What Can You Get Donated for a 5K or Fun Run, and Who Do You Ask?

A 5K or fun run can get three kinds of donations: race-day drinks and snacks, prizes for finishers and raffles, and food for the post-race gathering. Several programs in our directory fit a run directly. Emergen-C sends free drink mix packets to races, Wawa gives soft pretzels or Wawa branded water to local events, and Big 5 Sporting Goods donates Big 5 cards for prize giveaways and drawings. Send the request as the organization running the race, and send it six to eight weeks out so the slowest programs can answer.

Race-day drinks and snacks

Start here, because these are the items every runner touches.

• Emergen-C runs a program called Share the Good that sends free vitamin drink mix packets to U.S. events that support healthy lifestyles, naming races, tournaments and charitable events. Apply at least 45 days ahead. Emergen-C decides how much it can send, based on the event and how many people take part, and it pays the shipping.
• Wawa gives in-kind support to local community events: soft pretzels or Wawa branded water. Apply online at least three weeks before your event. Product is picked up at a local Wawa store and cannot be resold at your event, and each organization can get one in-kind donation per calendar year.
• Kwik Trip considers store product, coupons, gift cards or cash for local community events, schools and clubs through its Neighbors Helping Neighbors program. Apply at least four weeks ahead; funds vary by district and are not awarded more than once within a 12-month period.

Post-race food

The finish-line spread is often the easiest ask at a grocery store, because store-level programs decide locally.

• Trader Joe's gives food and beverage donations through a Donation Coordinator at each store. Deliver a written request on letterhead to your neighborhood store at least three weeks ahead. Only 501(c)(3) nonprofits with a valid tax ID qualify, and an organization can get one food and beverage donation per year from the whole company.
• Whole Foods Market lets 501(c)(3) nonprofits ask their local store for product donations at any time of year. Gift cards, alcohol and cash are not part of that program.

Our guide to grocery stores that donate covers more chains and how their local programs work.

Prizes for finishers and raffles

• Big 5 Sporting Goods limits its charitable giving to fundraisers and donations of Big 5 cards, which can be used for raffles, auctions, prize giveaways and drawings. Requests go only through its online system, and each organization can receive one donation a year.
• Garmin takes requests for product and other support through one online form, and asks you to pick a market category, one of which is Fitness. Garmin says it supports events that align with the markets it serves and cannot support every request. Review can take up to six to eight weeks, so this is the first request to send.

For more gear-focused donors, see outdoor and sporting goods companies that donate. For raffle ideas beyond the race theme, see what companies donate raffle prizes.

When to send each request

Count back from race day using each program's stated notice.

If your run falls in March, April or May, ask earlier than the stated minimums. Across more than 25,000 fundraising events in our own records over fifteen years, those are the busiest months for fundraisers.

Ask as the organization, not as a runner

Charity runs often have two kinds of fundraisers: the group that organizes the race, and individual runners raising pledges. Company programs are built for the first. Pentel, for example, says it does not support individual participation in events or fundraisers such as walk-a-thons, and many programs in our directory do not donate to individuals at all. If you are a runner raising money for a charity's race, pass your donor ideas to the organizing charity and let the request come from it.

The organizing group should also be ready with paperwork. Several of the programs above ask for 501(c)(3) status or a tax ID, and Culligan of Columbus, Ohio, which considers requests for community events, asks for a tax exemption number or 501(c)(3) information, at least 30 days' notice, and requests for products rather than money. Our rundown of what companies require before they donate covers the usual documents.

What to say in the request

Keep it short and specific: the race name and date, expected number of runners, who benefits, and exactly what you are asking for and how it will be used, such as water at the halfway point or a drawing among finishers. Our donation request email template gives wording you can adapt.