The Mission

In 2003, we started our partnership with Susan G. Komen® to build a multi-day peer-to-peer fundraising walk series. We took on all aspects of the event — from production logistics and planning to vendor, volunteer and donation management. But it’s our work with fundraising strategy, planning and coaching that was the heart of building the community and driving revenue for this signature event series.

“The 3-Day saved my life as much as any medical personnel did. It is in my blood and in my soul. Not a day goes by, even in the off-season, that I fail to think about the 3-Day in some way. I treasure the friends, support, and love that the 3-Day has given me, and I am forever thankful that I found and am a part of this event.” 
Susan G. Komen 3-Day participant

The Challenge

The Komen 3-Day is a high commitment challenge. In addition to a registration fee, there is a $2,300 fundraising minimum in order to participate in the 60-mile walk. In exchange for that level of commitment, the 3-Day provides a fully supported three-day event including year-round high-touch support from a team of fundraising and training coaches.

Engaging this community and keeping fundraising revenue up required reinventing and transforming the program from year to year. The key became cultivating a culture of loyalists, where participants keep coming back, deepening their relationship to the organization and their commitment to the cause.

We owned the participant event journey, from the point someone shows interest until they showed up on event and beyond, holding their hand, supporting them with fundraising and training to ensure they showed up on event having met and exceeded their fundraising goals and were ready to walk 60 miles. We developed and executed the fundraising strategy, plan, calendar and materials, including fundraising rewards, challenges, programs, scrupulously personalized communications (email, SMS, app and website), social media, personal coaching, and year-round community-building events and experiences.

We created everything with the goal of making the event more than just a weekend for participants; it was a community they could feel a part of all year round, strengthening their bonds and deepening their commitment to the organization and its mission. We were the front-line team who interacted with participants and served as the face of the event year-round. We told the new participants who were wondering how we would help, “Our support matches the commitment you make once you register.”

“The staff from Event 360 are amazing in every way. They are much of why I have returned year over year.”
Susan G. Komen 3-Day Participant

The Results

We evolved the 3-Day through 21 years of changing technology and trends, adapting the way we communicate with and support participants before during and after the event. Even in 2020, due to the COVID pandemic, we turned the entire event series into a virtual experience, complete with a hybrid interactive program and mailed kit, that engaged more than 3,000 participants and raised $3.1 million in a difficult year.

When we added texting to our communication plan in 2019, participant engagement increased overall. A text message reminder reliably increased RSVPs to our scheduled virtual events by more than 200%, on average.

On the fundraising front, we created an incentive program that provided a travel reward to those who raised $5,000 or more. Since the 3-Day is a destination event, with more participants traveling in than those who live locally, this was a coveted reward. Average fundraising had been flat before we introduced this program. Afterward, it started an upward trajectory, increased by $200 per participant within 2 years and grew more than 20% within 7 years. Our retention rate also increased within the same time frame, building participant loyalty.

Even as the number of events and number of participants diminished over the years, the average fundraising performance per participant increased, keeping the overall fundraising performance strong. When budget cuts required that the event series be reduced by 50%, the total raised decreased by only 20% and overall walker satisfaction stayed high at 92%. The 3-Day was able to retain more than 75% of its registered participants each year, and the average active participant raised 155% of what was required.

Beyond the stats and numbers, we are also deeply proud of the bonds we helped participants build with each other and with Komen. The 3-Day became a yearly family reunion for them, part of their identity, and a source of immense healing and hope for thousands of people personally affected by breast cancer.

“The entire Event 360 team really knows how to put on and support any event, large or small! […] My Event 360 friends […] they’re family.”
Susan G. Komen 3-Day participant