages enabled the charity to put its brand front and centre and gave fundraisers the opportunity to share updates with supporters. Walk the Walk could also implement a minimum sponsorship amount of £100 to help garner the right commitment levels. What’s more, with the Strava integration, fundraisers could demonstrate their training progress and log their MoonWalk performance on the day – which acted as a great prompt for donations.

The MoonWalk is a colourful and vibrant event that has become a fundraising staple for Walk the Walk

Enthuse also provided the event registration functionality for the MoonWalks, which meant fundraisers could go through the entire event registration and fundraising sign-up process without being taken away to a third-party site. This simple transition from event registration to automatic fundraising page creation makes life easier for fundraisers and drastically lowers the likelihood of drop-off before getting started.

The event registration page included purchasing the £35 ticket, input criteria for sign-up and the ability to select the merchandise that comes with the ticket (bras, t-shirts, caps). All of this would help to replicate the usual physical event experience, giving fundraisers the opportunity to promote the charity while they completed the MoonWalk in their area.

“It’s refreshing to work with such a responsive organisation. There’s been no downtime, the donations process has been faultless and the platform is incredibly robust.”
Guy Aubertin – Director of Fundraising and Operations at Walk the Walk

The results

Making the Virtual MoonWalks straightforward for everyone

The speedy work of the Enthuse product team meant that Walk the Walk was able to put on a virtual alternative for its largest fundraising event, so that the charity was able to raise vital funds at a critical time. As an organisation that relies solely on event fundraising, this was of paramount importance.

By running its entire digital fundraising operation through Enthuse, Walk the Walk has been able to offer a joined-up supporter experience that simultaneously makes life easy for its donors and improves brand recognition at a time where the charity is unable to do its usual work in person.

The ease-of-use was reflected in the fact that 80% of those who took part in The Virtual MoonWalk events hadn’t taken part in a virtual event ever before. A fantastic result for the charity and one that helps build long-term supporter relationships.

A supporter experience that simply takes our supporters from event entry to fundraising page creation is essential for our campaign. Enthuse provides an easy-to-use and highly customisable entry form process and connects in a seamless way with creating those all-important fundraising pages.
Guy Aubertin – Director of Fundraising and Operations at Walk the Walk