Komen Global Race for the Cure®

Event 360 Services Provided:

  • Fundraising Consulting
  • Online Communications Strategy & Implementation
  • Event Website Development & Management
  • Convio TeamRaiser Implementation
  • Customer Service
  • Field Marketing
  • Volunteer Management
  • Fundraising Recognition & Training Programs
  • Event Planning & Production (including site and course surveying, mapping, scouting, selection, and permitting)

Background: The Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure is the marquee fundraising event in the well-known Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Series. As the global leader of the breast cancer movement, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is is the largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives and end breast cancer forever. Since its founding in 1982, Komen for the Cure has invested more than $1.9 billion in innovative research and community programs across the country and around the world. The organization works to ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures for breast cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide.

Previously known as the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure, the Komen Global Race for the Cure has been held in Washington, D.C. for over two decades, and is one of the largest events in  the Komen Race for the Cure Series. Each year in June, tens of thousands of people gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to run or walk in the 5K that features the iconic architecture of the nation’s capitol as a backdrop. The location of the event is an undeniable draw for participants, but it is also the affinity to the cause of breast cancer and Komen that attract a majority of participants who actively fundraise. Roughly 95 percent of the participants come from the National Capital Area of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Much of the remaining 5 percent come from neighboring states New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Participation: The Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure offers a variety of participation options for adults as well as children. Adults can participate as timed runners, walkers or sleepers. Sleepers are virtual participants who register as Sleep In for the Cure participants, and "sleep in" on Race Day. Kids can take part as Kids for the Cure participants. Volunteers, who register for free, work before, during, and after the Race. People of all participation types, even volunteers and kids, are encouraged to fundraise on behalf of Susan G. Komenfor the Cure. Participants are also encouraged to form teams in one of nine different categories, including armed forces, friends and family, and two special categories that make use of Race constituency in the National Capitol Area: international and Congressional teams. The International teams are represented by embassies and add a definite cosmopolitan flavor to the event, as well as reinforce the fact that breast cancer is a global issue. Embassy teams are also engaged by the fact that Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Komen for the Cure, is herself a former Ambassador. The Congressional and policy teams are formed by the offices of Representatives and Senators. The Congressional teams compete in a "State of Pink" challenge in which the red state-blue state dichotomy is dropped in favor of a unifying state of pink, the main color in the Komen Global Race for the Cure branding palette. In the weeks leading up to the Race, the Congressional teams web page on www.globalraceforthecure.org features a U.S. map of states turned pink including multiple dots depending on how many Congressional teams are registered for the Race.

Recognition:

MarketingSherpa Email Awards - Best of Show B2C    MarketingSherpa Email Awards - Gold

In February of 2011, Event 360 and the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure were recognized with two email marketing awards -- including "Best in Show" -- at MarketingSherpa's sixth-annual Email Marketing Summit in Las Vegas. The winning email campaign was also recognized with a Gold Award for Best Email Personalization & Segmentation Strategy.

2011 Social Media Reaction: