5 ways to engage supporters before their fundraising event (not just after)

Ask most charity fundraising teams when they communicate with community fundraisers, and the answer is usually "after their event" a thank you letter, a donation acknowledgement, perhaps a stewardship email a few weeks later.

This is understandable. It's how the process has always worked. And it's one of the most significant missed opportunities in supporter engagement.

The period between a supporter deciding to fundraise and their event taking place is when they are most motivated, most talkative, and most receptive to communication from your charity. Reaching out during this window — rather than waiting until after — transforms the relationship.

Here are five practical ways to do it.

1. Send a personal welcome as soon as they make contact

The moment a supporter tells you they want to fundraise is a high-value moment. A fast, warm, personalised response — ideally within 24 hours — sets the tone for the entire relationship.

This doesn't need to be elaborate. A genuine thank you, a brief acknowledgement of what they're planning, and links to everything they need to get started is enough. What matters is that it arrives quickly and feels personal rather than automated.

Charities that respond within a day consistently report stronger engagement from supporters throughout their fundraising journey, compared to those who take several days or rely on generic auto-responses.

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2. Give them materials they can use immediately

One of the most effective ways to engage a supporter before their event is to give them something tangible they can use right away — a personalised poster for their local community, a social media graphic they can share, a collection sheet they can print and take to work.

When a supporter has materials in hand, they start promoting their event. They show their poster to friends and family. They share their story on Instagram. They become an active advocate for your charity — days or weeks before the event has even taken place.

The key is making these materials instantly accessible and personalised. A generic PDF attached to an email is better than nothing. A hub where supporters can edit their own materials with their name, event, and fundraising target is significantly better.

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3. Check in at meaningful milestones

Rather than going silent between sign-up and event day, identify the natural milestones in a supporter's fundraising journey and use them as prompts to reach out.

Good milestone moments include:

• Hitting 25%, 50% or 100% of their fundraising target
• Four weeks, two weeks and one week before their event
• When they share something on social media about their challenge
• When they access or update their fundraising materials

These touchpoints don't all require personalised manual outreach some can be automated. But the ones that can be personalised, should be. A message that references the supporter's specific event and progress lands very differently to a generic mailout.

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4. Share their story with your audience

One of the most powerful things a charity can do for a supporter in the build-up to their event is to amplify their story. Sharing their fundraising page on your social channels, featuring them in a newsletter, or writing a short blog about what they're doing signals that your charity is proud of them — and introduces them to a wider audience of potential donors.

This kind of visibility is genuinely valuable to fundraisers. It drives more donations to their page, increases their sense of connection to the charity, and creates content that works for your organisation at the same time.

The supporters most likely to return year after year are often those who felt that the charity actively championed them — not just thanked them.

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5. Send a personal good luck message before the event

This is perhaps the single most impactful and most underused act of pre-event supporter engagement. A personal message — arriving the day or evening before a supporter's challenge — acknowledging what they're about to do and expressing genuine gratitude, takes minutes to write and can leave a lasting impression.

For a supporter who has trained for months, told everyone they know about their marathon, and spent weeks worrying about whether they'll finish — hearing from the charity they're representing at this specific moment is genuinely moving.

The barrier for most teams is simply not knowing when events are happening. If supporters share their event date when registering or accessing materials, your team has everything it needs to make this happen consistently.

Why pre-event engagement changes everything

Engaging supporters before their event rather than only after it isn't just a nice thing to do, it changes measurable outcomes. Fundraisers who feel supported by their charity during the build-up raise more on average, are more likely to share on social media, and are significantly more likely to fundraise again in the future.

The supporters who remember your charity most fondly are rarely those who received the best thank you letter. They're the ones who felt that your team was genuinely with them throughout their journey, cheering them on, helping them succeed, and celebrating what they achieved.